Self-appraised social problem solving abilities, emotional reactions and actual problem solving performance
Introduction
Social problem solving has been defined as the set of instrumental, cognitive-behavioral skills necessary for adaptation in everyday life (D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1982). Contemporary formulations categorize social problem solving abilities into two broad components that operate in the problem solving process. According to D'Zurilla and colleagues, these are defined as the problem orientation and the problem solving skills components (D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1990). The problem orientation component involves many beliefs and attitudes about the self and one's ability to handle problems encountered in everyday life and is comprised of a positive and a negative problem orientation. A positive problem orientation entails a set of beliefs, expectancies and abilities that serve to motivate an individual through problem solving and promote positive affects that can facilitate effective problem solving. A negative problem orientation renders an individual vulnerable to recurrent and prolonged experiences of negative affect that can inhibit or disrupt complex problem solving, as the individual harbors pessimistic appraisals of the self and expectancies. An individual with a high negative orientation often lacks motivation for complex problem solving.
The problem solving skills component encompasses cognitive-behavioral abilities in identifying problems, generating solutions, evaluating options, implementing a plan, monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes (D'Zurilla and Nezu, 1990, D'Zurilla et al., 1982). This can involve rational problem solving skills that are useful in everyday problem solving, but also includes inefficient strategies often observed in avoidant, impulsive and careless styles (D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1990).
Converging evidence indicates that self-appraised problem solving abilities are related to adjustment in a rather predictable fashion. Studies that have examined correlates of specific subscales of several problem solving measures have found that both problem orientation components are often uniquely predictive of depressive behavior, health complaints, anxiety, neuroticism and negative affect under general and stressful conditions (Dugas et al., 1995, Elliott et al., 1994, Elliott and Marmarosh, 1994, Elliott et al., 1995). Evidence indicates that these relations may be due in part to the mood-regulatory properties of the problem orientation component (Elliott, Shewchuk, Richeson, Pickelman & Franklin, 1996b) and to the positive expectancies associated with this component (Chang & D'Zurilla, 1996).
There are several unresolved and controversial issues that hinder our understanding of social problem solving abilities. Despite the rather clear association between self-appraised problem solving and adjustment across correlational studies, experimental research has found that effective and ineffective problem solvers do not differ in their spontaneous attempts to solve simulated problems in a social setting (Larson, Potenza, Wennstedt & Sailors, 1995). This discrepancy may be explained in part by a lack of multiple and precise measures of problem solving components in experimental situations and the possible lack of generalizability from experimental to field settings (D'Zurilla & Maydeu-Olivares, 1995). It is possible, for example, that those with more effective problem solving abilities benefit from experience and repeated trials so that differential performance curves may be observed over time. Nevertheless, research has yet to establish the mechanisms by which problem solving affects performance and behaviorally-based outcomes.
There is some evidence that self-appraised problem solving abilities are related to objective indices of performance over time. For example, elements of the problem orientation component have been significantly predictive of academic performance (e.g. course grade, grade point averages; Blankstein et al., 1992, Elliott et al., 1990). Other research indicates that problem solving skills are associated with academic performance (D'Zurilla and Nezu, 1990, D'Zurilla and Sheedy, 1992). Problem solving skills have also been uniquely associated with indicators of behavioral self-care (e.g. pressure sores among persons with severe physical disabilities; Herrick, Elliott & Crow, 1994) and with behavioral patterns of undergraduates (Godshall & Elliott, 1997).
We believe there are several testable possibilities that might explain how social problem solving abilities might influence performance. First, the problem orientation component might mediate the relation between problem solving skills and performance. An individual with a positive problem orientation should be sufficiently motivated to solve complex problems and would thus employ problem solving strategies as necessary to meet task demands; individuals with a negative orientation would lack such motivation and thus would not apply their problem solving skills. Alternatively, the problem orientation component serves to regulate mood under general and stressful conditions (Elliott et al., 1995, Elliott et al., 1996b). Those with a negative orientation might experience more negative moods which in turn reduce flexibility, distort available and pertinent information, interfere with retrieval and/or storage of information and impair the implementation of solutions (Heppner & Krauskopf, 1987). A person with a positive orientation would be more likely to experience positive affects which can facilitate problem solving and information processing (Isen, Daubman & Nowicki, 1987). It is also possible that effective problem solving skills would influence performance, regardless of the problem orientation component, as implied in the Herrick et al., 1994, Godshall and Elliott, 1997 studies. Finally, as D'Zurilla and Maydeu-Olivares (1995) imply, it is possible that research designs to date have been insensitive to the ways in which problem orientation and problem solving skills components operate to influence rates of change in performance over time. Problem solving processes may be best studied with multiple and repeated measures of performance under uniform conditions and with statistical techniques sensitive to covarying relationships and variability in performance trajectories.
We examined these possibilities in the present study. Specifically, we examined the relation of self-appraised problem solving abilities to emotional reactions to a standardized task that required participants to solve problems over repeated administrations. Thus, we were able to assess successful performance over repeated trials so that individual performance curves could be computed and analyzed. In this manner, we were able to test the presumed associations between social problem solving abilities, affect and objective performance in a problem solving task over time.
Section snippets
Participants
The sample consisted of 131 undergraduates (50 men, 81 women, mean age=19.72, S.D.=4.06) enrolled in introductory psychology courses at a metropolitan university. Participants were recruited from sign-up sheets on a department bulletin board and from a list of students who filled out an initial screening questionnaire for the department. Participants received research participation credits following completion of their session.
The Social Problem Solving Inventory — Revised (SPSI-R; D'Zurilla, Nezu & Maydeu-Olivares, in press)
The SPSI-R is a 52-item self-report measure of social problem
Results
To ensure normality of the distribution of variables without dramatically reducing the total N, persons with ages >45 were deleted from the sample. Those with a total negative affectivity score >1600 at baseline were also deleted. The following means were observed on the SPSI-R scales: Positive Problem Orientation, 11.98 (S.D.=3.95), Negative Problem Orientation, 14.93 (S.D.=8.62), Rational Problem Solving skills, 44.75 (S.D.=15.2), Avoidant Style, 9.19 (S.D.=4.83) and Impulsive/Careless Style,
Discussion
Our results indicate that objective problem solving performance is not necessarily a function of instrumental, cognitive-behavioral skills in generating, evaluating and implementing rational solutions. It appears that the disposition to harbor pessimism about the self and one's ability to perform adversely affects objective problem solving performance in a structured task. This effect does not seem to be mediated by negative affect. Analysis of performance curves revealed that a higher negative
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