(PS10-D88) The Effects of Neuroticism and Primed Perceptions on Perceived Stress of COVID-19

Stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic rose substantially among most people. Both personality and perceptions have been found to affect subjective stress, but current literature lacks an exploration of these factors in relation to pandemic-related stress. To learn more about how priming may affect stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among more neurotic populations, we developed a study designed to posit either negative or positive feelings based on the condition a participant was exposed to. Forty-nine undergraduate university students participated in the study through Qualtrics. Participants completed the neuroticism items from the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and were categorized as low or high in neuroticism. Next, participants were randomly assigned to an open-ended question which was designed to prompt either positive or negative thoughts regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to measure recent subjective stress. We predicted that both those high in neuroticism and those primed for negative perceptions of the pandemic would report elevated perceived stress levels. Further, it was predicted that priming would most impact high neurotics, who are more susceptible to frequent mood swings and rapid changes in affect. A 2x2 factorial ANOVA was conducted and  indicated a significant main effect of neuroticism level on perceived stress level, F(1, 48) = 5.69, p < .05. Individuals who scored low in neuroticism (M = 29.20, SD = 7.33) reported significantly lower perceived stress levels than those who scored high in neuroticism (M = 33.29, SD = 5.16). Additionally, the ANOVA indicated a main effect of prime-type on perceived stress level, F(1, 48) = 7.08, p = .01. Individuals who received the positive reflection prompt (M = 28.67, SD = 6.38) reported significantly lower perceived stress levels than those who received the negative reflection prompt (M = 33.33, SD = 5.87). The ANOVA did not reveal a significant interaction between priming and levels of neuroticism on perceived stress level, F(1, 48) = 0.53, p = .41. The significant main effects of both neuroticism and prime-type on stress levels imply that personality traits and priming can help to reduce one’s stress levels. While past research has found that personality traits, especially neuroticism, remain relatively stable over time, individuals can instead focus on priming in order to reduce their stress levels. With the practice of journaling gaining popularity in many therapy programs throughout recent years, these results imply that taking a few minutes throughout your day to write down what one is thankful for over the past year may be able to help reduce the stress one feels about the pandemic, and beyond.