Publication Type
Master Thesis
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
6-2022
Abstract
Scant research has investigated the impact of common daily adversities on one’s sense of meaning, and how one can cope and find meaning in these distressing events. Drawing on the meaning-making model and tripartite model of meaning, this study sought to examine how using a combination of coping strategies (i.e., positive reappraisal and self-distancing) can help individuals to derive greater situational meaning (i.e., meaning from the experience), greater global meaning (i.e., meaning in life)—across three facets (i.e., coherence, significance, and purpose). Specifically, it is proposed that the effects of positive reappraisal on promoting meaning would be enhanced by adopting a self-distanced perspective. This self-distancing “enhancement” hypothesis was expected to be mediated by reduced negative affect. In the present study (N = 482), little support was found for the enhancement hypothesis. Exploratory analyses were conducted to examine whether it would be supported under specific levels of recency and intensity of experience. While recency moderated the interaction between positive reappraisal and self-distancing on meaning, self-distancing did not enhance the effects of positive reappraisal. Similarly, although the three-way interaction between intensity, positive reappraisal, and self-distancing was statistically significant for two facets of situational meaning (coherence and existential mattering [significance]), the results did not support the enhancement hypothesis. Alternate explanations, implications, and limitations were further discussed.
Keywords
Positive Reappraisal, Self-distancing, Global Meaning, Situational Meaning
Degree Awarded
Master of Philosophy in Psychology
Discipline
Applied Behavior Analysis | Personality and Social Contexts
Supervisor(s)
TOV, William
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
LAU, Yong Hao Clement.
Effects of positive reappraisal and self-distancing on meaning-making in negative experiences. (2022).
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/405
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.