A Randomized Trial Essay

A Randomized Trial Essay

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of values affirmation exercise on mood and values success. Previous research on the topic revealed inconsistent results regarding the significance of value affirmation for cognitive impacts, necessitating further studies to be initiated. To investigate the problem, a randomized trial design was incorporated into the study, and the participants were provided with CPVI and PANAS questionnaires. The study sample was randomly selected from the target population and assigned to either control or treatment groups. The findings revealed no significant changes in the pre and post-tests results for both the control and treatment groups. The results augmented the literature review outcomes that value affirmation exercise did not have a significant impact on mood and value success. Future studies should investigate the topic further to gain clear insights into it. Notably, the sample population selected for subsequent studies should comprise a large number of participants to raise the statistical power of the findings. 

Health Policy and Law Essay

Chapter One

1.1 Introduction and Background

The purpose of the research dwells on the determination of the effects of value affirmation exercise on mood and values success. This chapter covers the study background, statement of the research problem, study justification, the objectives, and the significance of the study. It is envisaged that the proposed approach will offer an in-depth analysis of the research issue and further provide a firm basis for arriving at a conclusion and recommendations.

1.2 Background to the study

Emotional disorder is a key risk factor influencing the well-being and productivity of people in any social setting. Positive emotions translate to augmented productivity, good moods, and rising adherence to personal and organizational values. Emotional expressions such as moods have a significant impact on the livelihood of individuals. Mood disorders cause individuals to fall into depression, alienate themselves from friends and families, and become less productive in their social activities. A report by the National Institute of Mental Health (2017) revealed that approximately 9.7% of adults in the United States suffered from a mood disorder, in particular, females comprised 11.6%, while males’ percentage was 7.7%.

The effects of mood disorders have been documented in multiple studies, revealing the impacts on individual behaviors in distinct settings. The influences span physical and psychological scope and could adversely affect an individual’s wellbeing. The physical manifestation of mood disorders includes fatigue, anger, stress, and frustration, among others. The psychological impacts comprise depression, stress, anxiety, low morale, and reduced productivity (McCarthy et al., 2020; Salles et al., 2016). Despite the mitigative measures of antidepressants and psychotherapy, mood disorders have become prevalent in vast social settings.

The lack of effective interventions for mood disorders has led to increased research on the most efficient approach for the management of mood disorders in distinct social settings. One of the proposed interventions comprises value affirmation practices, which have shown remarkable outcomes in the management of moods (Ransom, 2016; Vu, 2019). Unlike the pharmaceutical approaches such as the use of antidepressant medications, the value affirmation exercises entail the use of natural interventions that have further proven to be cost-effective (Ehret & Sherman, 2018). The findings of this study would illuminate strategic and efficient methods for managing mood disorders.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

The prevalence of mood disorders in the United States has been increasing lately. The value of 9.7% was considered to rise significantly over the years, leading to increased prevalence. The physical and psychological impacts can be severe and can substantially influence the overall population’s wellbeing. The physical impacts such as fatigue, anger, stress, and frustrations could hinder the proper performance of activities for daily living. Notably, the interpersonal relations with other groups in the social milieu will be adversely influenced. The psychological impacts such as depression and anxiety could further affect the individual wellbeing, leading to inefficiency in performing their tasks. Despite the efforts by healthcare agencies and federal institutions, the pharmaceutical interventions have not sufficiently curbed the spread of mood disorders. Healthcare institutions experience rising cases of mental illnesses associated with mood disorders. The implementation of a new mitigation strategy is, therefore, inherent for improved population health. Research on the effectiveness of value affirmation exercises remains scarce, and this study will illuminate their significance in mood management.

1.4 Research Hypothesis

The study hypothesis comprised the null and alternative hypotheses stated below:

H0 – There is no significant impact of values affirmation exercise on mood and values success

H1 – There is a significant impact of values affirmation exercise on mood and values success

Research Justification

Considering the increase in cases of mood disorders in the United States and other countries around the globe, the need for a viable solution is imperative. The increased rates could exceed the expected threshold, leading to the adverse effects on the wellbeing of the affected groups of people. Notably, the lack of effective non-pharmaceutical intervention created the need for a new treatment approach that will be not only affordable to the population but also effective in the management of the symptoms. The findings on the effectiveness of the proposed interventions will be used further to make a useful conclusion regarding mood disorder.

1.5 Study Objectives

The primary objective dwells on examining the impact of a values affirmation exercise on values success and mood.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study is significant to multiple stakeholders across different organizational settings. It will provide management with practical information on the effect of value affirmation exercises on the mood within the organizational setting (Barkoukis et al., 2020). Managers and leaders will apply the technique to encourage employees to deliver quality work within the workplace environment.

1.7 The Scope of the Study

The study examines the perception of 51 participants, who were randomly selected. The chosen sample was a representation of diverse groups from different organizational settings.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

The major limitation includes the number of participants selected for the study. It integrated 51 participants who may not sufficiently represent the target population.

Chapter Two

Literature Review

2.0 Introduction

The literature analyzed in this section hinges on the primary research objective of examining the impact of values affirmation exercises on success and mood. The key areas of perspective comprise the severity and significance of the application of the value affirmation exercise on people’s mood. The outcome will be compared to the study findings, leading to a valid conclusion. 

2.1 The Impact of Value Affirmation Exercise on Mood

The use of value affirmation exercise has been documented in multiple studies. The application of the concept has mainly been aimed at minimizing the impacts of psychological stress in enhancing value consistent action and raising acceptance of individual experiences. The Northeastern Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research (2019, December 3) described value affirmation exercise as a brief writing activity where individuals reflect on the values considered meaningful and incorporate the useful ideas in their lives. Studies have shown distinct outcomes regarding the impacts of value affirmation exercise on individual moods.

Czech et al. (2011) examined the impact of value affirmation exercise on psychological stress. The study hypothesis postulated that values writing reduced anticipatory or post-task-related stress among individuals. The findings failed to prove the hypothesis, indicating that the value affirmation process did not have any significant impact on the levels of anxiety among the participants. Hanselman et al. (2017) examined the impact of value affirmation on the reduction of racial achievement gaps. The findings revealed no evidence of positive influence on the improvement of performance among the racial groups. In a different study by Michals et al. (2019), the relationship between stress relief and value affirmation exercise among college students was determined. The study outcome revealed that value affirmation failed to mediate the level of stress experienced by students or increase their levels of satisfaction with life.

A lack of correlation between value affirmation exercise and success was also exhibited by Jiang (2018). In the study, its significance on job insecurity and creativity was examined. The findings revealed a negative correlation. Also, Carpenter (2017) examined the efficacy of value affirmation exercise in the lessening of non-clinical rumination. The hypothesis stated that the exercise would lead to the lowest level of rumination. The findings failed to support the study hypothesis, indicating that over the short and the long-term periods, value affirmation had no effects on state rumination. Similar results were revealed in a study by Bancroft et al. (2017), which sought to specifically determine the impact of value affirmation in math scores among students. The majority of girls in the participant groups suffered from racial and gender stereotypes, leading to poor performance in math. The findings showed that the effects of value affirmation on math performance were insignificant, falling below the alpha value of 0.001. A conclusion was made that value affirmation did not affect performance. The examination of more studies revealed a weak link between value affirmation and improved performance. Hayes et al. (2019) examined the usefulness of value affirmation in the grade of students in middle school and freshmen. The students were tested in terms of cognitive abilities, self-efficacy, level of stress, and perceived control. The findings showed no positive impact on the outcomes.

Certain studies have equally supported value affirmation exercise in improved performance. One of these studies was carried out by Springer et al. (2018), in which the impact of value affirmation exercise on the devotion of 127 participants to mHealth goals was examined. The levels of adherence to mHealth goals significantly improved, an indication that value affirmation can be quite effective. The behavioral change model exhibited values of (R²=.39, p<.001), which is an indication of significant influence. Brady et al. (2017) also examined the impact of value affirmation exercise on the college grade of Latino students. The results of the experiment showed that the average grade of the students raised by changing their perceptions towards the stress factors. The exercise led to self-affirming thoughts compared to the negative ones, causing improved performance (Barkoukis, 2018). In the end, the self-esteem, integrity, and hope of the students got boosted. Finally, Jordt et al. (2017) delved into the conclusion that value affirmation exercise impacts the achievement gaps among the minority students compared to their white peers in mathematics, technology, science, and engineering. The study hypothesis stated that the performance gap had an emotional and psychological association with the risk of labelling. The results revealed that the implementation of value affirmation exercise caused a decrease in the stated performance gap.

The reviewed literature shows the impact of value affirmation on vast psychological, emotional, and behavioral aspects. The literature supporting the use of the intervention mainly peg on the concept of elimination of negative thoughts, translating to an enhancement in the outcome. The value affirmation practice causes the participants to develop positive thoughts, leading to a boost in the overall results (Borman et al., 2016). The literature against the effectiveness of the value affirmation intervention showed an insignificant link with the variables (Borman et al., 2020; Goyer et al., 2017; Howell, 2017). The evidence presented in each case fails to satisfactorily exhibit the impacts of value affirmation on mood and success. Contentions exist on whether the practice has any positive impact at all. The next section provides an overview of the research methods used in examining the impact of value affirmation on mood and success.

2.2 Theoretical Perspectives

A lot of theories have been employed to explain the association between value affirmation exercises and mood or emotions. The common ones comprise the Lazarus and Folkman’s psychological stress and coping theory and the self-affirmation one. The two concepts have been broadly applied to adequately understand the mechanism of value affirmation through emotive and cognitive aspects. An examination of the models provides a clear understanding of the concepts and the rationale for their implementation in distinct settings.

2.2.1 The Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Stress and Coping Theory

The Lazarus and Folkman’s psychological stress and coping theory states that stress occurs when an individual wants to surpass the social and personal resources they have (Biggs et al., 2017). The concept was described as a transactional model of stress and coping, which considers two factors being central to any psychological stress, i.e. appraisal and coping (Harwood et al., 2019). Appraisal constitutes the manner in which an individual perceives and evaluates the importance of the stress factor. Thus, stress has been considered to be related to an individual’s environment. The nature of interactions determines the outcome of successful mitigation (Lannin et al., 2019). The concept of appraisal hinges on the fact that emotional processes primarily depend on the individual expectations manifested (Ben-Zur, 2019; Lannin et al., 2018). The concept of cognitive appraisal has formed the basis for the explanation of individual differences in terms of response to intensity, quality, and duration of emotions during a stressful episode. During the cognitive appraisal process, factors such as values, goals, and motivational factors determine the quality of coping mechanism (Nicholls, 2020). Coping constitutes the behavioral and cognitive efforts to control, tolerate, or reduce the demand factors brought by the stress factor. It also entails the simultaneous implementation of varying action sequences to overcome the challenge (Reavis et al., 2017). The coping mechanism directly relates to the cognitive appraisal process.

Value affirmation entails the sequential implementation of coping mechanisms through cognitive efforts to change the adverse emotions related to the stress factor (Gieselmann et al., 2020; Strachan et al., 2020). The value affirmation exercises can, therefore, aid in the mitigation of the adverse stress factors leading to improvement in emotions. The affirmation process entails minimization of the stress demands to match the social and personal resources that they can quickly mobilize.

2.2.2 The Self Affirmation Theory

The self-affirmation theory postulates that individuals have the ultimate motivation to uphold self-integrity, worthiness, and good thoughts of themselves to enable them to predict useful results. The perceptions of worthiness and self-integrity make people consider themselves as living up to certain expectations existing in the society (Hurst et al., 2020). In cases where self-integrity of an individual suffers from a threat, the self-affirmation response enables them to develop positive thoughts that would help to overcome the challenges (Arpan et al., 2017; Vu, 2019). The self-affirmation theory correlates with the cognitive dissonance study, which reveals that individuals tend to change their attitudes when aligning them with their past behaviors (Harmon-Jones & Mills, 2019; McGrath, 2017; Schüz et al., 2017). The process entails self-justification and rationalization, convincing individuals that their selected course of action was the best for the given situation.

In the context of value affirmation exercise, the self-affirmation theory applies in cases where people attempt to re-establish integrity through affirmations leading to the mitigation of the stress factor. The self-affirmation process enables people to change their moods or attitudes towards threats within their environments, leading to improved response (Sherman et al., 2017; Thomas, 2018). The value affirmation could entail important reflections such as family relations or certain useful skills that boost self-esteem. The theory offers a valid rationale for the usefulness and implementation of value affirmation process in mood changes.

The above literature review reveals that whereas multiple studies have evaluated the significance of value affirmation exercise in distinct cognitive processes, it still remains unclear. The inconsistency in the findings necessitates further research on the subject. The theoretical perspectives provide a blueprint through which the psychological and cognitive processes involved in value affirmation exercises can be analyzed and interpr……..

Chapter Three

A Randomized Trial Essay