My Best Self in the Past, Present or Future: Results of Two Randomized Controlled Trials

The best possible self (BPS), defined as a future-oriented Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI), has shown to be effective to increase wellbeing levels in previous studies. However, it is unknown if the future frame is an essential constituent for the efficacy of this exercise. This work was aimed at exploring the role of the temporal focus in the efficacy of the BPS intervention. Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were carried out, in which participants (N = 112 and N = 107) were randomized to writing about their past, present or future best self, or about the activities carried out during the last 24 h (control condition). The main outcome measure was positive affect, and other measures related to wellbeing were also included (satisfaction with life, happiness, optimism, self-efficacy and self-satisfaction). It was hypothesized that all three experimental conditions would be equally effective to increase wellbeing and that they would produce larger benefits than the control condition. Results of both RCTs showed that all conditions significantly increased their wellbeing levels, which could imply that varying the temporality of the BPS does not affect the efficacy of the intervention. However, no statistically significant differences were found between the experimental and control conditions. Implications of these results will be discussed. This study contributes to the research on the mechanisms that influence the effectiveness of a widely used PPI.

Automated summary

The study aimed to investigate the impact of future-oriented positive psychology intervention on levels of happiness, concluding that interventions with different temporal foci had similar effects on increasing happiness levels.