Mentor/s
Adrienne Crowell
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
The current pilot study tested five hypothetical scenarios that were designed to induce defensiveness. We created high and low-threat hypothetical scenarios within these domains: academic, health, romantic, alcohol use, and friendship. Participants were randomly assigned to read and respond to one high-threat scenario and one low-threat scenario. This poster will focus on the participants who received the high-threat scenario first. Post-scenario questions included open-ended questions about how they feel and would respond to the hypothetical scenario and Likert-scale questions about their level of defensiveness and sense of responsibility. This poster presents the results for two individual differences (i.e., spontaneous self-affirmation and self-compassion) that might reduce defensive responses to the hypothetical scenarios. Results showed that spontaneous self-affirmation and self-compassion were positively correlated with taking accountability for their actions, and self-compassion was negatively correlated with justifying their actions. These results suggest that spontaneous self-affirmation and self-compassion are individual differences that could protect individuals from responding defensively to threats.
College and Major available
Neuroscience, Psychology BS, College of Arts and Sciences
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-28-2023 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Best Visuals
The Relationship between Self-Protective Factors and Defensiveness
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
The current pilot study tested five hypothetical scenarios that were designed to induce defensiveness. We created high and low-threat hypothetical scenarios within these domains: academic, health, romantic, alcohol use, and friendship. Participants were randomly assigned to read and respond to one high-threat scenario and one low-threat scenario. This poster will focus on the participants who received the high-threat scenario first. Post-scenario questions included open-ended questions about how they feel and would respond to the hypothetical scenario and Likert-scale questions about their level of defensiveness and sense of responsibility. This poster presents the results for two individual differences (i.e., spontaneous self-affirmation and self-compassion) that might reduce defensive responses to the hypothetical scenarios. Results showed that spontaneous self-affirmation and self-compassion were positively correlated with taking accountability for their actions, and self-compassion was negatively correlated with justifying their actions. These results suggest that spontaneous self-affirmation and self-compassion are individual differences that could protect individuals from responding defensively to threats.
Students' Information
Maria S Pandolfo- Psychology major, class of 2023
Abbygail R Michel- Neuroscience major, class of 2024, Honors student