Background
The current set of pre‐registered studies tested the effect of savoring a high‐arousal (exciting) or low‐arousal (calm) positive experience on help‐seeking intentions among people with heightened depressive symptomatology.
Methods
Across all three studies, participants with heightened depressive symptomatology who had not yet sought help were randomly assigned to complete a 6‐minute writing task where they reflected on an exciting memory, a calm memory, or what they did today and yesterday.
Results
Savoring an exciting memory was associated with significantly greater arousal than savoring a calm memory and the control condition (Study 1; N = 218). Both savoring conditions were associated with greater positive emotion than the control condition (Study 2; N = 193). In Study 3 (N = 1,238), savoring an exciting memory, when compared to the control condition, increased help‐seeking intentions, whereas savoring a calm memory did not.
Conclusions
The current studies support the use of high‐arousal, rather than low‐arousal, positive emotions to increase help‐seeking intentions among people with depression.