ReThinking Stress: The Role of Mindsets in Determining the Stress Response

Abstract

This dissertation consists of four studies that explore the role of mindsets—the mental frame or lens through which information is viewed— in the context of stress. In Study 1, I present data supporting the reliability and validity of an 8-item instrument, the Stress Mindset Measure (SMM), designed to assess the extent to which an individual possesses a mindset that the effects of stress are either enhancing or deteriorating. Stress mindset is a strong predictor of perceived health, performance, and life satisfaction over and above traditional stress-influencing variables. In Study 2, I explore the question of whether stress mindsets can be altered through a priming intervention. Stress mindsets can be altered by watching short, multimedia film clips with factual information biased toward defining the nature of stress in one of two ways (stress-is-enhancing vs. stress-is-deteriorating). Changes in mindset toward a more enhancing perspective were associated with corresponding changes in self-reported health and performance. In Study 3, I explore whether mindsets can be changed consciously through a clinical intervention. A two-hour-long stress mindset training provided participants with complete information on the nature of stress and the influence of their mindsets in determining the stress response. In addition, I offer a specific three-step process designed to help them actively and deliberately (as opposed to unconsciously) adopt a stress-is-enhancing mindset. Participants in a Mindset Training Program reported significant reductions in negative physical symptoms, greater overall satisfaction with their health, and better performance at work with respect to generating new ideas, sustaining focus, being engaged, and collaborating well at work. Study 4 explored a new population to explore the effect of stress mindset on more objective measures such as cortisol reactivity and drive for feedback. An individual's stress mindset was an important variable in determining the cortisol response to a stress task and the extent to which one has a drive for feedback. Together, these four studies represent a comprehensive and multidisciplinary investigation that asserts that stress mindset may be an important variable in determining perceived health, performance, and life satisfaction in the context of stress.