(No) Effects of a Self-Kindness Intervention on Self-Esteem and Visual Self-Perception: An Eye-Tracking Investigation on the Time-Course of Self-Face Viewing

• Published in: European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education Vol. 13; no. 11; pp. 2574 - 2582
• Main Authors: Potthoff, Jonas, Schienle, Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-11-2023
• Subjects: app-assisted approach; College Students; Control Groups; Data Analysis; depression; Individualized Instruction; Intervention; Investigations; Mental depression; Perceptions; Questionnaires; Self esteem; Self image; self-face; self-kindness; smartphone intervention; Smartphones; University students
• ISSN: 2254-9625; 2174-8144; 2254-9625
• DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe13110179

Previous research has suggested a favorable impact of self-kindness on subjective well-being. The present experiment investigated the effects of an app-assisted self-kindness intervention for increasing self-esteem and self-face gaze, and for decreasing depression. We explored self-face processing via a time-course analysis of eye-tracking data. Eighty participants (56 female, 24 male; mean age: 23.2 years) were randomly allocated to one of two intervention groups, each receiving daily instructions to enhance either self-kindness or relaxation (active control). Following a one-week intervention period, both groups reported improved self-esteem (p = .035, ηpart2 = .068) and reduced depression (p < .001, ηpart2 = .17). The duration of self-face gaze increased in both groups (p < .001, ηpart2 = .21). Self-face processing was characterized by an early automatic attention bias toward the self-face, with a subsequent reduction in self-face bias, followed in turn by an attentional self-face reapproach, and then a stable self-face bias. We thus identified a complex temporal pattern of self-face inspection, which was not specifically altered by the intervention. This research sheds light on the potential for app-assisted interventions to positively impact psychological well-being, while also highlighting the complexity of self-face processing dynamics in this context. In the future, we propose the inclusion of personalized self-kindness statements, which may amplify the benefits of these interventions.