I en single case experimental design (SCED) av crossover typ med fyra deltagare med insomni undersöktes möjligheten till att manipulera mängden negativa tankar innan insomning genom tillämpningen av två olika tankeexperiment, savoring och framkallad ruminering. Bland resultaten fanns signifikanta samband mellan mängd negativa tankar innan insomning och sömnkvalité, insomningslatens och antal uppvaknanden. Samband fanns även mellan mängd negativa tankar och obehag över tankarna. Dock visade det sig att experimenten inte påverkade mängden negativa tankar innan insomning då de sömnrelaterade faktorerna varierade oberoende av experiment. Variationen i de olika skattningarna på måtten gjorde att inga slutsatser kunde dras kring vad som orsakade sömnbesvären hos deltagarna eller vilken roll mängden negativa tankar hade för dessa. Resultatet diskuteras i förhållande till tidigare forskning. / The possibility of manipulating the amount of negative thoughts before sleep onset in four subjects with insomnia was investigated in a single case crossover experimental design (SCED). The attempt to change the amount of thoughts consisted of two experimental conditions, savoring and induced rumination. Significant correlations were found between the amount of negative thoughts before sleep onset and quality of sleep, sleep onset latency and number of awakenings. There were also correlations between the amount of negative thoughts and distress related to the thoughts. The experiments did, however, not influence the amount of negative thoughts before sleep onset. Conclusions concerning causal factors of the sleep difficulties and the impact of the amount of negative thoughts were made impossible by the large variability in the scores. The results are discussed in relation to previous research.

Savoring, or the process of prolonging a specific experience of positive emotions, is associated with positive health outcomes and feelings of interpersonal connectedness. Few studies have examined the process of savoring in a family context, and even fewer studies have explored the extent to which it may vary across cultures. In a sample of mother-child dyads (n = 66; White = 33 and Latinx, non-White = 30), we investigated the effect of savoring on verbal and behavioral indicators of maternal responsiveness as compared to a control condition, a reflecting exercise about daily routines. The results suggest an interaction effect of experimental condition and race on verbal maternal responsiveness, such that White moms who savored were more responsive than those who had reflected. Unexpectedly, Latina moms who reflected were more responsive than those who had savored. This effect may be explained by Latinx cultural values of collectivism and familism interacting with participants’ interpretation of the experimental tasks. These findings suggest the use of savoring and positive emotion to improve parent-child relationships and highlight the importance of studying the role of culture in psychological interventions.

A growing literature suggests that experiencing positive emotions provides psychological benefits (e.g., Coifman et al. 2007), and interventions increasing positive emotions may reduce depression risk (Geschwind et al., 2011). The present study tested whether reminiscence, a method of positive emotion savoring (Quoidbach et al., 2010), can mitigate depression risk by increasing positive emotions in an unselected sample and a subsample of at-risk anxious individuals. Female participants (n=336) were randomized to a reminiscence or control condition and asked to complete daily mental imagery exercises focusing on a positive memory (reminiscence) or a neutral laboratory memory (control) for one week. As expected, reminiscence exercises produced immediate positive emotion increases compared to control exercises. Contrary to prediction, reminiscence participants did not report higher positive affect or lower depression symptoms at the end of the study week or one month follow up period compared to controls. Future studies in treatment-seeking samples are needed before strong conclusions can be drawn about the long term affective benefits of reminiscence in at-risk or clinical populations. Findings in the anxious subsample revealed no greater benefit of reminiscence versus neutral mental imagery for those with high anxiety. However, across both conditions, anxiety was a strong predictor of positive emotional functioning, with high anxiety predicting low positive emotions even after accounting for depression symptoms. These findings add to prior work suggesting anxiety can blunt positive emotional functioning, and warrant future studies to further elucidate the impact of anxiety on positive emotional functioning and the potential utility of intervening on positive emotions in anxious individuals.

No description available.

The skill of savoring is one practice from the positive psychology literature that appears to facilitate well-being and happiness (e.g., Cazanescu, Tecuta, Candea, & Szentagotal-Tartar, 2018). Given such findings and the emerging evidence in favor of delivering positive psychology interventions via the Internet (Layous, Nelson, & Lyubomirsky, 2013), the potential feasibility of providing researched-based savoring instruction using self-directed online resources warrants empirical examination. This pilot study examined the feasibility of a self-directed online module of instruction and exercises intended to aid in cultivating individuals’ savoring abilities. The two primary aims of the present study were: 1) to examine the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of delivering an online 21-day savoring intervention through the website www.mybestself101.org (Savoring Module), and 2) to collect descriptive/qualitative feedback on the module content for further improvement of these resources. A supplemental aim was to establish convergent validity of the newly developed Savoring Questionnaire with an existing measure of savoring beliefs. Results indicated that participants completing the 21-day self-directed content and exercises in the Savoring Module reported positive and significant changes in savoring skills and subjective well-being. However, only 22% of consenting participants completed the 21-day sequence of content and exercises on their own. The majority of participants who completed the study found both the informational content and the strategies of the module to be "very helpful" or "extremely helpful." Overall, findings indicate that a self-directed savoring intervention delivered via the Internet can produce an increase in savoring skills and subjective well-being.

No description available.