In daily life, we often encounter ambiguous social situations in which others’ intentions are unclear. When your friend texts “I need to talk to you”, what is your first thought? That they have some great gossip to share? Or that they are angry with you? These interpretations profoundly shape our emotions, thoughts, and social connections.
Resolving ambiguity in everyday life
My PhD research shows that individuals with depression or social anxiety exhibit overly pessimistic perceptions of their social worlds, thereby setting the stage for a stressful environment of dampening positive and enhancing negative emotions. To understand how these processes unfold in everyday life, we used experience sampling methodology. Our findings indicate that persistent negative interpretations predict increases in emotional distress and repetitive thinking over time. In turn, these processes further reinforce negative interpretations, creating a negative feedback loop.
Improving communication with youth
Building on this work, I recently joined the IC-YOU project. Since many adolescents experience emotional difficulties, there is a strong need for effective prevention strategies. Although sharing feelings with an adult, such as a grandparent or sports coach, can support emotional well-being, it may sometimes have unintended negative effects. The IC-YOU project examines for whom, when, and how communication supports emotional well-being among adolescents. Using ESM, we will track daily interactions to understand when these conversations help or backfire instead.
Interested in these studies? Contact Lisa Vos at l.m.w.vos@essb.eur.nl
On Friday, April 17 at 1:30 PM, Lisa will defend her dissertation. More information can be found on
the website of Tilburg University.
