Best possible self (BPS) is a positive psychological
intervention shown to enhance well-being which involves
writing a description of an ideal future scenario. This paper
presents a comparison of psychophysiological effects of a BPS
activity that has been adapted for classroom settings and a timematched control activity (NA). Thirty-three undergraduate
students participated in the study that assessed state anxiety
(State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI), affect (Affective Slider,
AS), and cardiac ...
Best possible self (BPS) is a positive psychological
intervention shown to enhance well-being which involves
writing a description of an ideal future scenario. This paper
presents a comparison of psychophysiological effects of a BPS
activity that has been adapted for classroom settings and a timematched control activity (NA). Thirty-three undergraduate
students participated in the study that assessed state anxiety
(State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI), affect (Affective Slider,
AS), and cardiac vagal activity (heart-rate variability, HRV) as
an indicator of self-regulatory resource usage, at three time
periods (PRE, DURING, POST). Results show that BPS led to a
significantly greater increase in positive valence (DURING) and
overall higher levels of cardiac vagal activity (HRV) compared
to NA. These findings suggest that BPS has promising
characteristics as a self-regulatory technique aimed at fostering
positive affect and positively impacting self-regulatory
resources. As BPS does not require expert knowledge nor
specialized technology to administer, it may be a suitable
activity for educators to use when teaching and having students
practice self-regulation. This study presents evidence collected
in a replicable multimodal approach of the self-regulatory
effects of a brief BPS activity on undergraduate students.
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