Search

This Randomized Controlled Trial examined whether an online multicomponent emotion regulation intervention—a toolkit of reappraisal, mindfulness, and savouring exercises—could train cognitive reappraisal and promote wellbeing over and above a sham toolkit (breathing and memory recall exercises). University students were randomly assigned to the intervention (intervention toolkit, n = 39), placebo (sham toolkit, n = 41), or control condition (sham toolkit, n = 39). Participants were instructed to complete 10 days of experience sampling surveys and practice at least one toolkit exercise per day. They could choose the timing, frequency, and type of exercise. The placebo condition was matched to the intervention condition in expectancy beliefs (sham exercises were labelled “Mental Wellbeing Toolkit” with ostensible wellbeing benefits). In the control condition, participants practiced the sham toolkit labeled “Cognitive Activity Toolkit” and wellbeing benefits were not discussed. Multilevel growth modeling of 1133 daily data points showed similar declines across all conditions in stress and negative affect and increases in positive affect over the 10-day period. Because participants across all conditions spent time on cognitive exercises, this finding points to a potential placebo effect of intentionally engaging in activities that involve daily reflection. However, compared to the placebo condition, the intervention condition led to sharper growth in daily cognitive reappraisal over 10 days of practice, suggesting benefits of the intervention toolkit in developing the emotion regulation strategy of cognitive reappraisal. Similarly, the placebo condition showed sharper growth in daily cognitive reappraisal, compared with control, demonstrating the power of expectancies for training. Keywords: Emotion regulation, cognitive reappraisal, wellbeing, placebo, experience sampling, randomized controlled trial

A thriving society is made possible when educators experience holistic and sustained wellbeing: feeling engaged, purposeful, happy, and effective at work, and in turn, providing an enriching learning environment for students. It is therefore a societal concern that teaching professionals report high levels of employee stress, burnout, and disengagement. The aim of the current dissertation is to not only understand how to alleviate the problems in the education profession, but to improve educators’ sense of wellbeing and work engagement. I conducted two studies exploring how the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) can be applied in brief and longer-term interventions to capitalize on “what’s working well” in education currently, and how educators and institutions can create a more optimal future of education. Secondly, I integrated job crafting theory to advance understanding of how AI can be applied to empower educators to create positive changes in their work, lives, and institutions to promote personal and organizational benefits. This dissertation is presented in manuscript format with an opening chapter summarizing the current state of the AI and job crafting literature. The first manuscript (Chapter 2) is a qualitative study with a sample of 17 Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) teachers in Canada and the US showcasing how a foundational method of AI—the AI interview—can help educators understand how to promote their wellbeing and more personally desirable work experiences. Manuscript 2 (Chapter 3) is a qualitative case study following the experiences of 22 faculty members in a Canadian University as they participated in a 6-month program grounded in AI and job crafting theories. Finally, in Manuscript 3 (Chapter 4), I propose a guiding framework on how the AI process can facilitate job crafting. I also propose eight practical recommendations for planning and implementing an AI-facilitated job crafting intervention to promote employee wellbeing as well as larger-scale positive organizational change initiatives. This dissertation concludes with a summary chapter of all three manuscripts. Together, this dissertation progresses the nascent exploration of how researchers and practitioners alike can promote employee wellbeing and positive organizational change using an integrated AI and job crafting approach. SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship–Doctoral; University of Guelph Graduate Excellence Entrance Scholarship

Classic perspectives on mindfulness emphasize engagement with life’s challenges. In contrast, contemporary mainstream approaches to mindfulness in psychology chiefly focus on stress reduction. We contrast classic and contemporary approaches, outlining conceptual and methodological shortcomings of mindfulness research. Existing mindfulness measures fail to adequately capture engagement or relief aspects of the construct due to assessment primarily through negatively-worded items, discordant definitions, confusion of outcomes with processes, and a lack of contextual sensitivity. Empirical evidence shows that the dimensions of mindfulness are not only negatively correlated with each other, but also with variables they should be similarly linked to. Further, modern measures of mindfulness are positively related to outcomes that are antithetical to mindfulness-as-engagement (e.g., emotional suppression), suggesting that current measures may be biased towards relief rather than engagement outcomes. We outline several ways to overcome conceptual and methodological challenges, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of classic contemplative roots of mindfulness and a rigorous psychometric and culturally-sensitive analysis, in hopes to guide researchers towards capturing mindfulness as a regulatory process that involves actively working through life’s challenges.

This study examined whether an emotion regulation intervention promotes wellbeing beyond placebo effects. University students were randomly assigned to 10 days of self-practice in an intervention, placebo, or control condition. The intervention provided three 5-minute audio recordings of mindfulness, savouring, and positive reappraisal exercises. The placebo and control conditions provided “sham” exercises of breathing, distant memory recall, and recent memory recall. The intervention and placebo conditions were primed with expectancy beliefs, while the control was not. Multilevel growth modeling results showed all conditions declined in stress and negative affect and increased in positive affect and wellbeing up to 1 month later. Compared to placebo, the intervention led to a sharper positive growth in emotion regulation over time, with no other outcome differences. The placebo also showed a sharper positive growth in emotion regulation over time than the control. Suggestions are provided for future interventions to work with extant placebo effects.