Intervention Study Replication Data for: Within-Person Processes in Experienced Love in Daily Life, 2017

We conducted an Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI; or experience sampling) study to examine the effect of positive psychology and contemplative practices on the within-person processes in experienced love in daily life and how these processes relate to person characteristics. This study was conducted at the Pennsylvania State University. The study procedure along with the sample characteristics is as follows: SAMPLE. In this EMI study, the sample consisted of 160 undergraduate students (51 male and 109 female, mean age = 20.31 years, SD = 1.23, min = 18, max = 22), recruited at Pennsylvania State University. PROCEDURE. This was an eight-week long EMI study examining the effects of positive psychology and contemplative mobile interventions on feelings of love and well-being. The EMIs used in this study consisted of three positive psychology practices (Act of Kindness, Gratitude, Best Possible Self) and contemplative practices (a three-minute meditation session and a reminder throughout the day about the intention of the day). The study included two experimental groups and one control group (detailed below). Across the study, there was one introductory session, three intermediate sessions, and one final session for all participants in which they completed a battery of surveys (BFI-2, Health, Gratitude, Flourishing, PERMA profiler, Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, Interpersonal Support Evaluation, Attachment, Emotion Regulation). In addition, during all 56 days participants received and responded to up to 336 text-message prompted web-based EMA surveys (six per day). Each EMA survey included an item on momentary feelings of love (“How much do you feel loved right now?”) in addition to items on satisfaction with relationships and feeling supported by others. Other EMA items were related to their momentary well-being, sleep, and stress. Each EMA survey contained 10-12 statements in which participants used a sliding scale to respond (from Not at all to Extremely). Survey timing was determined by dividing participants' self-reported usual waking hours into six equal-length intervals, and survey prompts were delivered at a random timing within each time interval, constrained so that no two prompts were less than 30 minutes apart. The study is divided into ten parts: - Introductory session (60 minutes per person). The participants completed a battery of self-report surveys (mentioned above) and demographics. They then provided informed consent and their respective phone numbers were registered with the text messaging service SurveySignal (SurveySignal, LLC, 2015). -14-day pre-intervention period. Participants completed the EMA online survey six times, randomly throughout the day. This period is a replication of our previous EMA study (Within-person processes in experienced love in daily life, 2016). -Intermediate interview 1 (30 minutes per person). In this session, participants first complete a battery of tests that is a subset of the ones that were administered during introductory session (estimated time 10-15 minutes). Then, instructions about the next phase of the study (15-day intervention study period) are explained to them. -15-day intervention period. in addition to the EMA surveys administered 6 times a day, depending on the group that the participants are assigned, they received additional activities: • Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) Group: At the end of each day, an hour before participants’ sleep time, an additional text message was sent to participants with instructions about a PPI (Random Act of Kindness, or Gratitude, or Best Possible Self) that they enacted and reported on. • Contemplative PP Intervention Group: Similar to the previous group, this group was given instructions for enacting one of the three PPI activities every night. Additionally, each morning this group received instructions for a three-minute meditation session and throughout the day along with the 6 EMA surveys, participants were reminded about the intention of the day (depending on the PPI assigned for that day). • Active Control Group: This group simply received the same EMA signals 6 times a day. To keep the participants engaged in the study and match the activities in the intervention groups, we asked them to complete a working memory task sent to them via text messages at the end of each night. -Intermediate interview 2 (30 minutes per person). Participants completed a battery of tests that were a subset of the ones that were administered during introductory session. -13-day post-intervention period 1. Participants repeated taking the EMA 6 times daily for the next 13 days. -Intermediate interview 3 (30 minutes per person). Participants completed a battery of tests that is a subset of the ones that were administered during introductory session. -14-day post-intervention period 2. Participants repeated taking the EMA 6 times daily for the next 14 days. -Final interview (30 minutes per person). Participants once more completed the same battery of tests completed in previous interviews and were also briefed about their experience in the study. -Follow-up online survey 30 days after end of study (15 minutes). 30 days after the completion of the study, a follow up online survey was sent to the participants who consented to receive and complete this survey. This survey included the same battery of tests administered in all previous interviews. This study received approval from Pennsylvania State University’s Institutional Review Board. IRB# 00006362