The Boundaries of Minimization as a Technique for Improving Affect: Good for the Goose but not for the Gander?
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2014
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12127
Abstract
Research on minimization as a coping strategy suggests that it alleviates negative affect following threats. In contrast, research on minimization as a support‐giving strategy suggests that it does more harm than good. Does this mean that minimization works when it is self‐generated, but does not when it is offered by others? The present study examined the effect of self‐ and externally‐ generated minimizations on people with high and low self‐esteem following a self‐threat. Results suggest that externally‐generated minimizations do not alleviate negative affect when they occur before the recipient has had time to cope. Discussion centers around the implications of these findings for past research, as well as distinctions between how people with low versus high self‐esteem cope with negative events.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, v. 43, issue 8, p. 1717-1724
Scholar Commons Citation
Grover, Kristin W.; Pinel, Elizabeth C.; Bosson, Jennifer K.; and LeBeau, Lavonia Smith, "The Boundaries of Minimization as a Technique for Improving Affect: Good for the Goose but not for the Gander?" (2014). Psychology Faculty Publications. 1157.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/1157
