Trying to “look on the bright side” of a bad situation can help reduce anxiety–but the strategy works better for people who make less money, finds a study in Emotion. Researchers analyzed data from a lab experiment with 112 people in the United States, as well as from a large U.S. longitudinal survey of more than 2,000 people. In the lab experiment, participants watched a short, upsetting film and were asked to use “cognitive reappraisal” strategies to reframe the situation or look at it from another perspective; they then reported their anxiety levels. The survey interviewed people in the mid-1990s and again nine years later. It asked how ofter they used reappraisal strategies and also screened for clinical anxiety. In both studies, people who made less money benefited more from cognitive reappraisal than did people with higher incomes. The researchers suggest that this may be because those with lower incomes have less control over their environment, in general, whereas people with higher incomes ofter have the resources to change their circumstances rather than just their thoughts. (Monitor on Psychology)

Looking for the bright side of a bad situation can reduce anxiety, but it works best for people with less money.

Susie Bean Gives