Cognitive Restructuring Interventions to Transform the "Lying Flat" Mindset and Promote Positive Emotions in College Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53469/jssh.2024.6(11).24Keywords:
Lyingflat psychological phenomenon, Cognitive restructuring, Positive emotions, Experimental control, Psychological interventionsAbstract
With the popularisation of higher education and the expansion of the young student population, the mental health of university students has received increasing attention from all sectors of society. Among them, the newly popular phenomenon of "lying flat", i.e., the behavioural attitudes of university students that show negative idleness and resistance to mainstream values, poses a potential challenge to their positive emotions and psychological adaptations. The present study was conducted with a sample of 1,022 college students to investigate the effects of cognitive restructuring strategies in different contexts on improving the phenomenon of "flatness" and promoting positive emotions by applying the theory of psychological restructuring and the concept of positive psychology. A randomised controlled trial was conducted, in which subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group, and the "cognitive restructuring training" was administered to each group, and the traditional psychological counselling methods were used to collect the changes in psychological indicators such as psychological resilience, emotion regulation ability and self-efficacy before and after the experimental period. The data were analysed by SPSS 22.0 statistical software, and multiple linear regression and path analysis were used to quantify the effects of cognitive restructuring intervention on the psychological phenomenon of lying flat and the enhancement of positive emotions. The results showed that compared with the control group, the college students in the experimental group, after receiving 8 weeks of cognitive restructuring training, showed significant improvement in their psychological resilience and emotion regulation ability, enhanced self-efficacy, effective alleviation of the lying flat mentality, and a significant upward trend in the overall level of positive emotions. This study further used focus group interviews and in-depth case analysis to analyse the effective mechanisms of the cognitive restructuring intervention process, and found that self-acceptance, goal resetting and cognitive restructuring of challenging states were the key intervention points to promote the enhancement of positive emotions. The article concludes with recommendations for the extension of the intervention based on its effectiveness, aiming to provide scientific intervention tools and practical guidance for the field of mental health education in colleges and universities, which can help optimise the psychological development environment of college students and promote the formation of positive attitudes towards mental health and career planning.
References
Yang Juan, Zhang Xuebin. Social Causes, Psychological Interpretation, Hazards and Countermeasures of "Laying Flat" Behaviour [J]. 2023.
Frederickson, B. L. (2004). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. in C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.). Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 12-22). Oxford University Press.
Beck, A. T., & Emery, G. (1985). Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective. basic Books.
Meichenbaum, D. (1997). Stress inoculation training. in A. Baum, S. E. Hobfoll, & J. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of Stress and Health: a Guide to Research and Clinical Care (pp. 339-354). Wiley-Blackwell.
Zhang Linjia, Jiang Yi. An analysis of college students' psychology of "lying flat" under the perspective of cost perception [J]. 2024.
WU Ling, WANG Lehan. "Struggle" or "Lay Flat": Choices and Responses of College Students in the New Era [J]. 2022.
Rong Wang, Qing Wang. The effect of stress perception on laying flat behaviour among senior students: chain mediation of family functioning and social support [J]. 2023.
LI Shuai, ZHAO Wei, LONG Peixin, DONG Qiua, SUN Ling. Awakening or escaping: Lying flat questionnaire development and related psychological factors [J]. 2022.
Wang Caixia. Research on Cultivation of Striving Spirit of College Students in the New Era under the Phenomenon of "Laying Flat" [J]. 2023.
Zhang Linjia, Jiang Yi. An analysis of college students' psychology of "lying flat" under the perspective of cost perception [J]. 2024.
ZHANG Linjia, JIANG Yi. An analysis of college students' psychology of "lying flat" under the perspective of cost perception [J]. 2024.
Zhang Baojing, Ren Jun. Psychological mechanisms and self-adjustment of "lying flat" [J]. 2024.
Xu Hongyuan, Xu Xueqin. Reality anxiety behind the "lying flat" subculture and its dissolution [J]. 2022.
Zhou Jiangping, Li Yaqi. Study on the Cultivation of College Students' Values in the New Era under the Impact of "Involution" and "Laying Flat" [J]. 2023.
Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: International Universities Press.
Ellis, A. (1962). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. New York: Julian Press.
Beck, A. T., Epstein, J., Brown, G., & Steer, R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(6), 893-897.
Cristea, I. A., Cuijpers, P., Ebert, D. D., Aimee, K., Carlbring, P., & Andersson, G. (2016). Depression is better treated with psychotherapy than antidepressants: a meta-analytic evaluation of comparative studies. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(2), 113-128.
Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy: a review of meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427-440.
Shikatani, E. A., et al. (2020). Neural mechanisms underlying cognitive reappraisal: An fMRI study. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15(1), 65-74.
Beck, A. T., & Emery, G. (1985). Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective. basic Books.
Beck, A. T., & Freeman, D. (2015). Cognitive therapy: basics and beyond (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Meichenbaum, D. (1997). Stress inoculation training. In A. Baum, S. E. Hobfoll, & J. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of Stress and Health: a Guide to Research and Clinical Care (pp. 339-354). Wiley-Blackwell.
Cristea, I. A., Cuijpers, P., Ebert, D. D., Aimee, K., Carlbring, P., & Andersson, G. (2016). Depression is better treated with psychotherapy than antidepressants: a meta-analytic evaluation of comparative studies. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(2), 113-128.
Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy: a review of meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427-440.
Kaplan, S., & Talwar, V. (2020). Brief cognitive-behavioural intervention reduces test anxiety in university students. Journal of College Student Development, 61(2), 215-228.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. in C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.). Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 12-22). Oxford University Press.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6),. 1063-1070.
Garland, E. L., Fredrickson, B. L., & Kring, A. M. (2010). Upward spirals of positive emotions: progress in positive psychology (pp. 301-316). Oxford University Press.
Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: International University Press.
Gross, J. J. (2002). Emotion regulation: affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39(3), 281-291.
WANG Meina,YANG Li,ZHANG Yu,et al. Intervention effects of cognitive restructuring training on college students' mental health [J]. Chinese Journal of Health Psychology,2019,27(2):251-255.
Li Nan,Huang Xiting. The relationship between boredom tendency, catastrophising thinking and academic procrastination among college students [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2014, 30(2):188-194.
Leahy, R. L. (2017). Cognitive therapy techniques: a practitioner's guide. new York: Guilford Publications.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Kai Zhao, Maomao Gao, Luxin Lian, Tiantian Jiang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
