Rink
Fakultäten » Philosophische Fakultät » Psychologisches Institut » Klinische Psychologie, Psychotherapie und Psychoanalyse » Prof. Dr. Brigitte Boothe (emeritiert) » Rink
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Solving decisional problems: The impact of positive, negative and contrasting thinking on the formation and realisation of intentions | ||||||||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | For two types of personally relevant and open decisional problems the impact of extensive positive, negative or contrasting thinking of potential effects of the open decision was experimentally analysed. 107 elderly (age 60-95) participants listed open decisional problems from which either a conflicting (risk of negative results) or a nonconflicting (low risk of negative results) decisional problem was selected. Participants were then assigned to one of three conditions of intention related thought induction. One group worked through a booklet with instructions to exclusively think on any possible positive short or long-term effect of the potential decision and to judge the likelihood of occurrence and the personal importance for each recorded effect. Another group was instructed to do so exclusively for possible negative effects of the potential decision. A third group was instructed to contrast all positive and negative effects they can imagine, with consideration of their estimated probabilities and importance of occurrence / nonoccurrence. Additionally the habitual disposition to worry was assessed (PSWQ). The dependant measures consisted of the subjective distance to the point of decision (before, immediately after and two weeks after experimental thinking), the (potential) decision and of all reported information gaining (predecisional) planning activities or already realising (postdecisional) activities. The expected interaction of problem type and thinking style was significant. Positive thinking reduced the distance to the point of decision only for nonconflicting problems and fostered decision making, planning and realisational activities for some participants. Contrasting positive with negative effects reduced the decisional distance only for conflicting problems and fostered information gaining activities. The effects were partly moderated by dispositional worry. | ||||||||
| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | Wishful, worried and contrasting thinking, decisional problems, Intention formation, | ||||||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Others |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Jan 2001 to Sep 2002 |