The Reflected Best Self field experiment with adolescent leaders: exploring the psychological resources associated with feedback source and valence
Authors:
Gretchen Spreitzer a;
John Paul Stephens b;
David Sweetman c
| Affiliations: | a Management and Organizations, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA |
| b Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA | |
| c Global Leadership Institute, Department of Management, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA |
DOI:
10.1080/17439760902992340
Publication Frequency:
6 issues per year
Published in:
The Journal of Positive Psychology,
Volume
4,
Issue
5
September
2009
, pages 331
- 348
Subjects:
Attitudes & Persuasion;
Behavioral Medicine;
Career & Lifestyle Development;
Coaching;
Counseling;
Developmental Psychology;
Health Psychology;
Marriage, Family & Sex Therapy;
Multidisciplinary Psychology;
Personal Development;
Personality;
Positive Psychology;
Religion;
Religion & Psychology;
Religion in Context;
Self Help Resources;
Social Psychology;
Work & Organizational Psychology;
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Abstract
This study provides a preliminary examination of the efficacy of the Reflected Best Self Exercise. We conducted a field quasi-experiment with 108 adolescent leaders assigned to a 2
2 design: (1) valence of feedback (i.e., strengths-only versus strengths and improvement-oriented) and (2) source of feedback (i.e., professional (e.g., teachers, coaches, bosses) only versus professional and personal (e.g., friends and family)). By ANOVA, support was found for the hypothesis that feedback from the combination of professional and personal sources is associated with more positive emotional, agentic, and relational resources than feedback from only professional sources. Little support was found for the hypothesis that strengths-based feedback generates more positive emotional, agentic, or relational resources. Limitations, implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.
|
| Keywords: Reflected Best Self; feedback; strengths; positive; self-development; LIWC |
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2 design: (1) valence of feedback (i.e., strengths-only versus strengths and improvement-oriented) and (2) source of feedback (i.e., professional (e.g., teachers, coaches, bosses) only versus professional and personal (e.g., friends and family)). By ANOVA, support was found for the hypothesis that feedback from the combination of professional and personal sources is associated with more positive emotional, agentic, and relational resources than feedback from only professional sources. Little support was found for the hypothesis that strengths-based feedback generates more positive emotional, agentic, or relational resources. Limitations, implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.
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