Abstract Buffering Effects of Grit and Cognitive

ABSTRACT

BUFFERING EFFECTS OF GRIT AND COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL IN THE CONTEXT OF PERCEIVED STRESS

by Katherine Marie Knauft

Grit is a personality trait defined by perseverance and interest in the context of long-term goal pursuit. Grit has been previously associated with success in challenging circumstances (e.g., completing the first summer at West Point Military Academy and making it to the final round of Scripps National Spelling Bee) and psychological well- being. Persistence within these demanding environments, though ultimately rewarding, is likely to be both challenging and stressful. However, the specific relationship between grit and perceived stress remains understudied. Two studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between the facets of grit (Grit-Consistency and Grit- Perseverance) and perceived stress in college-aged adults. Study 1 assessed the association between grit’s facets and perceived stress, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale, within an undergraduate sample. Study 2 sought to expand upon the results of Study 1, testing the moderating role of two emotion regulation strategies—cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression—in the relationship between the facets of grit and perceived stress. Grit-Consistency and Grit-Perseverance were inversely correlated with perceived stress across both studies. However, when simultaneously entered into a regression, neither facet uniquely predicted perceived stress. Study 2 suggested that while both Grit (Perseverance and Consistency) and cognitive reappraisal are independently associated with decreased perceived stress, the facets of grit do not appear to uniquely account for variance in perceived stress. Additionally, cognitive reappraisal was consistently associated with reduced perceived stress over and above grittiness. Together these studies extend literature suggesting that grit may be associated with greater well- being, suggesting that higher levels of grit may buffer perceived stress. However, the use of effective emotion regulation strategy may be key to reducing perceived stress, regardless of grit level.

BUFFERING EFFECTS OF GRIT AND COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL IN THE CONTEXT OF PERCEIVED STRESS

Thesis Report

Submitted to the

Faculty of Miami University

in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of

Master of the Arts

Katherine Marie Knauft

Miami University

Oxford, Ohio

2019

Advisor: Vrinda Kalia, Ph.D.

Reader: April R. Smith, Ph. D.

Reader: Aaron M. Luebbe, Ph. D.

Reader: Karthik Vishwanath, Ph. D.

This thesis report titled

BUFFERING EFFECTS OF GRIT AND COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL IN THE CONTEXT OF PERCEIVED STRESS

Katherine Marie Knauft

has been approved for publication by

The College of Arts and Sciences

and

Department of Psychology

______Vrinda Kalia, Ph.D

______April R. Smith, Ph.D

______Aaron M. Luebbe, Ph.D

______Karthik Vishwanath, Ph.D Table of Contents

List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………....iv Introduction………………………………...……………………………………………...1 Grit…………………………………………………………………………………2 The Link between Grit and Perceived Stress………………………………………3 Study 1…………….……………………………………….……………………………....6 Methods…………………………………….……………...………………………6 Participants………………...………….………….………………...…...... 6 Procedure…………………………………………………………………...6 Measures…………….………………………………...………………...... 6 Grit Scale…………………………………………………………...7 Perceived Stress Scale……………………………………………...7 Results & Discussion……………………..…………...………………….………...7 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations…………………………….……….7 Regression Model Predicting Perceived Stress…………………….……....7 Discussion………………………………………………………….……….7 Study 2…………………………………………………………………………….…….....8 The Moderating Role of Emotion Regulation……………………………...8 Methods…………………………..……………………...……………………...... 10 Participants……………………….……………...……………………...... 10 Procedure…………………………………………...……………………..11 Measures…………………………………………...……………………...11 Emotion Regulation Questionnaire………………………………..11 Analytic Strategy……………………………………...…………………..11 Results & Discussion………………………………………...……………………11 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations……………………………………11 Grit-Consistency Regression Model……………………………………...12 Grit-Perseverance Regression Model……………………………………..12 General Discussion……………………………………...……………………………...... 13 References………………………………………………...………………………………16 Table 1……………………………………………………………..……………………...19 Table 2………………………………………………………………..…………………...20 Table 3…………………………………………………………………..………………...21 Table 4……………………………………………………………………..……………...22 Table 5………………………………………………………………………..…………...23

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List of Tables

Table 1…………………………………………………………………………………...19 Table 2…………………………………………………………………………………...20 Table 3…………………………………………………………………………………...21 Table 4…………………………………………………………………………………...22 Table 5…………………………………………………………………………………...23

Buffering Effects of Grit and Cognitive Reappraisal in the Context of Perceived Stress Grit is a personality trait characterized by enduring interest and persistence in the pursuit of long-term goals (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly, 2007). Grit has been found to predict retention in high-stress environments such as West Point’s Cadet Basic Training (Kelly et al., 2014), suggesting that gritty individuals are able to persist in highly demanding environments. Individuals who persevere through challenging circumstances may encounter more potentially stress-inducing experiences than those who are less gritty. While grit has been linked to goal achievement and greater well-being (Kelly, Matthews, & Bartone, 2014; Strayhorn, 2014; Vainio & Daukantaitė, 2016), associations between grit and stress remain understudied. Only a handful of studies have investigated the relationship between grit and stress (Lee, 2017; O’Neal, 2018; Wong, Anderson, Knorr, Joseph, & Sanchez, 2018), with inconsistent results. However, none of these studies have accounted for the role of emotion regulation strategies in the relations between grit and stress. The habitual use of different emotion regulation strategies may profoundly alter the degree to which a given situation is perceived as stressful, as well as the affective and physiological effects of a demanding environment (Gross, 1998). Therefore, effective emotion regulation may be vital to gaining benefits associated with gritty goal pursuit while mitigating the effects of stress that may be associated with persistence in demanding environments. The proposed series of studies aims to elucidate the relations between grittiness and perceived stress and assess the degree to which emotion regulation strategies moderate the impact of grit on perceived stress. Social cognitive theory suggests that a person’s appraisal of a situation alters subsequent behavior, as well as the contexts in which they are operating (Bandura, 1978). This framework posits that cognitions, behaviors, and environments exert bidirectional influences on each other, meaning that appraisals of a given situation partially determine a person’s behavior within that context. These processes can exert a similar influence on the environments in which individuals choose spend time. Bandura (1978, 1989) proposes several mechanisms through which cognitions and appraisal can influence behavior, including motivation, self-efficacy, and a person’s sense of agency. Self-efficacy is the belief that each individual maintains regarding their ability to exert control over their environment and their circumstances (Bandura, 1989). An individual’s beliefs about their own capability influences the amount of time and energy that they are willing put towards that goal, helping to drive an individual’s actions through cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes (Bandura, 1989). In fact, Bandura (1989) argues that the thoughts and appraisals involved in the setting and maintaining of goals, including beliefs about one’s own agency and self-efficacy, are a primary mechanism through which action and behavior are regulated. Personal beliefs about agency and self-efficacy also influence the environments that individuals seek out (Bandura, 1978). For instance, if a person does not believe that she is a capable rock climber, she will be far less likely to choose to spend her vacation on a weeklong rock climbing excursion. Within this theoretical perspective, individual differences in grit may influence perceived stress through changes in behavior, such as choosing to exert more effort to accomplish a project they are assigned. However, grit may also influence the environments that an individual seeks out based on their beliefs about their goals and abilities. An individual higher in grit may be more likely to persist within a stressful environment, rather than quitting, and seek out more demanding opportunities to accomplish their goals. While both of these choices may increase a person’s likelihood of reaching desired goals, they may also increase that individual’s experience of stress.

Grit Originally proposed by Duckworth and colleagues (2007), the construct of grit is a motivation orientation characterized by long-term passion and persistence in service of one’s goals (Vainio & Daukantaitė, 2016). Since then, grit has been studied both as a non-cognitive predictor of achievement in challenging circumstances (Silvia, Eddington, Beaty, Nusbaum, & Kwapil, 2013; Robertson-Kraft & Duckworth, 2014) and as a trait that may influence well-being (Vainio & Daukantaitė, 2016). Self-reported grit levels have been found to be relatively stable over the course of a year (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009), suggesting that an individual’s level of grit is relatively consistent across time. Grit contains two facets, consistency of interest (Grit- Consistency) and perseverance of effort (Grit-Perseverance; Duckworth et al., 2007). Grit- Consistency is characterized as the ability to maintain focus and passion for a small set of projects over a long period of time. Grit-Perseverance is the tendency to persist despite challenge and failures that impede progress towards a goal (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009). Though commonly combined under the umbrella of grit, a confirmatory factor analysis conducted by Duckworth and Quinn (2009) has suggested that the best model fit was achieved by a model including the two facets (Grit-Perseverance and Consistency) as first-order latent factors which load onto the second order latent factor of grit. Additionally, there is evidence that the two facets of grit have unique associations and should be considered separately (Von Culin, Tsukayama, & Duckworth, 2014; Kalia, Thomas, Osowski, & Drew, 2018; Kalia, Fuesting, & Cody, 2019; Silvia et al., 2013). For instance, in a study of the facets of grit and cardiac activity, Silvia and colleagues (2013) reported that higher Grit-Perseverance was associated with engagement of both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, suggesting greater effort exerted by these participants throughout the task. Grit-Consistency was associated with a decrease in sympathetic activity, suggesting less effort. The authors hypothesized that these divergences in patterns of effort associated with the facets of grit reflect subtle differences in motivational processes assessed by the two facets. While those high in Grit-Perseverance remain motivated despite challenges, those high in Grit-Consistency may be less motivated to exert effort in a task that is not in line with their primary goals (Silvia et al., 2013). In addition to predicting achievement, there is some evidence that grit may be associated with greater well-being. Kleiman and colleagues (2013) presented evidence that elevated grit, in combination with gratitude, was protective against suicidal ideation and associated with enhanced meaning of life. These findings extend positive outcomes associated with grittiness from goal achievement to well-being more generally. Similarly, Salles et al., (2014) reported that high grit in medical residents was associated with protection against burnout and with enhanced psychological well-being when compared to individuals who reported low grit. Together, these studies suggest that grit may be protective against a variety of distressing experiences, including suicidal ideation and burnout. However, these studies did not examine the differential associations between grit’s facets and well-being. More work is needed to examine how Grit- Perseverance and Grit-Consistency may be uniquely associated with well-being. Though grit has typically been characterized as a generally positive and adaptive trait (Kleiman et al., 2013; Salles et al., 2014), there is emerging evidence that grittiness may be associated with maladaptive perseveration in some circumstances (Lucas et al., 2015). Lucas and colleagues (2015) hypothesized that in tasks in which perseveration may impede—rather than aid—goal achievement, grit may be maladaptive. In such cases, it is possible that a gritty person’s appraisal of their own progress or self-efficacy may be overly optimistic, leading them to overextend themselves. The authors tested this hypothesis in a series of experiments using

2 both undergraduate and online community samples. In all administered tasks, the key to success was either skipping unsolvable items or choosing not to continue to play a game that the participants had been losing. Within these tasks, the choice to not persevere in a challenging context was the path to the highest compensation. Therefore, perseveration resulted in the participants losing out on money they could have otherwise earned. Lucas and colleagues reported that not only were gritty participants more likely to spend time on unsolvable items and choose to continue to play a game they were losing, but gritty participants also exerted more effort when losing the game than their less gritty counterparts, despite exerting similar amounts of effort when winning. The implications of these findings are two-fold: there are circumstances in which high levels of grit may result in perseveration that is counterproductive or maladaptive and behavioral differences were associated with grit were primarily observed during circumstances of challenge. However, it is crucial to note that Lucas and colleagues combined the facets of grit into a single construct, potentially clouding differences between Grit- Consistency and Grit-Perseverance. Kalia et al., (2019) extended the findings of Lucas and colleagues (2015) by specifically analyzing the unique effects of Grit-Consistency and Grit-Perseverance on perseveration. The authors found that Grit-Perseverance, but not Grit-Consistency, predicted effort and performance towards solving difficult puzzle. A mediation analysis further suggested that this association between Grit-Perseverance and increased effort was in part explained by a decrease in cognitive flexibility. These results suggest that while gritty individuals persist in difficult circumstances, they may be inflexible in their persistence. Together, Lucas and colleagues (2015) and Kalia and colleagues (2019) provide evidence that grit may not be beneficial in contexts requiring an individual to quit while they are ahead or adapt their behaviors and strategies to changing contexts. Individual differences in the appraisals of challenging or even impossible tasks, as well as perceptions of personal abilities, may explain the persistence and prolonged focus of those high in grit. Lucas and colleagues (2015) suggested that the tendency for gritty individuals to report positive emotions and expectations towards challenges might explain their perseveration during losing conditions. The authors believe that the more positive appraisal of the challenging games allowed the grittier participants to continually exert effort in the face of failure. However, because cognitive beliefs, goals, and appraisals influence an individual’s actions and the environments they choose (Bandura, 1978), this tendency to choose the difficult path may lead individuals high in grit to routinely seek out contexts that are more likely to induce stress. Within these challenging circumstances, it is especially crucial that a person has the resources to cope with these demands if they are to persist. For instance, persistence in the face of failure, as observed by Lucas and colleagues (2015), may lead to the feeling that one cannot cope with the task at hand. Similarly, continued interest in a multi-year project will likely result in the experience of time periods where little to no progress is being made towards a goal. Both of these circumstances could lead to feelings of the inability to adequately succeed within the present context. It could be speculated that some gritty individuals may not have the necessary resources to cope with the stressors they encounter in their goal pursuit. If a person is unable to maintain to cope effectively with these negative thoughts and emotions within these environments, this tendency to persist may lead to elevated perceived stress over time. The Link between Grit and Perceived Stress Though stress is frequently tied to specific contexts or events, the transactional model of stress characterizes stress as a person’s perception that the demands of a given situation exceed

3 their current ability to cope (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983). This conceptualization of perceived stress contains two processes: primary and secondary appraisal (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987). Primary appraisal is understood as a person’s perception of the demands of their current situation. Secondary appraisal is their subsequent conceptualization of the resources and coping options available to help them meet those demands. Lazarus and Folkman suggest that when an individual believes that the demands of a given situation outweigh their ability to cope, that person experiences the changes in affect and physiology associated with stress. Extending this framework, Blascovich (2008) proposed the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat which posits that when an individual appraises that they are prepared to cope with current situational demands, they experience a state of challenge, associated with a more healthy cardiovascular profile. If an individual instead appraises that they did not have appropriate resources to cope with situational demands, they experience a state of threat, which is associated with a less healthy cardiovascular profile (Blascovich, 2008; Tomaka, Blascovich, Kelsey, & Leitten, 1993). Stress is frequently characterized as either chronic or acute. An acute stressor is a single, transient experience that induces feelings of stress. For instance, being stuck in traffic, giving a class presentation, and getting a shot at the doctor’s office are all relatively brief scenarios that may induce a stress response. However, if a person is stuck in gridlocked traffic for hours every day, the stress they experience may become chronic. Chronic stress is repeated, extended exposure to a stress-inducing experience (McEwen, 2007). While acute stress may be beneficial, helping the body adapt to the demands of the present circumstances, chronic stress can negatively impact the body and brain (McEwen, 1998; McEwen, 2004). The body’s stress response can be activated by psychological, in addition to physiological, stressors (Gaab, Rohleder, Nater, & Ehler, 2005; McEwen, 2007). The repeated perception of situational demands exceeding an individual’s ability to cope may result in a state of chronic perceived stress, potentially leading to physical and mental health problems (McEwen, 2004; Cohen, Tyrrell, & Smith, 1993). Repeated exposure to stress has been associated with negative health consequences (Pearlin, Schieman, Fazio, & Meersman, 2005), as well as changes in cognitive processes (Liston, McEwen, & Casey, 2012) and decision making (Schwabe, Tegenthoff, Höffken, & Wolf, 2010). Grit may impact perceived stress in several ways. For instance, grit may be associated with an increased ability to cope within potentially stressful contexts, reducing gritty individual’s experience of stress or threat. In a neuroimaging study of resting-state functional magnetic imaging in children, Myers, Wang, Black, Bugescu, and Hoeft (2016) found that grit was correlated with connectivity in networks associated with the ability to delay gratification and tolerate intermittent rewards, as well as networks associated with cognitive and affective control. The authors particularly implicated connectivity between the ventral striatum and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex. Supplemental data suggested that these associations were similar for both Grit-Consistency and Grit-Perseverance. If individuals high in the facets of grit do indeed demonstrate the ability to effectively tolerate uncertain or intermittent rewards, then they may also be particularly adept at coping with difficult circumstances, significant obstacles or making little progress on a long-term goal. However, if Grit-Consistency or Grit-Perseverance lead an individual to persist in circumstances where they are unable to cope with present challenges, it could be speculated that elevated levels of Grit (Consistency or Perseverance) may result in the experience of stress. The series of studies conducted by Lucas and colleagues (2015) suggest that gritty individuals may

4 persist even in scenarios when persistence is costly. In light of findings from Kalia and colleagues (2019) that cognitive inflexibility partially accounts for the relationship between Grit- Perseverance and continued effort in difficult tasks, individuals who are higher in Grit- Perseverance, in particular, may be especially likely to push through difficulty, but may do so even when persistence is not the path to success. This scenario may be especially stressful if the individual is unable to adequately cope with the negative emotions involved in experiencing setbacks or failures. Only a handful of studies have assessed the relationship between grit and stress (Lee, 2017; Wong et al., 2018). These studies report inconsistent results. Lee (2017) assessed the relations between grit and stress in a sample of 346 students pursuing an associate’s degree in Hong Kong, concluding that both facets of grit predicted a decrease in students’ stress. All students within the sample had previously failed to qualify for acceptance at a four-year university. Lee used path analysis to assess the degree to which Grit-Consistency and Grit- Perseverance predicted academic performance, the perception of academic failure, and stress. Stress over the course of the past month was measured using Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein’s (1983) Perceived Stress Scale. Within the model, both Grit-Perseverance and Grit-Consistency predicted a decrease in perceived stress. Additionally, Grit-Perseverance was positively associated with academic performance. It appears that grit had protective effects for these associate degree students who had previously experienced academic failure. Grit-Perseverance in particular was positively associated with academic performance, suggesting that—even in the context of students who had previously experienced academic failure—the ability to persist despite setbacks was associated with achievement. Additionally, both facets of grit were associated with decreased stress, indicating that the students who endorsed higher levels of Grit-Consistency and Grit- Perseverance also reported less frequently that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope with the things that were asked of them. The author hypothesized that students high in Grit (Consistency and Perseverance) are less likely to appraise situations as stressful—when compared to those low in the facets of grit—because their grittiness act as a psychological resource, allowing them to more effectively cope with challenging environments. This finding is especially important given that these students had recently experienced a failure that directly suggested they were unable to cope with academic demands. However, it is important to note that Lee (2017) found the facets of grit to be inversely correlated with each other, which is surprising given that the factors are generally positively correlated (Duckworth et al., 2007). Overall, these findings are consistent with previous reports that grittiness may be associated with greater psychological well-being (Salles et al., 2014) and provide initial evidence that grit may buffer against perceived stress, even in individual coping with setbacks and failures. However, the finding that grit is associated with reduced stress is not ubiquitous. Wong and colleagues (2018) investigated the association between grit, trait-anxiety, and perceived stress in 36 physicians working in emergency rooms. Wong and colleagues assessed grit as a unitary construct and used the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983) to measure stress over the past month. Using Spearman’s rho, the authors did not observe a significant correlation between grit and perceived stress or between grit and trait-anxiety. The authors did find a significant and positive correlation between perceived stress and trait-anxiety. These results suggest that, when measured as a unitary construct within emergency room physicians, grit was unassociated with either perceived stress or trait-anxiety. Several factors might prevent these results from generalizing to other populations. Importantly, the sample size is very small, which

5 may have interfered with the researcher’s ability to detect the effects in question. Additionally, the focus on a single, high-stress profession may limit the degree to which this pattern of results extends to the general population. Overall, findings from Lee (2017) suggest that grit may be associated with decreased stress in academic settings, while Wong et al., (2018) found that the two constructs were unrelated within physicians working in emergency rooms. However, the studies examined the constructs within distinct populations, specifically college students and working adults. Wong and colleagues focused on emergency room physicians. The authors hypothesized that stress would likely be particularly high within this sample, thus, necessitating inquiry into traits that may buffer stress. Similarly, Lee argued that college students, especially those who perceive that they are failing academically, experience high levels of stress. However, it is important to note that within this sample both the perception of failure and the perception that situational demands outweigh an individual’s coping mechanisms may be driven by academic ability. For instance, the perception of failure and stress may both be accounted for by poor study habits or a lack of institutional support. To test the effects of grit with the specific context of academic failure, Lee recruited college students who had been unable to qualify for a four year degree. Both studies focused on the relationship between grit and perceived stress within samples of individuals who may be predisposed to chronically perceive their circumstances as stressful. More research is necessary to determine the degree to which these findings are replicable and generalizable within samples that are not predisposed to high job stress or academic failure. In order to better elucidate the relations between Grit (Perseverance and Consistency) and perceived stress, two studies are presented. In the first study, relations between the facets of grit and perceived stress are explored within a sample of undergraduate college students. In the second study, I seek to investigate the moderating role of two emotion regulation strategies— cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression—within the relationship between the facets of grit and perceived stress. Study 1 As previous research on the relation between grit and perceived stress has focused on specific, high-stress populations and obtained mixed results (Lee, 2017; Wong et al., 2018), we sought to investigate the association between grit and perceived stress in a sample of undergraduate college students. Study 1 will assess the correlations between both facets of grit and perceived stress. Given the findings of Lee, we hypothesized that both facets of grit will be inversely associated with perceived stress. Methods Participants Undergraduate students (N = 101; Female = 72; Mage = 19.08) were recruited from Miami University’s undergraduate subject pool to participate in the study for partial course credit. The majority of participants (75.2%) identified as White. The remaining participants identified as Asian (12.9%), African American or Black (5%), Biracial (3%), Hispanic (2%), or Native American (2%). Procedure Following informed consent, participants completed a series of questionnaires and cognitive tasks as part of a larger study. Total participation lasted approximately 45 minutes and participants were compensated one research credit. All study procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board. Measures

Grit Scale. The Grit Scale (Duckworth et al., 2007) contains 12 items which are measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from not like me at all to very much like me. As recommended by Duckworth and Quinn (2009) we dropped four items, which have been found to have low factor loadings, from the scale and split the remaining items into two subscales: Consistency of Interest (Grit-Consistency) and Perseverance of Effort (Grit-Perseverance). Grit- Perseverance was measured by items such as setbacks don’t discourage me, while Grit- Consistency was measured by items such as my interests change from year to year, which would be reverse coded. Adequate reliability was demonstrated by both the Grit-Perseverance subscale (α = .70) and the Grit-Consistency subscale (α = .68). Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The PSS (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983) is a ten question scale aimed at assessing the balance between an individual’s perceived demands and perceived resources to cope with those demands over the past month (e.g., In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things you had to do?). Responses are measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from never to very often. This scale focuses on the domain-general experience of one’s daily life as unpredictable, uncontrollable, or overwhelming. Cohen and colleagues (1983) report that scores on the PSS are predictive of health outcomes over the four to eight weeks following survey administration, after which the predictive power of the scale is greatly reduced. The PSS demonstrated good reliability (α = .85) within the present sample. Results & Discussion Descriptive Statistics and Correlations All scales had skew and kurtosis coefficients less than one. PSS contained a single outlier that was greater than two and a half standard deviations from the mean. Removal of this outlier from the analyses strengthened the magnitude, but did not alter the directionality of the observed relations. Therefore, the present results will be presented with the outlier included. Within the present study, Grit-Perseverance and Grit-Consistency were significantly and positively correlated (r(101) = .45). Both Grit-Perseverance (r(101) = -. 24) and Grit- Consistency (r(101) = -.25) were negatively correlated with perceived stress, suggesting individuals who highly endorse either facet of grit are less likely than those low in grit to also report that they have frequently felt that they were unable to effectively cope with the demands of their lives over the past four weeks. Regression Model Predicting Perceived Stress Next, Grit-Consistency and Grit-Perseverance were simultaneously entered into a regression model predicting perceived stress. The overall model significantly accounted for eight percent of the variance in perceived stress, F(2, 98) = 4.26, p = .017. However, neither Grit- Consistency nor Grit-Perseverance emerged as a unique predictor of perceived stress within this model. These findings suggest that while both Grit-Consistency and Grit-Perseverance are negatively associated with perceived stress, the two facets do not appear to be differentially associated with perceived stress. Discussion In line with the findings of Lee (2017), the present results suggest that there is a negative association between the personality trait grit and the recent experience of perceived stress. These findings add to literature suggesting that a gritty personality may be associated with adaptive psychological outcomes (Salles et al., 2014; Kleimen et al., 2013). Specifically, individuals higher in either facet of grit appeared to be less likely to feel that they had been overwhelmed or unable to cope with recent life events. It is important to note that despite significant associations

7 between the facets of grit and perceived stress, the present study did not find a predictive relationship between grit’s facets and perceived stress unlike Lee, who did find a significant predictive relationship within students who recently experienced academic failure. Additionally, this potential buffering effect of grit on perceived stress was not present in physicians working in emergency rooms (Wong et al., 2018). It could be speculated that these differences in the associative and predictive relationships between grit and perceived stress may differ depending on contextual differences, such as the experience of failure. Counter to previous findings (Silvia et al., 2013; Kalia et al., 2018; Von Culin et al., 2014), the two facets do not appear to account for unique variance in perceived stress. More work is needed to explore the nature of the association between the facets of grit and the experience of perceived stress, as well as the contexts and individual differences that might alter the association. Given work by Myers and colleagues (2016) who observed greater functional connectivity in brain networks associated with tolerance of intermittent rewards, delayed gratification, and affective control the regulation of emotions is one domain that may play a significant role in the association between grit and perceived stress. Particularly, if Grit (Perseverance and Consistency) is associated with greater tolerance of intermittent reward and affective control, those high in grit who frequently use adaptive emotion regulation strategies may be better able to cope with challenges associated with the experience of intermittent rewards and experience less perceived stress when compared to gritty individuals who use less adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Study 2 The Moderating Role of Emotion Regulation Psychological stress is associated with the experience of negative emotions (Feldman, Cohen, Hamrick, & Lepore, 2004). Though emotions can serve adaptive functions (Keltner & Gross, 1999), the ability to effectively regulate unwanted or excessive emotional responses has been associated with greater well-being and interpersonal functioning (John & Gross, 2004). The process model of emotion regulation proposed by James Gross (1998) suggests that emotion regulation can occur at several points in the emotion generation process. For example, a student with stage fright could choose to build sets for a school play, rather than auditioning to act in a primary role, thus selecting a situation that is less likely to elicit anxiety. This strategy of situation selection is one of the earliest ways that an individual can regulate their emotions. Alternatively, if the student was assigned an acting role and started to feel anxious on stage, they could control their face and body to regulate behavioral indicators of that anxiety. However, this strategy of expressive suppression is used much later in the process of emotion generation and experience. Two frequently cited emotion regulation strategies are cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression (John & Gross, 2004; Gross, Richards, & John, 1994; McRae et al., 2012). Cognitive reappraisal is a strategy that is deployed early in the emotion generation process to alter the meaning of an emotion-inducing stimulus or context to reduce the felt emotion. For instance, a person watching a scary movie might remind themselves that the ghosts are special effects in an attempt to reduce the fear that they are feeling. Studies of cognitive reappraisal suggest that it is an effective strategy for reducing physiological arousal associated with an emotion, as well as subjective emotional experience (John & Gross, 2004; Gross, 2016). Overall, habitual use of cognitive reappraisal to regulate unwanted emotion appears to be positively associated with the experience of positive emotion, interpersonal functioning, and overall subjective well-being (Gross & John, 2003).

In contrast, expressive suppression is an emotion regulation strategy that has been associated with less adaptive affective, cognitive, and interpersonal outcomes (Gross, 2016). Expressive suppression is a strategy that is used after an emotion is being fully experienced to hide behavioral indicators of that emotion. For example, someone using expressive suppression to hide sadness would make sure not to frown or cry. Although the use of expressive suppression may be useful or even necessary in some contexts, frequent use of expressive suppression has been associated with greater experience of negative emotion, a decrease in emotional support, and lower ratings of subjective well-being (Gross & John, 2003). Additionally, Gross and John (2003) note that habitual use of expressive suppression could create a sense of inauthenticity, given the discrepancy between an individual’s internal emotional experience and external emotional expressions. The use of cognitive reappraisal may be particularly useful for coping with situations that may elicit perceived stress. Cohen and colleagues (1983) emphasize role of appraisals of demands and resources within perceptions of stress. Cognitive reappraisal focuses on reframing emotion-eliciting stimuli, such as a highly demanding environment, to reduce negative emotions, suggesting that cognitive reappraisal may be a particularly effective strategy for coping with circumstances that may elicit feelings that an environment is overwhelming or unmanageable. In fact, the manner in which negative life events are appraised appears to play a substantial role in the cardiovascular and hormonal stress response. Blascovich (2008) reports differences in the cardiovascular profile of individuals perceiving an event as a challenge (i.e., resources outweigh demands) as opposed to a threat (i.e., demands outweigh resources). Similarly, Gaab and colleagues (2005) reported that the appraisal of a stressful circumstance explained 35% of the variance in cortisol response in men. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is associated with the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and is responsible for some of the physiological and cognitive aspects of the stress response (Wolkowitz, Burke, Epel, & Reus, 2009; Schwabe & Wolf, 2011). Therefore, if an individual is able to cognitively reframe a stressful experience as a challenge, the use cognitive reappraisal under stressful circumstances could reduce a person’s subjective and physiological experience of stress. Together, this evidence suggests that cognitive reappraisal may be an important skill for individuals pursuing goals that would require persistence within potentially stressful circumstances. Expressive suppression is less likely to effectively buffer perceived stress and may even exacerbate it (Butler et al., 2003; Richards, Butler, & Gross, 2003). Because expressive suppression is a reactive emotion regulation strategy that is engaged after an emotion is being experienced and focused on emotional expression rather than emotional experience (Gross, 1998), it is unlikely to buffer unwanted negative emotions associated with overwhelming or taxing circumstances. Additionally, expressive suppression requires cognitive resources to engage in the self-monitoring and behavioral control necessary to hide physical signs of the felt emotion, which can result in heightened memory of emotions (Richards et al., 2003). In emotional social interactions with romantic partners, Richards and colleagues (2003) found that the use of suppression decreased the suppressors’ memory of the conversation, but increased their memory for their own emotions. These results suggest that the use of expressive suppression and the self-monitoring it requires may make one’s own emotions more salient. Additionally, a study conducted by Butler and colleagues (2003) reported that the use of expressive suppression in an emotional conversation between strangers lead to increased blood pressure in both conversational participants, suggesting greater physiological arousal. Therefore,

9 the use of expressive suppression to regulate emotions associated with perceived stress is unlikely to reduce the perception of stress and may even increase it. In addition to potentially modulating the experience of stress, habitual use of emotion regulation strategies may moderate effects of grit. For instance, a study conducted by in an online community sample found evidence that Grit-Consistency buffered against disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, but only at average to low levels of expressive suppression. For individuals who endorsed elevated use of expressive suppression, high Grit-Consistency no longer buffered against disordered eating. In other words, the benefits of Grit-Consistency were contingent on average to minimal use of expressive suppression. This study provides preliminary evidence for the interactive effects of grittiness and emotion regulation strategy. It is likely that in some circumstances, grittiness may require effective emotion regulation in order to confer benefits. For instance, an individual who is working on a multi-year project will likely be tempted to experience frustration and despair if they are unable to make adequate progress towards their goal during their third year of work. A gritty individual who is able to reappraise those negative emotions may be better able to cope with the negative emotions, potentially resulting in less psychological stress associated with their lack of progress. Moreover, given that grittiness is specifically associated with achievement in challenging and demanding circumstances (Duckworth et al., 2007; Kelly et al., 2014), in the absence of effective emotion regulation high levels of persistence in challenging contexts may lead to experiences of stress. The present study aims to investigate the moderating roles of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression within the relation between the facets of grit and perceived stress. I predict that Study 2 will replicate the association observed in Study 1, such that higher levels of Grit-Perseverance and Grit-Consistency will be associated with lower levels of reported perceived stress. Previous research has suggested that the use of particular emotion regulation strategies may be a key moderator of the effects of grit in some contexts (Knauft et al., 2019). Within the context of perceived stress, emotion regulation strategies may be especially important, such that individuals high in Grit-Consistency or Grit-Perseverance may frequently find themselves in challenging circumstances or contexts in which rewards are intermittent or absent. Therefore, the inverse relationship between grit’s facets and perceived stress may be influenced by one’s ability to effectively regulate the negative emotions associated with challenging or unrewarding environments. I hypothesize that the relations between Grit (Consistency and Perseverance) and perceived stress will be moderated by cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Specifically, I hypothesize that Grit-Consistency and Grit- Perseverance will predict decreased perceived stress at high levels of cognitive reappraisal use, but will be unassociated with perceived stress at low levels of cognitive reappraisal use. Additionally, I predict that both Grit-Consistency and Grit-Perseverance will predict increased perceived stress as the use of expressive suppression increases. Based on the findings of Gross and John (2003), I do not expect that cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression will interact. Methods Participants Undergraduate students (N = 114; Female = 67) were recruited from Miami University’s subject pool as part of a larger study and given one research credit for their participation. However, a post-hoc Monte Carlo simulation performed in Mplus (Muthén & Muthén (1998- 2011) suggested that, given the current sample size and the size of the correlations between predictor variables, the present analyses may have lacked appropriate power to detect the two-

10 way interactions. We attempted to recruit approximately equal numbers of male and female participants. Participant age ranged from 18 to 25 (Mean = 19.32, SD = 1.35). The majority of participants identified as White (71.1%) with the remaining participants identified as Asian (18.4%), Hispanic (2.6%), African-American (1.8%), Biracial (1.8%), or a race or ethnicity not listed (4.4%). Procedure Undergraduates were recruited to participate in the study through Miami University’s research subject pool. Following informed consent, participants completed measures assessing grit, perceived stress, and habitual emotion regulation strategy use, in addition to demographics. Participation took approximately 45 minutes and participants were compensated one research credit. All study procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board. Measures Measures of grit and perceived stress were identical to those in Study 1. Within Study 2, the reliability for Grit-Consistency (α = .74) was acceptable and the reliability for perceived stress was good (α = .85). The reliability for Grit-Perseverance was low (α = .60). Removal of the item setbacks don’t discourage me improved reliability to acceptable ranges (α = .70). To account for the effect of this item on reliability, analyses were run with Grit-Perseverance with and without the item setbacks don’t discourage me. Given the conceptual importance of this item to the subscale measuring Grit-Perseverance, results with this item included within the subscale are reported. However, when the Grit-Perseverance model was run with and without the item setbacks do not discourage me neither the significance nor the directionality of the associations of the variables of interest were altered. Within Study 2, The PSS (Cohen et al., 1983) demonstrated good reliability (α = .85). Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). The ERQ (Gross & John, 2003) consists of 10 items which are measured on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The scale assesses participants use of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal (e.g., I control my emotions by changing the way I think about the situation I’m in; α = .72) and expressive suppression (e.g., I control my emotions by not expressing them; α = .75). The scores for the two subscales were added separately. A confirmatory factor analysis has previously suggested that two subscales were best represented as independent factors (Gross & John, 2003). The factor structure of the scale was not found to differ between male and female participants. Analytic Strategy To test the hypotheses, two moderation models were run using hierarchical multiple linear regression. Both models will include a facet of grit as a predictor and emotion regulation strategies as moderators. Given that the facets of grit are correlated, the other facet of grit will be added as a control to both models. Alpha levels will be set to 0.05. Results & Discussion Descriptive Statistics and Correlations All scales had skew and kurtosis coefficients less than the absolute values of 1. No data was missing from the variables of interest. The scales contained no outliers three standard deviations or more away from the mean. As expected, Grit-Consistency and Grit-Perseverance were positively correlated, (r(114) = . 29). Consistent with the findings of Study 1, both Grit-Consistency, (r(114) = -. 24), and Grit- Perseverance, (r(114) = -.31), were negatively correlated with perceived stress. Cognitive reappraisal was similarly negatively correlated with perceived stress, (r(114) = -.29), but

11 expressive suppression was not significantly related to perceived stress, (r(114) = .11). Given that expressive suppression was uncorrelated with perceived stress, moderation effects of expressive suppression were not specifically investigated. However, expressive suppression will be added to all models as a control. Grit-Consistency Regression Model To test the moderating role of cognitive reappraisal in the relation between Grit- Consistency and perceived stress, a hierarchical multiple regression model were run. Since Grit- Perseverance was correlated with Grit-Consistency, it was added as a control variable along with expressive suppression in Step 1 of the model. In Step 2 Grit-Consistency, as the predictor, and cognitive reappraisal, as the moderator, were added. Step 3 included the interaction between Grit-Consistency and cognitive reappraisal. All relevant variables were centered. The model, significantly accounted for 17% of the variance in perceived stress (F(5, 108) = 4.37, p = .001). However, the additions of the two-way interactions between Grit-Consistency and cognitive reappraisal within this model did not significantly account for any additional variance above the main effects and control variables (F Change(1, 108) = 0.196, p = .659). Within the final model, cognitive reappraisal (B = -0.10, SE = 0.04, t = -2.47, p = .015) was the only variable to emerge as a significant predictor of perceived stress. Grit-Perseverance Regression Model To test the moderating role of cognitive reappraisal in the relation between Grit- Perseverance and perceived stress, a hierarchical multiple regression model were run. Grit- Consistency and expressive suppression were controlled for in Step 1. In Step 2 Grit- Perseverance, as the predictor, and cognitive reappraisal, as the moderator, were added. Step 3 included the interaction between Grit-Perseverance and cognitive reappraisal. All relevant variables were centered. The model accounted for 18% of the variance in perceived stress scores. (F(5, 108) = 4.59, p = .001). The addition of Step 3, containing the interaction between Grit-Perseverance and cognitive reappraisal did not account for significantly more variance than the model containing only the main effects and the control variables (F Change(1, 108) = 1.13, p = .290). Within the final model, including both main effects and interactions, only cognitive reappraisal (B = -0.10, SE = 0.04, t = -2.39, p = .019) emerged as a significant predictor of perceived stress. Consistent with Study 1, the correlations provide support for the notion that the facets of grit are negatively correlated with perceived stress. However, within the regression models controlling for the other facet of grit and expressive suppression, neither facet of grit emerged as a significant predictor of perceived stress. As in Study 1, this suggests that while the facets of grit may be protective against perceived stress, the facets do not seem to be uniquely associated with perceived stress within this context. Neither cognitive reappraisal nor expressive suppression moderated this relation. Instead, expressive suppression appears unrelated to perceived stress. Cognitive reappraisal buffered against perceived stress in both the Grit- Consistency and Grit-Perseverance models, but did not moderate the relationship between either facet of grit and perceived stress. Therefore, while both grit and cognitive reappraisal appear to impact perceptions of stress, these effects appear to be independent of one another. The present results suggest that both facets of grit and cognitive reappraisal buffer against the perception that the demands of one’s life consistently outweigh one’s ability to cope. However, the effects of grit and cognitive reappraisal appear to be additive, rather than interactive, suggesting that the inverse relationship between perceived stress and grit is not contingent on emotion regulation strategies.

General Discussion Grit-Consistency and Grit-Perseverance have been previously associated with positive outcomes in the domains of goal achievement (Duckworth et al., 2007) and well-being (Kleiman et al., 2013). However, previous investigations of the associations between grit and perceived stress has been sparse and the findings have been inconsistent (Lee, 2017; Wong et al., 2018; Kannangara et al., 2018). To address this gap in the literature, two studies were conducted investigating the associations between Grit (Consistency and Perseverance) and perceived stress. The results of the present series of studies are consistent with the findings of Lee (2017). Counter to observations by Wong and colleagues (2018), across both studies both facets of grit were inversely associated with perceived stress, suggesting that those with the ability to sustain both interest and effort over time were less likely to report that they consistently found their environment to be overwhelming or uncontrollable than those who endorsed low levels of grit. The observed associations may be the result of greater positive emotions towards challenging contexts (Lucas et al., 2015) or potentially an enhanced sense of self-efficacy, which could lead to the feeling that challenges are more manageable or one is better able to cope. The process of working towards a superordinate goal may also contribute to the buffering of stress associated with grit’s facets. McKnight and Kashdan (2009) have observed that working towards a purpose or life goal leads to increases in well-being. Our findings provide some support for this argument, such that the tendency towards long-term interest in a particular superordinate goal (i.e., Grit-Consistency) appeared to be related to lower levels of stress within our participants. The negative correlations between grit’s facets and perceived stress observed across Study 1 and Study 2 are consistent with the findings of Lee (2017). Lee observed that both facets of grit were inversely associated with stress in students who had recently experienced academic failure. These results provide support for the argument proposed by Credé (2018) that grittiness may be a valuable trait specifically in situations of significant challenge and adversity. However, it is important to note that Wong and colleagues (2018) observed no association between grit and perceived stress in the assessment of physicians working in emergency rooms—a profession likely associated with stressful and challenging circumstances. While these findings are inconsistent with the present results, it is possible that the benefits of grittiness emerge in some contexts, such as when coping with failure, but may not be ubiquitous. Further investigation of the generalizability of the present findings is warranted. Though grit’s facets were both associated with perceived stress, differential relations between the facets of grit and perceived stress did not emerge. In the domain of perceived stress, the specific facet of grit which an individual endorses does not appear to be as important as the degree to that they endorse at least one of the facets of grit. This means that both the individual who is able to persist through failure and the individual who is able to pursue a single project over the course of years appear to reap similar benefits when it comes to their appraisals of their ability to cope with the demands of their environment. This finding is surprising in light of previous observations by Kalia and colleagues (2018) and Silvia et al. (2013), which have suggested that the two factors differ in their associations with cognitive and physiological outcomes. For instance, Kalia and colleagues reported that Grit-Perseverance, but not Consistency, was associated with a decreased attentional alerting effect. Additionally, Silvia and colleagues observed that Grit-Perseverance was associated with an increase in sympathetic and parasympathetic activity during a coping task, while Grit-Consistency was associated with decreased sympathetic activity. More work on the physiological and attentional correlates of grit is needed before conclusions can be drawn.

Though the facets of grit did not emerge as unique predictors within the present models, the negative associations between the facets of grit and perceived stress observed in the present studies are consistent with the findings of Lee (2017). The associations between grit and neural networks implicated in tolerance of intermittent rewards and affective control observed by Myers and colleagues (2015) may help to further explain the similar effects of both of grit’s facets on perceived stress. It could be speculated that both long-term interest in a small set of goals (i.e., Grit-Consistency) and the continual persistence in a task despite obstacles (i.e., Grit- Perseverance) require an individual to tolerate and cope with uncertainty to achieve a goal. Therefore, both Grit-Perseverance and Grit-Consistency could aid an individual in acquiring skills necessary to cope with the potential stressors associated with challenges. Study 2 demonstrated that the emotion regulation strategies of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression do not moderate the relation between the facets of grit and perceived stress. Instead, cognitive reappraisal appears to independently buffer perceived stress, while expressive suppression had no effect on perceived stress. These results contradict this study’s hypotheses and appear to suggest that cognitive reappraisal, over and above the effects of the facets of grit and expressive suppression, appears to be most strongly associated with perceived stress within this sample. Cognitive reappraisal was inversely related to perceived stress, suggesting that individuals who habitually use cognitive reappraisal to regulate emotions are also less likely to report that they have felt stressed and overwhelmed over the past four weeks. This finding adds to the literature suggesting that cognitive reappraisal is associated with adaptive outcomes, such as enhanced well-being (Gross & John, 2003). However, unlike the patterns observed in Knauft et al. (2019), it appears that within Study 2 the effects of the facets of grit are independent of the use of a particular emotion regulation strategy. The hypothesis that emotion regulation strategy would moderate the relationships between grit’s facets and perceived stress was not supported by these results. Instead, cognitive reappraisal buffered stress independent of levels of grit. The observed relationship between cognitive reappraisal and perceived stress is consistent with the argument by Lee (2017) that the appraisal of a demanding or aversive circumstance—in this case academic failure—is a stronger predictor of the resulting stress than the event itself. If individuals using cognitive reappraisal are able to adequately reframe failure, adversity, or feelings of fruitlessness during goal pursuit, the experience of cognitive reappraisal may well be the key determinant of that individual’s perception of stress. Future work should investigate the relations between the facets of grit and other aspects of emotion and coping which might explain the associations between elevated grit and decreased perceived stress. Limitations and Conclusion Conclusions based on the present findings must be considered in light of key limitations. All data presented here were self-reported and collected cross-sectionally. Therefore, conclusions regarding directionality and causality are beyond the scope of the current discussion. Though both the measures of Grit (Consistency and Perseverance) and the emotion regulation strategies are intended to assess stable, trait-level tendencies and perceived stress measures perceptions of stress over only the past four weeks, it is possible that participant’s current experiences of perceived stress might have influenced their ratings of their own grit or emotion regulation. Future studies should examine the effects of grit and the effects of emotion regulation strategies on perceived stress within longitudinal or experimental settings to better understand the direction of the relationship between the variables. It is also of note that the limited power of Study 2 may have reduced our ability to detect the interaction effects. Replication within a larger sample

14 would strengthen our confidence in the observations that the effects of Grit (Consistency and Perseverance) and cognitive reappraisal on perceived stress are independent. Despite these limitations, the present study provides additional insight into the role of grit as a personality trait and habitual use of cognitive reappraisal in the perceptions of recent stress in undergraduate students. It appears that individuals who are higher in either facet of grit and individuals who habitually use cognitive reappraisal to regulate their emotions report relatively lower levels of perceived stress than individuals lower in grit or the use of cognitive reappraisal. These effects on stress are additive, suggesting the relationship between grit and perceived stress is independent of emotion regulation strategy use. In other words, grit appears to be protective whether or not an individual is using effective emotion regulation strategies. Given the ubiquity of stress within modern life, the potential protective effects of grit and cognitive reappraisal merit further inquiry. Future research should work to elucidate the mechanisms through which grit may buffer perceived stress.

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Table 1 Study 1 descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations for facets of grit and perceived stress 1. 2. 3. 1. Grit-Consistency - 2. Grit-Perseverance .45*** - 3. Perceived Stress -.25* -.24* - Mean 2.89 3.84 2.81 Standard Deviation 0.71 0.64 0.58 Note. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Table 2 Study 1 regression model of Grit-Perseverance and Grit-Consistency predicting perceived stress R2 = .08* B β SE Grit-Consistency -.14 -.18 .09 Grit-Perseverance -.14 -.16 .10 Note. All p-values > .05

Table 3 Study 2 descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations for facets of grit, emotion regulation strategies, and perceived stress 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. Grit-Consistency - 2. Grit-Perseverance .29** - 3. Cognitive Reappraisal .09 .26** - 4. Expressive Suppression -.12 -.20* -.22* - 5. Perceived Stress -.24** -.31** -.29** .11 - Mean 2.77 3.68 6.70 5.16 1.97 Standard Deviation 0.85 0.65 1.44 1.98 0.62 Note. *p < .05, **p < .01.

Table 4 Study 2 moderation model with perceived stress regressed on Grit-Consistency, cognitive reappraisal, and their interaction, controlling for Grit-Perseverance and expressive suppression Final Model R2= .17**; ΔR2= .002 B β SE Step 1 Grit-Perseverance -.19* -.20 .09 Expressive Suppression .00 .00 .03 Step 2 Grit-Consistency -.12 -.17 .07 Cognitive Reappraisal -.10* -.23 .04 Step 3 Cognitive Reappraisal X Grit-Consistency -.02 -.04 .04 Note. *p<.05, **p<.01.

Table 5 Study 2 moderation model with perceived stress regressed onto Grit-Perseverance, cognitive reappraisal, and their interaction, controlling for Grit-Consistency and expressive suppression Final Model R2= .18**; ΔR2= .01 B β SE Step 1 Grit-Consistency -.13 -.17 .07 Expressive Suppression .01 .02 .03 Step 2 Grit-Perseverance -.18 -.19 .09 Cognitive Reappraisal -.10* -.22 .04 Step 3 Cognitive Reappraisal X Grit-Perseverance -.07 -.10 .06 Note. *p < .05, ** p < .01.