Improving stress mindset through education and imagery.

BACKGROUND: Research suggests interventions such as education and imagery can elicit a greater stress-is-enhancing mindset. The present study examined the individual and combined effect of stress-is-enhancing education and/or imagery delivered virtually in altering stress mindset. Three 3-minute online video interventions: (1) education, (2) imagery, (3) education with imagery were compared to each other and a control comparison.

DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants ( N  = 164; 103 = female; Mage  = 20.03, SD =  1.39 years) completed the Stress Mindset Measure (SMM) before being randomly assigned to a group to watch a three-minute video and completing the SMM again.

RESULTS: The 2-time × 4-group ANOVA showed a significant time effect, F (1, 158) = 50.45, p  < .001, η p 2  = .242, no group effect, F (3, 158) = 0.89, p  = .449, η p 2  = .017, and a significant time × group interaction, F (3, 158) = 4.48, p  = .005, η p 2  = .078. All three experimental groups reported greater stress-is-enhancing mindset post-intervention compared to pre-intervention. At post-intervention the education with imagery group had a significantly more stress-is-enhancing mindset compared to the control group.

CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that online stress mindset videos may be effective with a combined stress education and imagery intervention being most effective.