The Role of Perceived Control in Stress Management

Post by Elisa Guma

Stress and goal achievement

The ability to cope with and persist through adversity is often associated with success. However, stress may diminish our capacity to cope with difficult tasks or challenges, increasing the likelihood of mental and emotional distress including stress overload and burnout. Exposure to stress is accompanied by a myriad of physiological changes that have both short and long-term effects. These physiological changes likely also influence our psychological state, alter our behaviour, and perhaps prevent us from overcoming obstacles to pursue our goals. Interestingly, the decision to persist can differ when setbacks feel controllable, versus those that are or feel uncontrollable. Perceived control over one’s outcomes can have positive effects on emotion regulation, motivation, and learning, potentially buffering some of the negative effects of stress. 

How does perceived control influence stress management?

Perceived control is the perception that one has the ability, resources, or opportunities to achieve positive outcomes or avoid negative effects through one’s own actions. Perceived control may be further broken down into two strategies: 1) primary perceived control describes the attempt to modify the environment to align with one’s wishes, while 2) secondary perceived control refers to using mental strategies to change one’s wishes to reflect the environment. Typically, a sense of perceived control is associated with the belief that our personal actions control outcomes, and that we have the skill required to enact those actions (internal locus of control), rather than believing that external factors will control the outcome (external locus of control). Research has found associations between perceived control and enhanced emotional well-being or improved ability to cope with stress.

Given the positive benefits on mindset, perceived control is thought to be a key protective factor for well-being in general. Indeed, some studies have found that individuals with higher perceived control over their cardiovascular disease and immunocompetence had decreased risk of physical decline. Although these relationships are likely multifactorial, this mindset may have benefits extending beyond psychological health to physical health as well.

Perceived control and COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the psychological states of many individuals worldwide, increasing feelings of distress and anxiety. In addition to the physical disease burden that COVID-19 has caused, there are other stressors to consider such as uncertain prognoses, isolation (especially when paired with grief and loss), unfamiliar public health measures, and financial distress, all of which may have substantial and potentially long-lasting effects on mental health. Several recent studies have investigated potential buffers against the stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some evidence from studies conducted in China, the United States, and Norway/Austria/Germany indicate that individuals who believe they have control over their environment and future (i.e., higher internal locus of control) may have better mental health outcomes. Additionally, the latter study also found that individuals who feel as though external factors beyond their control influence their success and failure (external locus of control) were prone to higher levels of anxiety and depression. These associations are likely more nuanced and require more research. However, these initial insights may help to identify certain traits that increase susceptibility to stress. Furthermore, policy makers and public health officials can implement strategies to try and enhance citizens' sense of certainty and control, for example by promoting clear, transparent, and science-backed communication.

Mindfulness as a stress management technique

Given the numerous benefits associated with feelings of perceived control, finding ways to foster perceptions of control may be beneficial. Mindfulness, or the moment-to-moment awareness and acceptance of our feelings and experience, may promote flexibility in responding to a changing environment, rather than relying too heavily on previously learned patterns. Mindfulness practice has been linked to higher levels of both primary and secondary perceived control – helping people to see that there is a possibility to change our environment, or that our perception can be altered. This practice has been associated with numerous other benefits and may help us navigate feelings of distress in uncertain times or stressful situations.

What’s next?

As we navigate a changing world, many will experience varying levels of perceived control. Further, many factors can influence perceived control, such as individual differences, early life experiences, or previous success or reward. More research is needed to better understand the factors that affect perceived control, how feelings of control can change over time, and how they can be fostered to improve stress management.  

References +

1. Bhanji et al. Perceived Control Alters the Effect of Acute Stress on Persistence. Journal of experimental psychology General (2016).
2. Compas et al. Perceived Control and Coping with Stress: A Developmental Perspective. Journal of Social Issues (1991).
3. Daly & Robinson. Psychological distress and adaptation to the COVID-19 crisis in the United States. Journal of Psychiatric Research (2021).
4. Krampe et al. Locus of control moderates the association of COVID-19 stress and general mental distress: results of a Norwegian and a German-speaking cross-sectional survey. BMC Psychiatry (2021).
5. Hortop et al. The why and how of goal pursuits: Effects of global autonomous motivation and perceived control on emotional well-being. Motivation and emotion (2013).
6. Kozela et al. Perceived control as a predictor of cardiovascular disease mortality in Poland. The HAPIEE study. Journal of Cardiology (2015).
7. Paganini et al. Perceived Control and Mindfulness: Implications for Clinical Practice. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration (2016).
8. Pfefferbaum & North. Mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic. New England Journal of Medicine (2020).
9. Wallston. Control Beliefs: Health Perspectives. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2001).
10. Wiedenfeld et al. Impact of perceived self-efficacy in coping with stressors on components of the immune system. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1990).
11. Zheng et al. Perceived Control Buffers the Effects of the COVID‐19 Pandemic on General Health and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Psychological Distance. Applied Psychology Health Well Being (2020).

The Benefits of Mindfulness for Athletes

Post by Shireen Parimoo

The mindfulness era

Sports performance requires as much mental toughness and perseverance as it does physical fitness and conditioning. In addition to physical conditioning, (elite) athletes must develop considerable mental fortitude and discipline, contributing to their performance in competitions. Some important mental skills that athletes develop include motivation, arousal regulation, recovery, the ability to cope with training demands and competition pressure, and the ability to focus on both the present moment and on future goals.

We know that physical fitness can be improved by following exercise programs and regimens, but how do athletes train their minds? Athletes often perform psychological skills training to supplement their physical training, which can include working on techniques like self-talk, goal setting, and imagery. For example, self-talk can reduce performance-related anxiety and increase self-confidence and motivation, both of which may then benefit performance. More recently, mindfulness meditation has become a popular practice among athletes and non-athletes alike. Mindfulness refers to a state of awareness of our thoughts and feelings (i.e., inner experiences) in the present moment. It is characterized by attention to the present moment, lack of reactivity and judgment, and increased acceptance of our inner experiences. Practicing mindfulness meditation has numerous psychological and cognitive benefits, such as reductions in depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress, as well as improvements in attentional focus and emotion regulation.

There are two main approaches to researching mindfulness:

1.     Relating dispositional or trait mindfulness (e.g., as an individual, how well are they able to stay focused on the present moment?) to other psychological and performance-related outcomes.

2.     Mindfulness-based interventions. In this approach, psychological and performance outcomes are measured before and after an intervention during which participants learn about mindfulness concepts and mindfulness techniques like emotion acceptance.  

Do athletes benefit from mindfulness?

Across a variety of sports, research shows that individuals high in trait mindfulness are more likely to experience the flow state. Flow is a state of intense focus characterized by complete immersion in the task at hand that is accompanied by high levels of clarity, control over the task, ease and enjoyment of the task, and a sense of time flying by. More commonly, flow is what we call “being in the zone” during a task. Athletes who score high on trait mindfulness also tend to have better concentration, higher goal clarity, and an increased sense of control than those lower on trait mindfulness. Experiencing the flow state, in turn, is often associated with better performance.

Trait mindfulness has also been associated with a better ability to cope with sports-related challenges such as training demands, self-confidence and motivation, and performance-related worries. One of the reasons that trait mindfulness results in better coping skills is that mindfulness helps in the regulation of emotion and allows people to avoid ruminating on negative thoughts. Thus, higher mindfulness likely prevents athletes from being distracted by negative thoughts and provides more room for them to focus on their goal, which might then prevent them from faltering under pressure.

In line with this idea, trait mindfulness is related to higher self-reported sports performance and lower competition-related anxiety. Interestingly,  researchers have found that competition-related anxiety negatively impacts performance, but only in those who were low in mindfulness. As performance- and sports-related worries are likely pervasive among athletes, higher mindfulness may prevent those worries from interfering with performance.

Is mindfulness training effective?

Mindfulness-based interventions show promise in facilitating performance outcomes, likely by influencing both physiological and psychological variables. On a holistic level, mindfulness training has been shown to improve the well-being of athletes, along with reductions in burnout and improvements in sleep quality. Mindfulness also has a positive effect on physiological measures like salivary cortisol levels (a marker of stress) and resting heart rate (a measure of fitness).

On a psychological level, mindfulness training can lead to more frequent flow states, better attentional control, and fewer performance-related worries. In fact, one study showed that the impact of an 8-week-long mindfulness program reduced cortisol levels of elite athletes by also reducing their competition-related anxiety. Athletes who practiced mindfulness for four weeks also became better equipped at handling failures. Lastly, the impact of mindfulness on actual sports performance is currently unclear. According to a recent meta-analysis, mindfulness interventions improve performance in precision sports like dart throwing and shooting, but not in sports like running and cycling. Other work indicates that both subjective and objective measures of performance show improvements following mindfulness training, such as longer time to exhaustion on an endurance test. By and large, however, the impact of mindfulness training on objective performance outcomes is mixed and more research is needed to identify how different types and durations of mindfulness programs might benefit performance in various sports.

References +

Aherne et al. The effect of mindfulness training on athletes’ flow: An initial investigation. The Sport Psychologist (2011).

Birrer et al. Mindfulness to enhance athletic performance: Theoretical considerations and possible impact mechanisms. Mindfulness (2012).

Birrer et al. Helping athletes flourish using mindfulness and acceptance approaches – an introduction and mini review. Sport & Exercise Medicine (2021).

Buhlmayer et al. Effects of mindfulness practice on performance-relevant parameters and performance outcomes in sports: A meta-analytical review. Sports Medicine (2017).

Cathcart et al. Mindfulness and flow in elite athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (2014).

De Petrillo et al. Mindfulness for long-distance runners: An open trial using mindful sport performance enhancement. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (2009).

Hamilton et al. Effects of a mindfulness intervention on sports-anxiety, pessimism, and flow in competitive cyclists. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being (2016).

Josefsson et al. Mindfulness mechanisms in sports: Mediating effects of rumination and emotion regulation on sport-specific coping. Mindfulness (2017).

Kee & Wang. Relationships between mindfulness, flow dispositions, and mental skills adoption: A cluster analytic approach. Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2008).

Mehrsafar et al. The effects of mindfulness training on competition-induced anxiety and salivary stress markers in elite Wushu athletes: A pilot study. Physiology & Behavior (2019).

Nien et al. Mindfulness training enhances endurance performance and executive functions in athletes: An event-related potential study. Neural Plasticity (2020).

A New Year of Remote Work: Supporting Employee Wellbeing During COVID-19 and Beyond

Post by Leanna Kalinowski

A change in how we work

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid and drastic changes in society, and that includes the workplace. In addition to public health measures like social distancing and face mask requirements, many organizations adopted remote work practices to further mitigate virus spread. In mid-2020, the percentage of employees working from home rapidly increased from less than 10% to upwards of 50%, with the majority of employees transitioning to working from home for the first time. As the pandemic response now begins to soften, employers are beginning to re-establish and define how we work. Reflecting on remote work strategies and their impact on employee productivity and wellbeing is crucial for establishing long-term changes that support employees, particularly as employers consider permanent remote or hybrid working models.

The risk of burnout

Until recently, employee wellbeing has largely been understudied and not widely incorporated into metrics for describing employee success. Traditionally, employers tend to focus on productivity and performance when evaluating the success of an employee, without considering the impact of wellbeing on productivity. In 2019, the World Health Organization updated its definition of burnout to refer to it as a “syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”. Burnout is characterized by three symptoms: feelings of energy depletion, increased mental distance from one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy. Generally, employee burnout is associated with decreases in productivity, making it an important issue for employers to tackle. Many employees working from home have faced challenges leading to burnout, like dealing with home-schooling, caring for sick family members, or a change to their work-life boundaries. As employers begin to redefine how we work, understanding employee wellbeing and burnout has become integral in understanding the effectiveness of remote work.

What’s the impact on productivity and wellbeing?

There is mixed evidence on the impact of remote work on productivity and wellbeing, with both positive and negative effects reported depending on organizational (i.e., company, number of days per week working from home, teamwork) and personal (i.e., prior remote work experience, having children at home) factors. Not surprisingly, employees with prior remote work experience had an easier time adjusting to the COVID-19 workplace changes compared to employees who never worked from home before. This is suspected to be due to two factors: 1) these employees previously learned how to balance the demands of their family with the demands of their workplace, and 2) these employees had more efficient work from home setups.

Changing the way that we communicate is also incredibly important for remote work success. Remote workers must be able to effectively communicate with each other and their clients through means other than face-to-face, such as through email, phone, text messaging, instant messaging, and video conferencing. Communication gaps have been largely cited as a reason for productivity declines associated with remote work, with current research focusing on better understanding the relationships between communication and remote work outcomes. 

One study tested the relationship between three communication variables: communication quality, communication frequency, and supervisor-set communication expectations, along with two indicators of remote worker success: performance and wellbeing/burnout. They found that while the frequency and quality of communication are both associated with increased productivity, only frequent communication led to burnout. These results suggest that, rather than focusing on communication frequency, employers should focus on improving the quality of communication and setting expectations with their employees early on. In the future, it will also be important to test the effectiveness of different communication strategies in different contexts - for example when to send an email versus video call - and use this information to help drive communication expectation setting. 

What can employers do in the future?

Despite the mixed impacts of remote work on productivity and employee wellbeing, employers should not dismiss remote work as a permanent work arrangement. While initial decreases in productivity may be alarming, it will be worth it for employers to collect data on what is driving these differences in productivity amongst their employees to optimize working conditions. Employers can assist their employees in building adequate work from home setups, providing flexibility in the initial stages of remote work, and setting communication expectations from the beginning. Further, future research should look at what factors help to improve the quality of employee communication, to avoid burnout or a lack of sense of belonging amongst employees. Regardless of the initial growing pains of working from home, a high percentage of employees have expressed interest in continued remote work following the pandemic, and therefore finding ways to meet the needs of these employees will be critical to ensuring long-term employee wellbeing and productivity.

References +

Donati et al. Not all remote workers are similar: Technology acceptance, remote work beliefs, and wellbeing of remote workers during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. (2021). Access the original scientific publication here.

Kitagawa et al. Working from home and productivity under the COVID-19 pandemic: Using survey data of four manufacturing firms. PLOS one. (2021). Access the original scientific publication here.

Salgado de Snyder et al. Occupational stress and mental health among healthcare workers serving socially vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Public Health. (2021). Access the original scientific publication here.

Shockley et al. Remote worker communication during COVID-19: The role of quantity, quality, and supervisor expectation-setting. Journal of Applied Psychology. (2021). Access the original scientific publication here.