Use and effectiveness of self-regulation strategies for improving mood in a group of trainee teachers.

A field study investigated the ongoing use and effectiveness of self-regulation strategies for improving mood and the effects of a mood-regulation intervention. Thirty trainee teachers used pocket computers to complete ratings of their mood and their use of mood-regulation strategies every 2 hr during 2 weeks of a school placement. Cognitive distraction was the most frequently used strategy, but behavioral diversion and cognitive reappraisal were associated with the greatest improvements in reported mood. Neither avoidance nor venting was associated with mood improvements. Concurrent mood, mood awareness, and activity predicted the use of different regulation strategies. Half of the participants were instructed to use engagement strategies and the other half diversion strategies during the middle 6 days of the study. The engagement group reported significantly higher levels of cheerfulness during this intervention.

[1]  James W. Pennebaker,et al.  Emotion, Disclosure, and Health , 1995 .

[2]  Rob B. Briner,et al.  Changing Moods: The Psychology of Mood and Mood Regulation , 1996 .

[3]  K S Dobson,et al.  The role of activity level and cognition in depressed mood in a university sample. , 1986, Journal of clinical psychology.

[4]  S. West,et al.  Statistical issues in the study of temporal data: daily experiences. , 1991, Journal of personality.

[5]  J. Head.  Stress and the Post Graduate Secondary School Trainee Teacher: A British case study , 1996 .

[6]  A. Stone,et al.  Effects of severe daily events on mood. , 1984, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[7]  R. Burke,et al.  A Longitudinal Study of Psychological Burnout in Teachers , 1995 .

[8]  T. Palfai,et al.  Emotional attention, clarity, and repair : Exploring emotional intelligence using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale , 1995 .

[9]  James W. Pennebaker,et al.  The Handbook of Mental Control , 1992 .

[10]  M. Fordyce.  A program to increase happiness: Further studies. , 1983 .

[11]  R. Thayer,et al.  Self-regulation of mood: strategies for changing a bad mood, raising energy, and reducing tension. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[12]  R. Kessler,et al.  Situational determinants of coping and coping effectiveness. , 1990, Journal of health and social behavior.

[13]  E. Diener,et al.  Subjective well-being. , 1984, Psychological bulletin.

[14]  L. Pearlin,et al.  The structure of coping. , 1978, Journal of health and social behavior.

[15]  D. R. Owen,et al.  Mood Alteration with Yoga and Swimming: Aerobic Exercise May Not Be Necessary , 1992, Perceptual and motor skills.

[16]  Drew Westen,et al.  Toward an integrative model of affect regulation: Applications to social-psychological research. , 1994 .

[17]  Brian Parkinson,et al.  Classifying Affect-regulation Strategies , 1999 .

[18]  T. Klauer,et al.  Subjective well-being in the face of critical life events: The case of successful copers. , 1991 .

[19]  J. Garber,et al.  Affect regulation in depressed and nondepressed children and young adolescents , 1995, Development and Psychopathology.

[20]  Simon Folkard,et al.  In situ repeated measures of affect and cognitive performance facilitated by use of a hand-held computer , 1992 .

[21]  Teacher stress and coping over an autumn term in Finland , 1995 .

[22]  W. Morris,et al.  Toward the self-regulation of mood: Theory and research , 1987 .

[23]  Traci A. Giuliano,et al.  The Measurement and Conceptualization of Mood Awareness: Monitoring and Labeling One's Mood States , 1995 .

[24]  S. J. Catanzaro,et al.  Measuring generalized expectancies for negative mood regulation: initial scale development and implications. , 1990, Journal of personality assessment.

[25]  Dylan M. Jones,et al.  Refining the measurement of mood: The UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist , 1990 .

[26]  D. Goodhart.  Some psychological effects associated with positive and negative thinking about stressful event outcomes: was Pollyanna right? , 1985, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[27]  E. Higgins,et al.  Communication, social cognition, and affect , 1988 .

[28]  M. J. Fimian,et al.  Stress, burnout, and role problems among teacher trainees and first‐year teachers , 1987 .

[29]  M. Fordyce.  Development of a Program to Increase Personal Happiness. , 1977 .

[30]  D. Russell,et al.  Job-related stress, social support, and burnout among classroom teachers. , 1987, The Journal of applied psychology.

[31]  R. Erber,et al.  Beyond mood and social judgment: Mood incongruent recall and mood regulation , 1994 .

[32]  R. Guglielmi,et al.  Occupational Stress, Burnout, and Health in Teachers: A Methodological and Theoretical Analysis , 1998 .

[33]  Timothy D. Wilson,et al.  Judging the predictors of one's own mood: Accuracy and the use of shared theories , 1982 .

[34]  B. Fredrickson,et al.  Response styles and the duration of episodes of depressed mood. , 1993, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[35]  S. Lyubomirsky,et al.  Self-perpetuating properties of dysphoric rumination. , 1993, Journal of personality and social psychology.