Resilience and Social Cognition: Examining the Role of Positive Biases in Social Information Processing
Date
2022-05
Authors
Tucker, Natalie S.
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Abstract
How people process social information has large impacts on behavior and social outcomes. A significant portion of social information processing research has examined negative attribution biases (i.e., a tendency to interpret ambiguous actions as being motivated by hostility or a desire to hurt). Few studies, however, have examined positive biases, or a tendency of individuals to interpret ambiguous actions as helpful or kind. One particular outcome that may be influenced by positive biases is resilience, such that those with more positive attribution styles may be more adept at coping with adversity. Existing research has linked social support to both attribution biases and resilience, but no study has yet examined the interplay between all three variables. The present study used novel social vignettes to examine attribution bias in a college student sample. Social support significantly mediated the link between positive attribution bias and resilience. Although the current study cannot pinpoint the mechanism driving these relations, positive attribution biases may lead individuals both to develop objectively more supportive social relationships and to perceive greater levels of support within those relationships, even when such support is not necessarily present. These results have implications for potential clinical interventions that promote positive attribution biases, and future research should replicate these findings in larger, longitudinal studies.
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Keywords
resilience, social cognition
Citation
Tucker, N. S. (2022). Resilience and social cognition: Examining the role of positive biases in social information processing (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.