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4- Evening- Questions: A simple technique to experience strengths (#258)

Markus Ebner 1
  1. University Vienna, Vienna, VIENNA, Austria

Background

The effect of a positive day reflection as a technique of positive psychology has been found repeatedly [3,4,6,8,9]. In this context, Tayyab Rashid [7] refers to Positive Psychological Interventions as a "relearning of attention and memory". Can this approach also be used to help people better recognize their strengths?

Aims

For this purpose four specific questions (4-Evening-Questions) where combined, evaluated in a study and implemented in workshops, coachings and schools. An aim was to find out which kind of experiences people make during and after this exercise.

Method

In a study 74 participants were instructed to reflect their day based on the following 4 questions every evening over a period of two weeks:

1. What gave me pleasure today?
2. I wnich situations did I feel alive today?
3. For what and to whom can I be grateful today?
4. Which strengths could I live out today?

Following the exercise, participants were asked to reflect on their experiences using the following three guiding questions to reflect on their experience:
1. how was the exercise for me?
2. what changed/what do I do differently?
3. how was the experience with the individual questions?

For this purpose, the study participants were instructed to write down the answers as a "chat
with themselves"

The written reflections were then evaluated using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring [5]. Two raters inductively formed categories and assigned all of the participants' experiences to these categories.

Results

The results show that the exercise leads to a sensitization of perception, a change in the interpretation of situations as well as in one’s own actions [1,2]. 

Conclusion

Its an "easy to implement" technique that has a measuarble impact. It can be used in practice as a coaching-tool in workshops as well as in schools.

  1. 1. Ebner, M. (2017). 4-Evening-Questions: A simple tool with a profound effect. Organisationsberatung, Supervision, Coaching, 24(3), 269-282. doi:10.1007/s11613-017-0508-2
  2. 2. Ebner, M. (2021). Positive Leadership in Action: Tools, Techniques & Best Practices: Facultas.
  3. 3. Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: an experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389.
  4. 4. Gander, F., Proyer, R. T., & Ruch, W. (2016). Positive psychology interventions addressing pleasure, engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishment increase well-being and ameliorate depressive symptoms: A randomized, placebo-controlled online study. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 686.
  5. 5. Mayring, P. (2004). Qualitative content analysis. A companion to qualitative research, 1(2), 159-176.
  6. 6. McCullough, R. A., & Emmons, M. E. (2004). The psychology of gratitude. New York: Oxford University Press.
  7. 7. Rashid, T. (2009). Positive interventions in clinical practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(5), 461-466.
  8. 8. Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410-421.
  9. 9. Tsang, J.-A., Carpenter, T. P., Roberts, J. A., Frisch, M. B., & Carlisle, R. D. (2014). Why are materialists less happy? The role of gratitude and need satisfaction in the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. Personality and individual differences, 64, 62-66.
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