The Effectiveness of Three Modes of Conversation on Coping with Stress in Same Sex Friendship Dyads
Year: 2024
Type: dissertation
Abstract: To induce stress, pairs of friends, serving as subjects, were told they would be moving a spider through a maze. In three experimental conditions the friends were allowed to talk with one another prior to interacting with the spider; in the fourth condition the subjects waited alone. The conversations were structured so that the differential effects of problem-solving, emotion-based, or situationally unrelated discussion between friends could be observed on measures of negative mood state and behavioral fear. Subjects in the emotion-based condition generally experienced the greatest amounts of negative mood and fear. Problem-solving and unrelated discussions resulted in lower levels of self-reported anxiety and fear than did the emotion based or alone conditions. The effectiveness of problem-solving and unrelated conversations as means of socially supportive conversation is discussed in terms of avoidant versus vigilant modes of coping.
DOI: 10.25777/rjqq-3v72
Author: Costanza, Robert Sal
Institution: Old Dominion University
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6945579385
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