Summaries per article with History of Psychology at University of Groningen 19/20 and earlier

What is this article about?

In contemporary society, there are a lot of distractions. Think for example about smartphones, computers, and tablets. They are all means of distraction. As a result of all these sources of distraction, it is not surprising to find that many students have not learned to self-regulate their academic studying well.

In this study, Zimmerman discusses how students can use self-regulation as a means to compensate for their individual differences in learning. He also defines the essential qualities of academic self-regulation, describes the structure and function of self-regulatory processes. Finally, an overview is provided of methods for guiding students to learn on their own.

How do students use self-regulation as a means to compensate for individual differences in learning?

Since the beginning of the 20th century the topic of individual differences in educational functioning gained widespread interest. While it was already widely acknowledged that students differ, little was known how to overcome these differences so that each students could optimally benefit from the curriculum of the school. During the late 1970's and early 1980's, a new perspective on individual differences emerged, that still plays an important role nowadays. Since then, researchers attribute (partly) individual differences in learning to students' lack of self-regulation. Important aspects herein are metacognition and social cognition. Metacognition refers to the awareness of and knowledge about one's one thinking. Social cognition refers to the social influences on children's development of self-regulation. Most importantly appears to be setting specific and proximal goals for themselves. In addition, simply asking students to self-record some aspects of their learning already showed "spontaneous" improvements. These effects are called reactivity. Thus, this perspective focuses on what students need to know about themselves in order to manage their limitations during efforts to learn.

What are the essential qualities of academic self-regulation?

Self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic performance skill. Instead, it is the self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills. It is a proactive process. In this section, the following essential qualities of academic self-regulation are mentioned:

• Self-regulated learning involves more than detailed knowledge of a skill. It involves self-awareness, self-motivation, as well as behavioral skills to implement that knowledge accordingly.  
• Self-regulation is not a single trait that one possesses or lacks. Instead, it involves the use of several, specific processes that one must adapt personally to each learning task. The following processes are identified:
  1. Setting specific approximate goals.
  2. Adopting strategies for reaching those goals.
  3. Monitoring one's performance for signs of progress.
  4. Restructuring one's physical and social context in order to make it compatible with the goal.
  5. Managing time effectively.  
  6. Self-evaluating one's methods.
  7. Attributing causes to results.
  8. Adapting future methods
• The quality of self-regulated learning depends on several underlying beliefs, such as perceived efficacy and intrinsic interest.

What is the structure and function of self-regulation?

In this section, the central question is: How do students combine specific learning processes, level of self-awareness, and motivational beliefs as a means to self-regulated learning? According to social learning psychologists, the structure of self-regulation can be viewed in terms of three cyclical phases:

1. Forethought phase
   1. Task analysis (goal setting, strategic planning)
   2. Self-motivation beliefs (self-efficacy, outcome expectations, intrinsic interest / value, learning goal orientation)
2. Performance phase
   1. Self-control (imagery, self-instruction, attention focusing, task strategies)
   2. Self-observation (self-recording, self-experimentation)
3. Self-reflection phase
   1. Self-judgement (self-evaluation, causal attribution)
   2. Self-reaction (self-satisfaction / affect, adaptive, defensive

Briefly, the forethought phase refers to processes and beliefs that occur prior to the efforts to learn. The performance phase refers to processes and beliefs that occur during the efforts to learn. Lastly, the self-reflection phase refers to processes and beliefs that occur after the efforts to learn.
There is a clear distinction between the self-regulation profile of novices compared to that of experts. Novices fail to engage in high-quality forethought. Instead, they attempt to self-regulate their learning in a reactive manner. More specifically, they fail to set specific learning goals for themselves but rather rely on comparison with others to assess their learning effectiveness.

Which methods are there for guiding students to learn on their own?

Although prior research has shown strong support for the importance of students' use of self-regulatory processes, few teachers actually prepare students effectively to learn on their own. For example, students are rarely given choices regarding academic tasks to pursue or methods for carrying out complex assignments. Further, in contrast to a commonly held belief, self-regulation is not asocial in nature and origin. Instead, each self-regulatory process, for instance goal setting, strategy use, or self-evaluation, can be learned via instruction and modeling by others (parents, teachers, coaches, peers). Students that use self-regulatory process often seek out help from others to improve their learning. As such, teaching these self-regulated learning processes is especially relevant in an era where these essential qualities for lifelong learning are distressingly absent.  

What is the basic human ability to delay gratification?

The basis for the modern study of self-control was developed by Walter Mischel, a psychologist now at Columbia University. More than 40 years ago he experimented using the marshmallow test. In this test, Mischel and his colleagues presented a plate of treats (marshmallows) to a preschooler. The child was told that the researcher had to leave the room for a few minutes. The child was given a choice: waiting until the researcher returned would be rewarded with two marshmallow. Yet, if the child couldn't wait, it was told to ring a bell so that the researcher would came back immediately. However, the child would then only receive one marshmallow. This test is used to assess children's self-control. Eventually, the marshmallow test became the groundwork for the development of a framework to explain the human ability to delay gratification.

Mischel proposed the hot-and-cool system to explain why willpower succeeds or fails. Briefly, the cool system is considered cognitive in nature. It is a thinking system, which incorporates knowledge about sensations, feelings, actions, and goals. For instance, one can remind himself why he should not eat the marshmallow. In contrast, the hot system refers to impulsive and emotional aspects. It is responsible for quick, reflexive responsive to certain triggers. The general idea here is that, when willpower fails, this is because exposure to a "hot" stimulus overrides the cool system, hence leading to impulsive actions. Taking everything together, we can thus conclude that willpower can be thought of as a basic ability to delay gratification.

Future research should focus on explaining why some people are more sensitive to emotional triggers and temptations then others, and whether these patterns can be corrected. Recent findings already offer an interesting neurobiological basis for the push and pull mechanism of temptation.

What is the self-determination theory and how is it incorporated in digital games?

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a broad motivational theory that distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and identified three basic psychological needs for well-being. Generally, when people are intrinsically motivated, they engage in an activity because they think the activity in itself is interesting, enjoyable, and congruent with theirselves. Vice versa, when people are extrinsically motivated, they engage in an activity because it is instrumental in the sense that it enables one to obtain rewards or avoid punishment. The three basic psychological needs according to the SDT are: (1) autonomy; (2) competence; (3) relatedness. These three needs are crucical for well-being and psychological growth. In this article, digital games are discussed within the SDT framework.

Which types of response-reinforcement schedules are there, and how are they incorporated in games?

To reinforce a certain behavior, rewards can be provided based on a number of responses or certain time interval. The reinforcements can be provided according to one of two schemes: a fixed ratio schedule or a variable ratio schedule. In a fixed ratio schedule a response will be reinforced after a certain fixed number of responses. This schedule is frequently used in games. For instance, after killing a certain number of monsters (response), one earns to level up (reinforcement). A fixed ratio 1 is a continuous reinforcement (thus each response is reinforced). This is probably the most common type of schedule used in games. Second, a variable ratio schedule reinforces the response after a variable, unpredicted number of responses within a set average response rate. For instance, a child may receive a cookie after four correct answers the first time, yet receives a cookie after three correct answer the second time. Classic examples of the use of a variable ratio schedule are gambling and lottery games. Further, browser games and Facebook also make frequent use of this type of schedule.

Do rewards have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation?

According to SDT, extrinsic motivation refers to doing an activity in order to obtain an outcome that is separable from the activity. In this manner, operant theory principles all are considered under extrinsic motivation. This raises the question whether rewards can have a negative impact on intrinsic motivation. The answer is twofold: yes, rewards can have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation, yet not all rewards are undermining. Basically, their influence on intrinsic motivation depends on which aspect is perceived as being more salient: informational or controlling. The informational aspects of rewards concern their role as performance or competence feedback. The controlling aspects refer to its use primarily for controlling people's behavior. It thus depends which aspect is more salient. If the informational aspect of the reward is salient, it does not negatively influence the intrinsic motivation. If the controlling aspect of the reward is salient, it does negatively impact the intrinsic motivation.

How are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation incorporated in games?

At first glance, one would think that intrinsic motivation is the core element of gaming. Why would someone play a game if he or she does not find it interesting and does not have fun? At second thought, however, we notice that many games included (meta-)rewards, such as achievements, badges, trophies, or level-ups. Game designers might think that it does not really matter whether plays are intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Yet, this does matter. Research suggests that extrinsic motivation in games is related with problem gaming: there is an association between extrinsic motivation and increased playing time, resulting in a lower well-being of players. Yet, as mentioned above, the undermining effect of extrinsic rewards in games depends on whether the reward is perceived as controlling or informational. For instance, feedback (an informational reward) is related to intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation.

How are the three basic psychological needs related to digital gaming?

Recall that the SDT refers to three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy refers to feeling volitional in one's own action and being able to fully endorse them. Competence refers to feeling effective, capable, and optimally challenged. Vice versa, activities that are too easy or too difficult decrease competence. Lastly, relatedness refers to experiencing a sense of belonginess to others. In addition to being important for well-being, autonomy and competence play a key role in intrinsic motivation.

These three basic needs are incorporated in digital gaming. First, choice is an essential element of games. Modern games with open worlds, for example, allow gamers to freely walk around, change worlds, buy products, and so forth. Hence, gamers are offered several opportunities, which enables them to feel autonomous. Second, feedback appears to be a crucial aspect in games. Without feedback, the player is commonly not able to understand the rules and structure of the game worl, how one is performance, and whether the actions have consequences or not. All of this would result in a low sense of efficacy. Thus, feedback is crucially related to competence needs. In addition, feedback is connected with autonomy as well, because the choices one makes may become meaningless without feedback. Another important aspect here is game difficulty. A third important aspect of games is game difficulty. Games should provide an optimal level of challenge to satisfy the player's competence needs. Games that are too easy or too difficult will cause boredom or frustration. Commonly, one can "level up" in games, allowing to adjust for the competence level of the player. Finally, relatedness is included when a game is developed for multiple players or when the game is played in a digital word with other real or victional players.

To conclude, the SDT provides a concise framework to better understand the motivational aspects and fulfillment of the three basic needs in gamer psychology. Game designes may use this knowledge to implement game mechanisms that enable autonomy, competence, and relatedness to enhance the player experience.

What is this article about?

Optimism as a psychological trait has gained an increasing amount of interest from scientists during the past couple of decades. Various studies have shown that optimism is related to important benefits. In this study, a review is presented that summarizes the findings from this body of research.

What are the two main ways in which researchers have defined and operationalized optimism?

Optimism is a psychological trait that influences individuals perceive themselves and their environment, how they process incoming information, and how they decide to act based on that information. Optimism concerns a cognitive, affective, and motivational aspect. Whereas optimists tend to believe that the future will be favorable, pessimists tend to believe that the future will have bad events in store for them. Both optimism and pessimism therefore act as powerful cognitive filters that alter an individuals' perception of the world and influence how the individual reacts and adapts to new situations, in particular challenging and stressful events.

In psychology, a distinction can be made between two main conceptions of optimism as described in the literature: optimistic explanatory style and dispositional optimism.

Optimistic explanatory style

The conceptualization of optimism as an exploratory style was developed by Seligman and colleagues (1991). This conceptualization was inspired by the finding that most humans (and animals) give up and become helpless when they are exposed to uncontrollable stressors. After this, they act helpless even when stressors are controllable again. This phenomenon is called learned helplessness. Individuals who display learned helplessness tend to have a pessimistic explanatory style. They believe negative events are stable and have far reaching consequences ("My life is ruined now"). Often, they blame themselves for the negative events ("It is my fault"). In addition, they commonly do not take credit for positive events ("I was just lucky"). 

Opposite to the pessimistic style is the optimistic explanatory style. This is referred to individuals who never become helpless. They believe negative events are unstable ("Things will go better soon") and specific ("Perhaps this is going less well, but other things are still going well"). Optimists, according to this perspective, acknowledge the presence of bad events, but they consider them in a constructive, non-fatalistic manner.

Dispositional optimism

The second perspective is developed by Schreier and Carver (2009). Here, optimism is based on an expectancy-value model of goal pursuit, which states that individuals pursue goals that are important to them (value) and goals that they feel confident in attaining (expectancy). Optimism and pessimism, then, are considered broad, generalized versions of respectively confidence and doubt pertaining to life, instead of to a specific context.

In contrast to the explanatory style approach in which participants are asked how they interpret certain events, in this perspective, researchers ask participants directly whether they expect events in the future to be positive or negative. As such, this perspective is also known as expectational optimism. It thus measures optimism as the extent to which an individual beliefs future events (rather than past events) will be favourable or unfavourable.

Research about the relationship between these two approaches has been very inconsistent. Some studies reported low correlations, others found a high correlation. These two constructs are believed to be theoretically distinct. Researchers have argued that they should not be considered interchangeable.

What are the benefits of optimism?

Being optimistic has been associated with various beneficial outcomes. In this review, the most interesting findings are highlighted, as a full overview goes beyond the scope of the article. In sum, optimism has been found to be related to:

• Subjective well-being (being happier)
• Health (physically healthier, slower progression of diseases, although there are some mixed findings on this issue)
• Succes (more successful than average, in particular in jobs where one frequently encounters failure, such as selling insurances)
• Social acceptance (other people may like optimists better than pessimists, which has especially impications for politics)

What are the causes of optimism?

Why are some people natural optimists (seeing the glass half full) whereas others cannot help but seeing the glass as half empty? Research has identified various factors that influence the development of optimism, although more research is needed in this area. Common factors are:

• Genetics
• Socio-economic status (lower SES; more pessimistic)

How can optimism be fostered in adults and youth?

Although optimism and pessimism are considered rather stable personality traits, research has shown that cognitive therapy may be beneficial in transforming pessimists into optimists. Cognitive therapy may assist individuals in developing more accurate and constructive explanations for positive and negative events.

What are important areas for future research?

During the past decades, research on optimism has made a substantial contribution to the scientific understanding of this personality trait and its influence on well-being. Additional research, however, is needed. In particular, the authors present some areas of research for the future:

• Continue the search for the biological and brain substrates of optimism. How is optimism formed in childhood and adolescence? How does it develop during life? And via which mechanisms does optimism exert its effects on outcomes such as subjective well-being, health, and success.
• Study the psychological and physiological benefits of adopting a flexible (rather than rigid) optimistic outlook on life. That is, research has shown that being optimistic is a good thing. But common sense tells us that being optimistics may not be the best strategy under all circumstances. For instance, optimists tend to continue gambling after having lost money, more so than pessimists do. Hence, more research could be done toward the value and costs of (unrealistic) optimism.

Year of publication

2017

Which factors influence happiness?

Being happy is one of the most fundamental goals in life. But, how to achieve happiness? Research has shown that changing life circumstances (for instance marital status, career, and income) is not the most successful path to greater happiness. Instead, simple cognitive and behavioral strategies that one can employ in daily life, have been found to improve happiness reliably. The fulfillment of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) appear to be much better predictors of happiness. A large share of happiness may be under people's own control through the activities they choose and how they respond to situations in their life.

Is happiness genetically determined?

Although prior research from twin studies suggested that happiness levels are strongly influenced by genetics, more recent research shows that genetic influences on happiness are far weaker than originally thought. Instead, environmental influences appear to explain a large share of individual differences in happiness. In addition, genetics and environment seem to act in a dynamic process, so even genetic predispositions are not deterministic.

How can differences over time in happiness levels be explained?

While individual differences and environmental influences combined explain a (large) share of the happiness puzzle, there remains a gap in the explained variance. In particular, people's happiness levels have been found to change over time. Yet, research has shown that even substantial changes in people's life circumstances (for instance marriage, divorce, a new job) do not lead to such sustained shifts in happiness. In this book chapter, the authors argue that these observed changes can be explained partly by the deliberate ways people choose to think and behave in their daily lives.

How can well-being be increased?

One way to increase the level of happiness is by means of positive activity interventions (PAIs). PAIs involve simple, self-administered cognitive behavioral strategies. These strategies are developed to mirror the thoughts and behaviors of naturally happy people, and subsequently, improve the happiness of the person performing them. Examples are: writing letters of gratitude, counting one's blessings, practicing optimism, performing acts of kindness, using one's strengths in a new way, affirming one's most important values, and mediating on positive feelings towards self and others. These activities are similar in the sense that they all are relatively brief, self-administered, and non-stigmatizing exercises that promotive positive feelings, thoughts and/or behaviors, rather that directly aiming to fix negative feelings, thoughts, and/or behaviors.

An increasing body of research is showing that happiness-increasing strategies simulate increases in well-being. A popular cited meta-analysis of 51 PAIs showed that positive interventions significantly increase well being (overall mean r = .29) and decrease depressive symptoms (overall mean r = .31).

Now that is has been established that PAIs can increase well-being, current and future research should focus on questions that involve understanding the mechanisms underlying the success of happiness-increasing interventions. In other words, by now we know that they work, but we also would like to know how they work. How, why, what, when, and who is the success of PAIs? Or, in more formal terms, what are the moderators and mediators underlying the efficacy of happiness-boosting strategies? Fortunately, a great body of research has already looked into these underlying mechanisms. In this chapter, an overview is provided of what has already been found, as well as what remains to be examined.

What are the underlying mechanisms of positivity activity interventions (PAIs)?

Mediators of PAIs

According to Lyobomirsky and Layous (in press), prompting people to perform positive activities leads them to have: (1) more positive emotions; (2) positive thoughts; (3) positive behaviors; and (4) greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs. This, in turn, may lead to increased well-being. These four mediators are summarized in a model called the positive activity model. Recent studies provide preliminary evidence for each of the four proposed mediators. Yet, more research is needed to test this model and to further examine the role of these four mediators.

Intervention characteristics

Next, the effectiveness of PAIS is influenced by several features of the intervention, such as their timing, dosage, and variety. Preliminary research has suggested that timing and dosage matter in PAIS, just as they do in for example medication. The length of the intervention may also influence the effectiveness: the longer the intervention, the greater the increase to well-being. The authors predict, in this case, a curvilinear relationship between increases in well-being and the length of the intervention. If the same activity is performed without any variation, people may become bored as some points, and experience less of the initial boost in happiness as they once experienced. Indeed, research has shown that variety in thoughts and behaviors is inherently motivating and rewarding. Hence, variety in positive activity interventions is needed to increase the success of the intervention.

Personal and cultural characteristics

The mediators and moderators that are discussed above, all have shown positive overall effects on increasing well-being. However, there is also research that looked beyond these simple averages, and revealed that PAIS work better for some individuals than others. Two important components of the individual success of PAIs are: the participant's motivation to engage in the target activity, and the participants belief that the activity could work to enhance well-being. A third influential personal characteristic, related to motivation and belief, is effort: people who are willing to put more effort in a positive activity, are more successful that peers who are putting less effort in. A fourth factor is social support (the perceived or actual support one receives from at least one other individual). Social support has been found to have a direct effect on well-being as well as a buffering effect on stress. Fifth, culture matters. The values that are relevant to the culture with which one identifies are likely to influence how the individual performs positive activities and how effective these activities may be. Different cultures conceive happiness in different ways. Yet, few studies have considered culture. Therefore, more research is needed to examine the role of culture on the efficacy of positive activities. Sixth, age matters. It appears that certain age groups benefit more from PAIs that other age groups do. For instance, a meta-analysis has shown that older participants (36-59 years old) benefit more from these positive activities that younger participants (18-35 years old) do. However, there were few studies at the ends of the age range. Recent evidence is emerging that shows that positive activities can benefit youth populations, yet more research into the effectiveness of PAIs for (even younger) children is needed.

Further, research suggests that a certain baseline level of well-being is needed before one is able to benefit from the positive activities. To date, research on how PAIs affect depressed individuals is limited and the results are mixed.  

Lastly, although this has not been widely studied yet, recent studies stress the importance of person-activity fit. This is denoted by the French phrase "à chacun son goût" which means "to each his own taste". In other words, certain positive activities may work better for certain types of people. For instance, highly extraverted people may benefit more from activities that encourage them to interact with other people. Whereas religious individuals may benefit more from activities with a spiritual component. Yet, a recent study has also shown that the most fitting activity employed by users of an iPhone application was not necessarily the most effective one. This suggests that person-activity fit may not be the sole criterion of effectiveness.

How long does the effect of a PAI last?

A six-week PAI is not expected to fuel endless amounts of happiness. But, how long does the effect last? There is no decisive answer to this question. Yet, the authors predict that positive activities, ideally, trigger people to experience an upward spiral of positive emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, which can serve as a catalyst for lasting positive change. This upward trajectory may not be activated right away, and requires sustained practice.

Can one be too happy?

Some studies have shown that a too high degree of happiness (including (hypo)mania), may have maladaptive outcomes. Yet, the authors of this book chapter do not believe that the goal of PAIs is to galvanize an upward trajectory of happiness without limit.

On what core finding is treatment of depression based?

One of the core findings in psychology over the past 20 years is that individuals can choose the way they think and that thinking habits can be changed. This finding has had important implications for the psychological treatments of depression, especially for reactive types.

What is cognitive therapy based on?

One of the most popular interventions of depression is cognitive therapy, proposed by Albert Ellis, Marting Seligman, and Aaron Beck. Cognitive therapy is not only effective for treating depression, but it also helps prevent relapse and reduces drop out rates in therapy.

According to Aaron Beck, cognitive therapy is based on two ideas:

1. Depressed people have a systematic negative bias in their thinking.
2. The way one interprets events allows maintenance of the depression.

In other words, it is not the situation itself, but rather the way one interprets it at a particular moment, that determines one's feelings. This occurs via the ABC model: adverse situations, beliefs and automatic thoughts, and consequences.

There are three aspects that underlie Beck's approach to cognitive therapy:

1. The cognitive triad. This refers to the negative and biased view that one has about himself, his experiences, and the future.
2. Underlying beliefs or silent assumptions. This refers to templates or interpretive rules one has developed from early experiences which give rise to everyday thoughts or cognitions. For instance: "I must get people's approval" or "I must be valued by others or my life has no meaning". When treating depression, it is important to recognize these beliefs and to change them to challenging statements, such as: "My worth as a person does not depend on my achievements. I am worthwhile because I exist". Or, "It is frustrating when things do not go the way I want, but I will get over it. I can accept it, but not necessarily like that life is unfair".
3. Information processing. According to the cognitive model, depressed people make a number of distortions in the way they interpret information. Their information processing style causes passivity and depression. Examples are: arbitrary inferences or loopy conclusions, selective thinking, overgeneralizing, magnifying and catastrophizing, personalizing, and dichotomous (black and white) thinking.

What are the aims of cognitive therapy?

Cognitive therapy has two aims. First, it aims to reduce the frequency and severity of depressive episodes. Second, it aims to address the effects of the illness on one's self-esteem, identity, and relationships. This reduces the vulnerability to psychosocial stressors that are part of everyday life.

How does cognitive therapy work?

Cognitive therapy works as follows:

• Recognize the negative automatic thoughts.
• Dispute the automatic thoughts.
• Develop alternative positive explanations.
• Distraction from negative thoughts.
• Dispute the underlying beliefs.

Why does cognitive therapy work?

And why does cognitive therapy work? First, it provides one a set of skills to overcome depression. It changes negative, pessimistic thinking styles to more optimistic and positive ones. Second, it provides the mind a set of techniques for challenging itself.

What are the two principal features of happiness?

According to the hedonic definition, happiness is comprised of two principal features: an effective part (comprised of frequently experiencing positive emotions, and infrequently experiencing negative emotions), and a cognitive part (reflecting a global sense of life satisfaction). To date, a growing body of research suggests that positive emotions in fact are the hallmark of happiness; they may be the driving factor in successful life outcomes of happy people.

What are positive emotions and how do they influence happiness?

Positive emotions are globally valued and frequently pursued. Whereas negative emotions evoke a narrowed cognitive focus, which may lead to survival-oriented behavior (for instance, escape from danger), positive emotions such as joy, interest, and gratitude, expand the thought-action repertoire of an individual. This broadened mindset encourages creativity, exploration, and resilience. Subsequently, it facilitates the development of personal growth. Indeed, positive emotions may be a critical mediator in the relationship between happiness and positive life outcomes. In this article, the authors argue that positive emotions do more than just feeling good; they may benefit both the individual and the people around that individual.

Research has identified at least twelve positive emotions: joy, love, gratitude, admiration, elevation, awe, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, and inspiration. Each of these is linked to facilitate growth in specific personal areas. They are therefore not all equal. In particular the importance of gratitude has been recognized for centuries. Gratitude is a core component of most religions, among others Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.

Gratitude is a state in which one endorses two facts: (1) one has perceived a positive outcome; and (2) this positive outcome came from an external source. In other words, gratitude refers to the acknowledgement that one's good fortune is attributable to someone or something else. Gratitude can be subdivided into benefit-triggered gratitude ("I am grateful that my parents paid for my education") and general ("I am grateful for my family"). The former is felt in response to a specific action by another person. The latter refers to a broader appreciation for what is important and meaningful in one's life.

Research has suggested that increases four states: connectedness, elevation, humility, and indebtedness / guilt / discomfort. These four in turn may lead to higher levels of self-improvement. First, gratitude increases connectedness: it leads people to feel closer and more connected to others. Second, gratitude also increases elevation: a warm feeling in the chest, a desire to help others and be a better person. Third, gratitude increases humility: the recognition that one has received a positive outcome that one did not necessarily earn. This acknowledgement may make someone feel humble and motivate one to prove that he or she deserves those benefits. Fourth, gratitude is not necessarily a positive emotion. It may also increase specific negative states. Gratitude is commonly felt in a subordinate social position, when one may produce feelings of indebtedness, discomfort, and guilt. Acknowledging another's help may force one to recognize a weakness or need as they realize that their successes are not entirely on their own. Subsequently, one may feel obliged to repay this person. These negative states can be motivating, as they may thus lead to a desire to better themselves and to help others.    

To conclude, prior research has mainly focused on the broader function of positive functions. Yet, new evidence indicates that positive emotions, and in particular gratitude, can motivate people to engage in specific positive behaviors. Moreover, gratitude has been found to be not just a passive emotion, but rather one that can galvanize and individual to put more effort towards self-improvement. This way to self-improvement then occurs via four mediators: connectedness, elevation, humility, and specific negative states (for instance guilt).

What are the purposes of the present study?

To date, the prevalence of obesity and being overweight has increased rapidly. Recent research for instance found that 51.6% of Portugese adults struggle from being overweight of having obesity. Obese is a major health problem, that is associated with various chronic disease risk factors, dysphoric states, and psychological problems. Weight loss is recommended in various intervention programs. Unfortunately, however, research has found that only a small share of the weight loss accomplished in treatment programs is maintained over the long term. That is, only about 20% of the individuals that seek weight loss programs are able to successfully integrate certain activity behaviors into their daily life and achieve long-lasting weight loss. Hence, there is a strong need for research that identifies reliable predictors of successful weight-loss maintenance and to test interventions that specifically promote weight stability after weight loss.

The present study addressed the following two purposes:

1. To present the rationale behind SDT's utility in facilitating and explaining health behavior change, in particular concerning physical activity and exercise during obesity treatment.
2. To describe a 3-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at testing a novel obesity treatment program based on the self-determination theory (SDT).

What is the rationale behind SDT and motivation for changes in health behavior?

Many studies have indicated the crucial role of motivation in adherence to certain healthy behaviors. Motivation concerns the psychological forces or energies that impel a person toward a specific goal. For a long time, motivation was considered unidimensional, hence only allowing variances in amount or quantity. To date, the quality of motivation is stressed more. In the self-determination theory (SDT), developed by Deci and Ryan, a distinction is made between amotivation (lacking any intention to engage in a certain behavior), extrinsic motivation (where the behavior is engaged in order to achieve an outcome that is separable from the behavior itself), and intrinsic motivation (where the behavior is engaged in for the enjoyment and satisfaction inherent in taking part). Within extrinsic motivation, a further distinction can be made between autonomous or self-determined types of behavioral regulation versus controlled or non-self-determined types of behavioral regulation. Motivation then, can be both autonomous to the extent that someone's perceived locus of causality is internal, as well as viewed external, thus having an external perceived locus of causality (people act in a certain way because they feel pressured or compelled to do so).

According to the SDT, there are four types of extrinsic motivation that are placed on a continuum:

1. External regulation: doing something to obtain a reward or to avoid punishment by others.
2. Introjected regulation: an internal feeling of obligation, doing something to avoid feelings of guilt.
3. Identified regulation: doing something based on the value of its consequences (because the outcomes are personally important).
4. Integrated regulation: doing something because it is coherent with the person's other values, personality schemes and sense of self.

Internalization then can be described as movement along this continuum.

According to the SDT, formerly controlled motivation can be internalized and transformed into autonomous motivation, if supportive conditions are met. In particular the three basic psychological needs should be satisfied: autonomy, relatedness, and competence.

Transferring this to the weight control interventions, a successful weight control would occur if someone chooses eating and exercising because he or she personally values weight loss maintenance and its associated health benefits. Current research therefore focuses on the mechanisms that promote such self-determined motivation for healthy behavior. Factors that appear to play a role are: enjoyment, perceptions of competence, and intrinsic reasons for participants. This is summarized in the SDT model for maintained behavior change. In this model, autonomous self-regulation plays a central role. Further, autonomous self-regulation and perceived competence are in turn expected to increase maintained change of the healthy behaviors.

What are the characteristics of the 3-year RCT aimed at testing a novel obesity treatment program based on SDT?

In this section, a randomized controlled trial (SDT) is described, that analyzes 3-year change in health behavior. The RCT consisted of a 1-year behavior change intervention program and a 2-year follow up period without an intervention. The 259 female participants (25-50 years old) were split into two random groups: one intervention group and one control group. The participants in the intervention group attended approximately 30 group sessions during one year. These sessions took about 120 minutes and included educational content where information was provided by physical activity, nutrition, and behavior change specialists. The sessions also consisted of an interactive discussion as well as small group activities. The initial emphasis of the program was on inducing some weight loss. Subsequently, the focus changed to cognitive and behavioral aspects, increasing knowledge, and improving body image. Further, the intervention focused on promoting self-determination. This was done via the following mechanisms:

• Offering a clear rationale to adopt a certain behavior.
• Acknowledging internal conflicts: usual patterns versus a desire to adopt new behavior.
• Providing participants with a variety of options to choose from.
• Promoting competence by practicing skills and increasing knowledge.
• Avoiding the use of external rewards.

The participants in the comparison group received a general health education curriculum, based on various three to six week long educational topics such as preventive nutrition and effective communication skills.

Assessments took place at baseline, 4, 12, 16, 24, and 36 months. A variety of variables were measured: weight (rounded to the nearest 0.1 kg), demographics (such as age, education level, job or occupation), physical activity, diet, and physiological and psychosocial variables.

Currently, the study is ongoing, so there are no outcomes yet. Results from this study are expected to contribute to a better understanding of how motivational features, in particular the ones that relate to physical activity (exercise) influence treatment success during obesity treatment while exploring the utility of SDT in this context.

What is behavioural activation?

This article discusses the theory and rationale behind behavioural activation (a therapy for depression), as well as its evidence base and how to develop a formula that guides the strategy.

In 1973, Ferster developed a model of depression, which was based on the classic learning theory. In this model it is stated that, when people become depressed, many of their daily activities function as avoidance and escape from aversive thoughts, feelings, or situations. Examples of avoidance behaviour of depressed people are:

• Social withdrawal: not answering the phone, avoiding friends.
• Non-social avoidance: not taking on challenging tasks, sitting around the house, spending a lot of time in bed.
• Cognitive avoidance: not thinking about relationship problems, not taking opportunities, not being serious about work or education.
• Avoidance by distraction: gambling, comfort-eating, excessive exercise, watching rubbish on television, playing computer games all day.
• Emotional avoidance: substance abuse.

Behavioural activation is a formal therapy for depression which was introduced by Martell and colleagues in 2001. In behavioural therapy, the focus is on using avoided activities as a guide for activity scheduling. This is done to encourage patients to approach activities that they are usually avoiding. In addition, a contextual functional analysis is performed: a way of identifying antecedents and consequences of a response, used to determine the factors that cause to maintain the depressed mood. In the simpler version, described by Hopko and colleagues (2003), only the activity scheduling is done, thus leaving out the functional analysis. Behavioural activiation, thus, enables patients to refocus their goals and valued directions in life.

What is the structure of behavioural activation therapy?

Generally, the therapy consists of between 12 and 24 sessions. In the first sessions, the rationale behind the therapy is explained to the patient. It is emphasized that depression is regarded as a consequence of avoidance or escape from aversive thought, feelings, or situations, and that this is an entirely understable and natural process. In the next sessions, patients are taught how to analyse the unintended consequences of their way of responding. Their ineffective ways of coping and the consequences thereof are illustrated in consequative circles. Sometimes, an activity log may be kept to determine the individual's pattern of responding and its association with mood changes. Next, all patients should have clearly defined goals in the short, medium, and long term, which are related to their avoidance and escaping behaviour. These goals are then integrated into the activity scheduling and regularly monitored.

The most frequently encountered obstable to implementing behavioural activation concerns the individual's belieds about avoidance. Often, people them themselves that they will engage in a certain activity because they are motivated to do so or they "feel like it". The solution here is that people should always act according to the plan or activity schedule – not according to how they feel at the time. This is something that should be stressed explicitly by the therapist.

In addition to activity scheduling, the therapy usually consists of a contextual function analysis. This analysis is structured according to the ABCDE format.

• A: antecedents or contexts
  • In what situations in the past have you thought that you were worthless?
• B: behaviour and cognitive processes in response
  • What do you do next when you think you are worthless?
  • Does your way of responding include a pattern of avoidance (e.g. staying home, not answering the phone, going to bed and ruminating?
• C: consequences
  • What immediate effect does this activity have?
  • Does it make you feel more comfortable?
  • Does it stop you feeling or thinking something painful?
• D: directions
  • What alternative activities could you choose that are in line with your goals and valued life directions?
• E: effect
  • What effect did the following your goal or valued direction in life have?

In addition to behavioural activation, several complementary approaches are beneficial: exercise and healthy eating, problem-solving therapy (PST), sleep management, counseling, family or couple therapy, compassionate mind training (CMT), mindfulness training, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). All of these can be integrated into behavioural activation.

What are the main advantages of behavioural activation over cognitive behavioural therapy?

When comparing behavioural activation to the traditional cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), two main advantages are: (1) it may be easier to train staff in it, and; (2) it can be used in both in-patient and out-patient clinical settings.