Sense of Control in Late Life

Chipperfield, Judith G.; Newall, Nancy E.; Perry, Raymond P.; Stewart, Tara L.; Bailis, Daniel S.; Ruthig, Joelle C.

doi:10.1177/0146167212444758

Cited by 46 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…People who lack personal control perceive increased structure in random arrays (i.e., see pictures in static; Whitson & Galinsky, 2008) and believe more strongly in agents that impose structure on the world, such as a controlling god or a controlling government (Kay, Gaucher, Napier, Callan, & Laurin, 2008;Kay, Moscovitch, & Laurin, 2010;Kay, Shepherd, Blatz, Chua, & Galinsky, 2010;Shepherd, Kay, Landau, & Keefer, 2011). People lacking personal control also endorse scientific theories that suggest orderliness rather than randomness (Rutjens, van Harreveld, & van der Plight, 2010;Rutjens, van Harreveld, van der Plight, Kreemers, & Noordeweir, 2013;Rutjens, van der Plight, & van Harreveld, 2010), and folk beliefs that provide orderly explanations for negative events (e.g., that they are "a blessing in disguise") can foster a more global sense of control (Chipperfield et al, 2012). Individuals lacking personal control are also more likely to prefer products that restore structure to one's personal life (Shepherd, Kay, Landau, & Keefer, 2011) or have clear, well-defined boundaries (Cutright, 2012).…”

Section: Compensatory Controlmentioning

confidence: 74%

Seeking structure in social organization: Compensatory control and the psychological advantages of hierarchy.

Friesen

Kay

Eibach

et al. 2014

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

175

140

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Hierarchies are a ubiquitous form of human social organization. We hypothesized that 1 reason for the prevalence of hierarchies is that they offer structure and therefore satisfy the core motivational needs for order and control relative to less structured forms of social organization. This hypothesis is rooted in compensatory control theory, which posits that (a) individuals have a basic need to perceive the world as orderly and structured, and (b) personal and external sources of control are capable of satisfying this need because both serve the comforting belief that the world operates in an orderly fashion. Our first 2 studies confirmed that hierarchies were perceived as more structured and orderly relative to egalitarian arrangements (Study 1) and that working in a hierarchical workplace promotes a feeling of self-efficacy (Study 2). We threatened participants’ sense of personal control and measured perceptions of and preferences for hierarchy in 5 subsequent experiments. Participants who lacked control perceived more hierarchy occurring in ambiguous social situations (Study 3) and preferred hierarchy more strongly in workplace contexts (Studies 4–5). We also provide evidence that hierarchies are indeed appealing because of their structure: Preference for hierarchy was higher among individuals high in Personal Need for Structure and a control threat increased preference for hierarchy even among participants low in Personal Need for Structure (Study 5). Framing a hierarchy as unstructured reversed the effect of control threat on hierarchy (Study 6). Finally, hierarchy-enhancing jobs were more appealing after control threat, even when they were low in power and status (Study 7).

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Section: Compensatory Controlmentioning

confidence: 74%

Seeking structure in social organization: Compensatory control and the psychological advantages of hierarchy.

Friesen

Kay

Eibach

et al. 2014

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

175

140

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The power of positive thinking in health outcomes among Latinos has been identified in other research (Cobb, Xie, and Sanders 2016;Carrion et al 2017;Loi et al 2017), and those in our sample noted that their ability to remain positive was keeping them healthy. Other research suggests that in times of uncertainty or crisis, positive thinking is a method employed by Latinos to engender a sense of control over the outcome (Carrion et al 2017;Chipperfield et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring a rural Latino community’s perception of the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2020

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Objectives: The purpose of our study was to understand the perception of the Latino community in a rural state regarding COVID-19. Over one third of national COVID-19 cases are among Latinos, likely due to an increased prevalence of comorbid risk factors and social determinants of health that make following precautions difficult. Design: Respondents were recruited using snowball sampling as part of a previous effort to establish an academic-community partnership with Latinos in the area. In April 2020, we conducted 14 semi-structured interviews in Spanish with participants over the phone. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed into Spanish, and translated to English. We employed the framework approach in a thematic analysis using NVivo 12. Results: Common themes were a wariness of news appearing on social media, generalized worry, and the use of natural medicines to maintain health. Respondents followed recommended guidelines to protect their own health, though expressed concern that members of their community were not. Conclusions: We offer insights into the perception of Latinos of the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural state. Our findings may influence communication techniques of local health departments and offer a way to understand how this often-overlooked community deals with the pandemic.

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“…Indeed, agency has been examined in stories of a wide variety of challenging life experiences, including major life transitions (Bauer & McAdams, 2004), important and problematic moments in close relationships (Thorne & Michaelieu, 1996), and psychotherapy (Adler, 2012). In the context of physical health challenges, there is mixed evidence that believing in one’s ability to overcome one’s illness is actually predictive of better physical health outcomes (e.g., Coyne & Tennen, 2010), but convincing evidence that the personal story itself is associated with better mental health and quality of life (e.g., Aspinwall & Teseschi, 2010; Chipperfield et al, 2012; Helgeson & Palladino, 2012; Petrie & Weinman, 2012). …”

Section: Four Core Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in narrative identity is associated with trajectories of mental health over several years.

Adler¹,

Turner²,

Brookshier³

et al. 2015

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

173

108

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This paper presents two longitudinal studies designed to assess the relationship between variability in narrative identity and trajectories of mental health over several years. In Study 1, core scenes from 89 late-mid-life adults’ life stories were assessed for several narrative themes. Participants’ mental health and physical health were assessed concurrently with the narratives and once a year for the subsequent four years. Concurrent analyses indicated that the themes of agency, redemption, and contamination were significantly associated with mental (but not physical) health. Longitudinal analyses indicated that these same three themes were significantly associated with participants’ trajectories of mental health over the course of four years. Exploratory analyses indicated that narratives of challenging experiences may be central to this pattern of results. In Study 2, similar longitudinal analyses were conducted on a sample of 27 late-mid-life adults who received a major physical illness diagnosis between the baseline assessment and six months later and a matched sample of 27 control participants who remained healthy throughout the study. Participants’ mental health and physical health were assessed every six months for two years. In this tightly controlled study, the themes of agency, communion, redemption, and contamination in participants’ life narratives collected at Baseline (before any participant got sick) were significantly positively associated with mental health in the group of participants who went on to receive a medical diagnosis, but not in the control group. Taken together, the results of these two studies indicate that the way an individual constructs personal narratives may impact his or her trajectory of mental health over time.

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Sense of Control in Late Life

Cited by 46 publications

References 64 publications

Seeking structure in social organization: Compensatory control and the psychological advantages of hierarchy.

Seeking structure in social organization: Compensatory control and the psychological advantages of hierarchy.

Exploring a rural Latino community’s perception of the COVID-19 pandemic

Variation in narrative identity is associated with trajectories of mental health over several years.

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