An experimental manipulation of validating and invalidating responses: Impact on affect, motivation, and cognitive flexibility.
Year: 2018
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Validating responses refer to the process of communicating to an individual that his or her experiences make sense and are understood, while invalidating responses convey to the individual that his or her experiences are inaccurate, misunderstood, or inappropriate (Linehan, 1993(Linehan, , 1997)).In prior research, invalidating responses have been linked with increases in negative affect (Shenk & Fruzzetti, 2011), aggression (Herr, Jones, Cohn, & Weber, 2015), decreases in positive affect (Benitez, 2014(Benitez, , 2017;;Edmond & Keefe, 2015;Stigen, 2011), and decreases in overall mood (Benitez, 2014(Benitez, , 2017)).Further, invalidating responses have been theorized to affect individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) to a greater degree than others due to their already heightened emotional reactivity and likely increased sensitivity to invalidation.Despite the recent increased attention to the impact of validating and invalidating responses, there are still many theoretical questions that remain unanswered.In the present study, we aimed to expand the literature in the following ways: (1) further understand the direct impact of validating and invalidating responses on theoretically relevant outcomes such as motivation and cognitive flexibility; (2) identify constructs that might explain the relationship between validation/invalidation and relevant outcomes; (3) understand the ways in which individuals with heightened BPD features might be differentially impacted by validation and invalidation.We utilized an experimental design in which participants were randomly assigned to either a validation or invalidation condition.Participants in the study engaged in a task during which they recalled a time they had been angry and State University Psychology Department.I am especially indebted to my adviser, Dr. Cheavens, who has guided me for the last six years, starting when I was an inexperienced undergraduate student participating in a summer research program in her lab, all the way through now.I would also like to acknowledge my labmates at the Mood and Personalities Lab, old and new, who have inspired and supported different pieces of this project throughout the years.Additionally, this project would have never come together without the vibrant discussion and suggestions of my committee members Dr. Daniel R. Strunk and Dr. Theodore P. Beauchaine.Thank you for all your help and support.I can also say with certainty that this project would not have been possible to complete without my friends, who have been a great source of moral support over the past several years: Kristen Navarro, Michele Bechor, Brittney Schirda, Erin Altenburger, and Tiffany Shader.I would be remiss to not extend the utmost appreciation to my DBT comrades, my two musketeers, Travis Westbrook and
Author: Benitez, Cinthia
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7019161866