Quiet Ego Intervention Enhances Flourishing by Increasing Quiet Ego Characteristics and Trait Emotional Intelligence: A Randomized Experiment

AbstractThe quiet ego —a personality construct characterized by empathy, inclusivity, non-defensiveness, and growth-mindedness in self-other relations—correlates positively with varied health markers. There is also emerging evidence that quiet-ego-based interventions may have a positive impact on health-related outco mes. However, no research has examined whether such interventions promote psychologicalflourishing and through what mechanisms. We addressed this gap with a randomized longitudinal experiment, hypothesizing that a quiet ego contemplation would improve participants ’ flourishing and that the link between the intervention and flourishing would be mediated by higher trait emotional intelligence (EI). Using Amazon MTurk, we randomly assigned 75 participants to a 3-session intervention or control condition. As hypothesized, participants in the intervention condi tion reported higher trait EI scores that, in turn, elevated their flourishing. Results extend the causal benefits of brief quiet ego interventions to psychological flourishing. Given the study’s context during the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings may have implications for mitigating the negative i mpact of the pandemic.
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research