Positive EmotionsChapter 9 and 10

History of positive emotion research

Emphasis has been on negative emotions

Recall: Negative emotions are easier to understand Easier to differentiate negative

emotions Easier to identify facial expression,

physiology, etc. Positive emotions often co-occur

How many positive emotions? Barbara Fredrickson says 10!

Joy, interest, contentment, gratitude, awe, amusement, inspiration, pride, hope, love

Tong says 13!

Joy, interest, contentment, gratitude, awe, amusement, pride, hope, love, challenge, compassion, interest, relief, serenity

Not inspiration

Ekman says 7!

Happiness, amusement, excitement, wonder, ecstasy, Naches (Yiddsh – vicarious pride), Fiero (Italian – achieving difficult challenge)

[Ekman, P., & Cordaro, D. (2011). What is meant by calling emotions basic. EmotionReview, 3, 364-370. doi: 10.1177/1754073911410740][Tong, E.M.W. (2014). Differentiation of 13 positive emotions by appraisals. Cognitionand Emotion, 29, 484-503. doi: 10.1080.02699931.2014.922056]

Distinct Positive Emotion

Definition

Joy Good, unexpected fortune that occurs in safe and familiar environments.

InterestA feeling of wanting to investigate, become involved, or

extend and expand the self by incorporating new information and new experiences

Contentment Feeling of satisfaction or completion; savoring current life circumstances

Gratitude Positive feelings in response to a desired outcome caused by someone else.

Awe Feeling that something is greater or bigger than the self

Amusement Benign events that violate expectations and cause humor.

Inspiration Witnessing human excellence or a good deed.

Pride Taking credit for a positive outcome that supports favorable sense of self

Hope Anticipation that a positive outcome will result.

LoveExploring and savoring experiences with other people;

any positive emotion felt during an interpersonal connection.

Positive Emotions: 5 Components

External Stimulus : physical stimulus not required

Subjective feelings

Pleasant Valence; High or Low Arousal

Physiological changes

SNS Activation, PNS Activation

Behavior changes

Facial expressions, approach/avoidance

Cognitive appraisals

Pleasantness, Novelty, Uncertainty, Personal Relevance, External or Internal Causation, High or Low Perceptions of Control, Goal Conduciveness (consistent with one’s goals)

Cognitive Appraisals and Positive Emotions

Singaporean and American undergraduates

Recalled and described a personal experience of 1 randomly selected emotion

Then, rated each emotion along 13 cog app of event causing the emotion

Pleasantness, relevance, problems, goal attainment, agency-self, agency-others, agency-circumstances, control-self, control-others, control-circumstances, certainty, predictability, effort

Located on last page of article[Tong, E.M.W. (2014). Differentiation of 13 positive emotions by appraisals. Cognitionand Emotion, 29, 484-503. doi: 10.1080.02699931.2014.922056]

4 Broad Factors of Appraisals for Positive Emotions

Achievement Appraisal

Important goal was achieved by the self

High = Pride, Challenge, Contentment, Joy

Low = Compassion, awe, amusement

External Influence

Perception that events are caused by external forces

High = Compassion, hope, gratitude; Low = Pride

Difficulty

Less pleasant, high effort, problematic experiences

High = Challenge, compassion, hope, relief

Low = Amusement, serenity, awe, contentment

Clarity

Sense of clarity or sureness about current and future circumstances

High = contentment, pride, amusement, joy, serenity; Low = Hope

[Tong, E.M.W. (2014). Differentiation of 13 positive emotions by appraisals. Cognitionand Emotion, 29, 484-503. doi: 10.1080.02699931.2014.922056]

Awe and Two Cognitive Appraisals Awe – positive and negative emotions

Fear, surprise, interest, inspiration

Vastness Anything perceived as larger than the self

Physical size or social size (e.g., fame, prestige, authority)

Need for Accommodation Process of adjusting mental structures to

allow assimilation of awe-inspiring experience

[Shiota, M.N., Keltner, D., & Mossman, A. (2007). The nature of awe: Elicitors, appraisals, and effects on self-concept. Cognition and Emotion, 21, 944-963 doi: 10.1080/02699930600923668]

Happiness: A positive emotion? In Ekman’s primary emotions, happiness is one of

the universal, basic emotions

Happiness researchers (e.g., Fredrickson) claim that happiness is not a basic emotion, but a personality trait We will discuss happiness articles in the personality

section

Experiencing 10 positive basic emotions on frequent, daily basis is associated with happiness

Joy, interest, contentment, gratitude, awe, amusement, inspiration, pride, hope, love

Influence and Outcomes of Positive Emotions

Broaden and Build Theory

Undoing Effect of Emotions

Positive Emotion Interventions

Broaden Hypothesis: Change in behaviors,

attention, and thinking due to positive emotions

Build Hypothesis:lasting changes in personal

resources that follow repeated positive emotional experiences

over time.

Temporary and transient experiences of positive

emotions

Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory

Positive Emotions

Enhanced health, survival,

fulfillment

Building enduring personal

resources (e.g., social support,

resilience, skills, and knowledge)

Novel thoughts, activities,

relationships

Produces more experiences of positive emotions, creating an

upward spiral.

Broadening

Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory

Joy

Enhanced health, survival,

fulfillment

Builds long-lasting social

bonds and attachments

Laughter signals

openness to new, friendly interactions (broadening)

Produces more experiences of positive emotions, creating an

upward spiral.

Broadening

Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory

Broaden Examples

Attending to object

Seeking information

Reflecting on situation

Integrating new information

Savoring current circumstance

Exploration

Thanking someone

Acting in prosocial ways

Play

Creativity

Attachment and bonding

Laughing

Urge to reach personal best

Perseverance

Building Examples

Build and develop social bonds

Motivation for personal growth

Optimism and resilience to adversity

Achievement motivation

Motor skill acquisition

Reciprocity, altruism

Encoding rewarding experiences

Add new world views to self concept

Knowledge Acquisition

Positive Emotions

More self-other overlap with best friend

More imaginative and attentive about things to

do for friends

Increased trust and social bonds

Eliminate “us vs. them” mindset

Improved memory for individuals from other

races

Less effective at perceiving physical

differences between races

Positive Emotions Broaden “Social”

Thoughts

Inducing Positive Emotions and Building…

Builds intellectual resources - learning

Builds reasoning skills — Doctors and Diagnoses

Increases altruism — Participants who found coins (vs. not)

When threat that caused

negative emotion is no longer present

Negative emotion may

still linger

Positive emotions may neutralize this

lingering negative emotion

Undoing Effect of Negative Emotions

Undoing Effect of Negative Emotions

Baseline Measures Induction: high-arousal, negative emotions in all

Ps

Film manipulation: Amusement: puppy playing with flower Contentment: waves breaking on the beach Neutrality: abstract movies of sticks piling up Sadness: a young boy crying

DV: Cardiovascular Recovery

Cardiovascular Recovery Time =Start of Clip to Baseline Average

Amusement

Content

Neutrality

Sadness

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Time (in seconds)

Clinical Applications Considering the undoing effect

of positive emotions, how could you use any of the positive emotions as an intervention for depression?

JoyInterest

ContentmentGratitude

Awe

AmusementInspiration

PrideHopeLove

Positive Emotions Interventions Gratitude Journals

Meditation

Counting your blessings

Helping another person

Music

Writing

Broaden-and-build Theory: Meditation Loving-Kindness Meditation

Manipulation #1 Experimental Group trained in meditation Control: wait-listed for meditation

workshop

DV: daily number of discrete positive and negative

emotions

Personal resources (cognitive, psychological, social, physical)

Baseline; 9-week study[Fredrickson, B.L., Cohn, M.A., Coffey, K.A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S.M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1045-1062. doi: 10.1037/a0013262]

Loving- Kindness

Meditation

• Broadens feelings of warmth and caring toward self and others

Positive Emotions

• Love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope pride, interest, amusement, awe

Builds personal resources

↑Life Satisfaction

, ↓Depressio

n

Broaden-and-build Theory: Meditation – Building Personal Resources

Cognitive Mindfulness, agency and pathways

thinking Agency: able to achieve goals

Pathways: multiple ways to complete goals

Psychological optimism, life purpose, self-acceptance

Social social support given/received, greater

relationship quality Physical

reduced illness, increased sleep

Writing: Typical Procedures

All participants write about assigned topics for 3-5 days, 15-30 min each day

Experimental Group: write about an important emotional issues that has affected their life

Control Group: write about superficial topics (use of time)

DV = variety of measures

Physical health

Mental health

[Pennebaker, J.W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8, 162-166. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00403.x]

Writing: Typical Procedures Writing group (vs. control group):

Better physical health – fewer doctors’ visits, better immune system functioning

Better psychological health – better memory, more positive mood, higher well-being/happiness

Strongest predictors of physical health

Positive emotions words positively correlated with physical health

Curvilinear relationship between negative emotion words and physical health

[Pennebaker, J.W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8, 162-166. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00403.x]

Summary: Positive Emotions

The broaden- and build theory suggests positive emotions produce health and well-being.

How much positivity is needed to flourish? Fredrickson and Losada say 3:1 But…..

The broaden-and-build theory conveys how positive emotions move people forward and lift them to the higher ground of optimal well-being.