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Cognitive and motivational processes underlying coping flexibility: a dual-process model.
1Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong. c.cheng@ust.hk
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|February 15, 2003
Summary
Individuals motivated to find new coping strategies showed better psychological adjustment. This occurred because their need for closure enhanced their ability to differentiate stressful situations, leading to more flexible coping.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Coping flexibility is crucial for psychological adjustment.
- Existing models often focus on either cognitive or motivational aspects of coping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate a dual-process model of coping flexibility.
- To examine the interplay between need for closure, discriminative facility, and coping flexibility.
Main Methods:
- Structural equation modeling (Study 1).
- Experimental manipulation (Study 2).
- Prospective longitudinal design (Study 3).
Main Results:
- The dual-process model was supported across all three studies.
- Need for closure positively influenced discriminative facility.
- Discriminative facility mediated the relationship between need for closure and coping flexibility.
Conclusions:
- A dual-process model integrating motivational (need for closure) and cognitive (discriminative facility) factors effectively explains coping flexibility.
- Individuals motivated to seek diverse coping strategies demonstrate enhanced situational analysis and better psychological adjustment.