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The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
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Regulatory effectiveness of social support
Katherine S Zee1, Niall Bolger1, E Tory Higgins1
1Department of Psychology.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|February 14, 2020
Summary
Effective social support addresses recipients' self-regulatory needs for understanding (truth) and capability (control). This regulatory effectiveness of support (RES) predicts beneficial outcomes, enhancing mood, motivation, and self-regulation success.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Health Psychology
Background:
- Social support can have both costs and benefits.
- Effective support theories emphasize addressing recipient needs.
- Self-regulatory needs are crucial for successful support interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce the novel construct of regulatory effectiveness of support (RES).
- Investigate if support addressing truth and control needs enhances benefits.
- Examine RES's impact on self-regulation relevant outcomes and success.
Main Methods:
- Established construct validity of RES.
- Conducted 8 studies and a meta-analysis.
- Assessed RES in daily life and laboratory support discussions.
Main Results:
- RES positively predicted self-regulation relevant support outcomes.
- RES effects were stronger than perceived responsiveness.
- Higher RES linked to increased motivation and better performance on a stressful speech.
Conclusions:
- Support addressing self-regulatory needs (RES) is crucial for beneficial outcomes.
- RES enhances mood, motivation, and self-regulatory success.
- Findings advance understanding of effective social support mechanisms.
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