Enhancing flexibility mindset: a randomized controlled trial using daily emotion-focused self-reflection

Flexibility mindset has recently been proposed as a motivational factor that supports adaptive self-regulation during adversity, yet it remains unknown whether it can be strengthened through psychological intervention. The present randomized controlled trial examined whether a brief daily emotion-focused self-reflection intervention designed to cultivate six emotional resources (authentic pride, awe, flow, gratitude, relaxation, and vicarious joy) would increase flexibility mindset and improve mental health outcomes.

Forty-four university students were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or an active control group and were instructed to complete daily micro-exercises over a three-week period. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and a two-week follow-up and included measures of flexibility mindset, depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect.

Participants in the intervention group showed significant increases in flexibility mindset from pre to post (within-group d = 0.91) and from pre to follow-up (within-group d = 1.05), whereas no significant changes were observed in the active control group. Between-group contrasts confirmed greater increases in the intervention group at both assessments. Across both conditions, higher flexibility mindset was associated with higher positive affect at post and follow-up after adjustment for baseline flexibility mindset, baseline positive affect, and group, with both associations remaining significant after Holm correction. Depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress decreased significantly over time across conditions, whereas no significant change in negative affect was detected.

To our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled study to provide evidence that flexibility mindset may be amenable to psychological intervention. The findings suggest that the deliberate cultivation of emotional resources may represent a promising pathway for strengthening motivational processes relevant to adaptive self-regulation. Further research is needed to examine underlying mechanisms, long-term effects, and generalizability across populations and contexts.