Research shows that calling time spent alone 'me time' instead of 'loneliness' can make you feel more positive
Some people may think that time spent alone is lonely and sad, but in recent years there has been a movement to view time alone in a positive light by using the term 'me time.' A new study has found that calling time spent alone 'me time' rather than 'loneliness' or 'time alone' increases positive emotions and helps people think more positively about time spent alone.
Full article: From “isolation” to “me-time”: linguistic shifts enhance solitary experiences
Labeling alone time as “me-time” enhances positivity and well-being
https://www.psypost.org/calling-time-alone-me-time-boosts-positive-feelings-and-improves-perceptions-unlike-labeling-it-isolation/
How people interpret their experiences plays an important role in shaping their emotions, decision-making, and social interactions. Previous research has shown that using different words to refer to the same content can have different effects on people's perceptions and emotions.
A research team led by Michaela Rodriguez, a psychology researcher at the University of Michigan in the United States, conducted two experiments to examine how changing the words used to describe time spent alone affects people's perceptions and emotions.
In the first experiment, 500 adults living in the United States were randomly assigned one of five categories: 'Me-Time,' 'Time Alone,' 'Solitude,' 'Being Alone,' or 'Isolation,' and then asked a variety of questions about each category.
The questions included: 'How good or bad is ____ for your health and happiness?', 'How positive or negative is ____?', 'How often would you like to reduce ____?', and 'How much do you agree with the statement, 'American society should value ____ more?'' The '____' in this question was replaced with a word that each subject had been assigned.
Analysis of the responses revealed that participants rated the experiences significantly differently depending on the word they were assigned, even though they were actually being asked about the same experiences, though in different words. 'Me time' was consistently rated as the most positive and desirable, and participants perceived it as beneficial to their well-being and something they actively wanted to experience. In contrast, 'isolation' was considered the least desirable, and the other words were not perceived as being as positive as 'me time.'
In the second experiment, 176 undergraduate students from the University of Michigan were recruited to spend 30 minutes alone at home or in a lab. During the 30-minute experiment, participants were asked to refrain from communicating with others, either in person or digitally, and to maintain physical distance. Participants could engage in non-social activities, such as reading and writing, as long as they did not involve communication.
When the researchers asked participants to spend time alone, they randomly assigned the terms 'me time' and 'isolation.' Those assigned to 'me time' were told, 'Now, please spend the next 30 minutes doing 'me time,'' while those assigned to 'isolation' were told, 'Now, please spend the next 30 minutes in isolation.'
Participants were asked to rate their emotions before and after spending 30 minutes alone, answering questions about how they felt, what they did, and what they felt during the 30 minutes. Finally, they were asked to rate how their time alone was, including whether it was miserable or enjoyable, bad or good, boring or interesting, and unhealthy or healthy.
The results showed that participants reported increased positive emotions when asked to spend 'me time,' but decreased positive emotions when asked to 'isolate. ' Additionally, participants assigned to 'me time' reported more positive feelings about spending time alone in a post-experiment questionnaire.
Interestingly, the words assigned to participants didn't significantly change the activities they engaged in during their alone time, but while 'isolated' participants were more likely to think about schoolwork, those who spent their 'me time' were more likely to think about their own personal growth.
'These experiments provide preliminary yet new insights into the role of language in shaping how people experience time alone. Although it is a very simple and relatively easy change in language to make, calling time alone 'me time' instead of 'isolation' made a big difference to the emotional impact of, and people's beliefs about, time spent alone,' the research team said.
PsyPost commented, 'These findings highlight the power of language in shaping psychological experiences and offer simple, practical interventions to improve the experience of loneliness.'
Related Posts:
in Science, Posted by log1h_ik