Overview
- Researchers ran a four-week online experiment with a nationally recruited sample, randomly assigning participants to inspirational videos, comedy, guided meditation, phone scrolling, or no instructions.
- Participants completed about five minutes per day of their assigned activity for five days during the Thanksgiving–Christmas period before follow-up assessments.
- Those who watched inspirational content or practiced guided meditation reported greater hope during the intervention week, which forecast lower stress in the days that followed.
- Comedic segments and passive phone use increased momentary amusement and distraction but did not translate into later stress reduction.
- The authors propose curated hopeful media as an accessible adjunct to stress management, with findings published in Psychology of Popular Media (DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000623).