Study Goodhart (1985): study US 1983

Public

Students in stress, followed 8 weeks, Illinois, USA, 1983

Sample

Respondents

N = 173

Non Response

1.7% dropout

Assessment

Questionnaire: Paper & Pencil Interview (PAPI)
Questionnaire administered in class. T1: pretest, T2: post- test; after 8 weeks.

Correlate

Authors's Label

Positive thinking

Our Classification

Operationalization

Ss were invited to think of a stressful event in the recent past and then completed a 46-item event-outcome- appraisal questionnaire (Goodhart 1981); 20 items in this questionnaire described positive outcomes.
Typical items are:
Self-relevant items:
1. I developed greater trust in my
   judgments of situations or people.
2. I modified personal or career goals
   to more closely match my true
   interests, abilities or values.
3. By coping with events, I gained
   confidence in my ability to handle
   other difficulties.
Externally relevant items:
1. I learned to consider others' advice
   when planning career or personal
   development goals.
2. I discovered I could rely on others
   for help in getting through
   difficulties.
3. Others became more sympathetic
   toward my situation or difficulties.
Positive thinking assessed at T1.

Observed Relation with Happiness