Eight researchers from the Jagiellonian University are among the authors of the paper “A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic”, published on 2 August in the prestigious international journal Nature Human Behaviour. The publication discusses the effectiveness of reappraisal strategy to mitigate negative emotional effects of the current pandemic.
The paper abstract reads as follows: “The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (versus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world.”
The authors include the following Jagiellonian University researchers:
- Prof. Małgorzata Kossowska, JU Institute of Psychology
- Dr Krystian Barzykowski, JU Institute of Psychology
- Dr Gabriela Czarnek, JU Institute of Psychology
- Sylwia Adamus, JU Institute of Psychology
- Katarzyna Filip, JU Institute of Psychology
- Julita Kielińska, JU Institute of Psychology
- Paulina Szwed, JU Institute of Psychology
- Magdalena Wielgus, JU Institute of Applied Psychology
The full article is available on the Nature Human Behaviour website.
