Psychology

Gratitude and Neuroticism are Predictors of Engagement with an Ecological Momentary Gratitude Intervention

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Location

Indianapolis, IN

Subject Area

Psychology

Start Date

11-4-2014 1:00 PM

End Date

11-4-2014 2:15 PM

Description

The objective of this study was to analyze potential predictors of engagement with an ecological momentary intervention (EMI) focused on gratitude. This research is important because it may shed light on whether personal factors influence engagement with such interventions, which are becoming more prevalent and show promise for promoting behavioral change (Heron & Smyth, 2010). Undergraduate college students from a Midwestern Christian liberal arts university participated in this 14-day study. Participants were randomly assigned to a full gratitude intervention (N = 53), partial gratitude intervention (N = 48), or control condition (N =51). A dynamic EMI iPhone app platform was utilized to administer prompts at random intervals three times per day, and to administer an end-of-day question. Pretest measures included the Big Five personality inventory and measures for gratitude level and readiness to change. While negatively correlated with one another (r150 = -0.20, p = 0.01), neuroticism and gratitude had moderate, positive correlations with app response rate for participants in the full gratitude condition (r51 = 0.35, p = 0.01 and r51 = .35, p =0.01, respectively). These correlations were not observed amongst the other participants. We will discuss the implications of these findings for the effective use of EMI.

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Apr 11th, 1:00 PM Apr 11th, 2:15 PM

Gratitude and Neuroticism are Predictors of Engagement with an Ecological Momentary Gratitude Intervention

Indianapolis, IN

The objective of this study was to analyze potential predictors of engagement with an ecological momentary intervention (EMI) focused on gratitude. This research is important because it may shed light on whether personal factors influence engagement with such interventions, which are becoming more prevalent and show promise for promoting behavioral change (Heron & Smyth, 2010). Undergraduate college students from a Midwestern Christian liberal arts university participated in this 14-day study. Participants were randomly assigned to a full gratitude intervention (N = 53), partial gratitude intervention (N = 48), or control condition (N =51). A dynamic EMI iPhone app platform was utilized to administer prompts at random intervals three times per day, and to administer an end-of-day question. Pretest measures included the Big Five personality inventory and measures for gratitude level and readiness to change. While negatively correlated with one another (r150 = -0.20, p = 0.01), neuroticism and gratitude had moderate, positive correlations with app response rate for participants in the full gratitude condition (r51 = 0.35, p = 0.01 and r51 = .35, p =0.01, respectively). These correlations were not observed amongst the other participants. We will discuss the implications of these findings for the effective use of EMI.