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 by 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. ©2019 Katherine Marie Knauft This thesis report titled BUFFERING EFFECTS OF GRIT AND COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL IN THE CONTEXT OF PERCEIVED STRESS by 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 iii List of Tables Table 1…………………………………………………………………………………...19 Table 2…………………………………………………………………………………...20 Table 3…………………………………………………………………………………...21 Table 4…………………………………………………………………………………...22 Table 5…………………………………………………………………………………...23 iv 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. 1 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