What Good are Positive Emotions?

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What Good are Positive Emotions?

• Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph.D.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• www.PositiveEmotions.org

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Specific Action Tendencies

• Fear . . . . . . . . . . . escape
• Anger . . . . . . . . . . attack
• Disgust . . . . . . . . . expel
• Guilt . . . . . . . . . . . make amends
• Shame . . . . . . . . . disappear
• Sadness . . . . . . . . withdraw

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Specific Action Tendencies

• Contentment . . . inaction
• Joy . . . . . . . . . . free activation
• Affection . . . . . . approach
• Relief . . . . . . . . cessation of vigilance

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Specific Action Tendencies
ThoughtAction
X
X
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Breadth of MomentaryThought-Action Repertoire

• Negative Emotions Narrow
• Positive Emotions Broaden

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Positive Emotions Broaden Thought-Action
Repertoires

• Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . play
• Interest . . . . . . . . . explore
• Contentment . . . . . savor integrate
• Love . . . . . . . . . . . all of the above

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Positive Emotions Build Durable Personal Resources

• Physical resources
• Social resources
• Intellectual resources
• Psychological resources

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The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions

• Fredrickson (1998). Review of General Psychology,
  2, 300-319.
• Fredrickson (2001). American Psychologist, 56,
  218-226.
• Fredrickson (2003). American Scientist, 91,
  330-335.

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The Broaden Hypothesis

• Positive emotions broaden peoples attention and
  thinking.

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Empirical Strategy

• Between-Ps Manipulation
• Contentment
• Joy
• Neutral
• Anger
• Fear
• Dependent Measure
• Global-Local Visual Processing

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Global-LocalVisual Processing
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Global Preference
Fredrickson Branigan (2005). Cognition and
Emotion, 19, 313-332.
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The Undo Hypothesis

• If negative emotions narrow and positive emotions
  broaden then positive emotions should be
  efficient antidotes for the lingering
  aftereffects of negative emotions.

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Empirical Strategy

• Context Speech Anxiety
• Between-Ps Manipulation
• Contentment
• Joy
• Neutral
• Sadness
• Dependent Measure
• Duration of Cardiovascular Reactivity

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Responses to Speech Preparation

• Heart Rate
• Finger Pulse Amplitude
• Pulse Transit to Finger
• Pulse Transit to Ear
• Diastolic Blood Pressure
• Systolic Blood Pressure

p lt .001
16
Duration of Cardiovascular Reactivity
Fredrickson et al., (2000). Motivation and
Emotion, 24, 237-258.
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The Resilience Hypothesis

• Positive emotions are an active ingredient within
  trait resilience.

Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 84,
365-376. Tugade Fredrickson (2004) Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 320-333.
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Empirical Strategy

• Assessed early in 2001
• Trait Resilience
• Psychological Resources
• Assessed after September 11th
• Depression
• Psychological Resources
• Negative and Positive Emotions

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Resilience PredictsDepression after 9/11 . . .
b -.24
Psychological Resilience
Depressive Symptoms
p lt .05.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 365-376.
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. . . through Positive Emotions
Positive Emotions
b -.45
b .59
b .02
Psychological Resilience
Depressive Symptoms
p lt .001 p lt .01.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 365-376.
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Resilience PredictsGrowth after 9/11 . . .
Increases in Psychological Resources
b .27
Psychological Resilience
p lt .05.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 365-376.
22
. . . throughPositive Emotions
Positive Emotions
b .48
b .59
Increases in Psychological Resources
b 0.01
Psychological Resilience
p lt .001 p lt .01.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 365-376.
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The Build Hypothesis

• Over time, positive emotions build consequential
  personal resources and increase well-being.

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Empirical Strategy

• Context Diary Study, 28 days
• Daily Measures
• Positive and Negative Emotions
• Pre- and Post-Measures
• Trait Resilience
• Subjective Well-being

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Positive Emotions uniquely linked to growth
Increases in Resilience Increases in SWB
Daily Positive Emotions r .31 r .34
Daily Negative Emotions r -.16 r -.14
p lt .001.
Fredrickson et al., (2006). In preparation.
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Positive Emotions Increase SWB by Building
Resources
Changes in Resilience
b 38
b .31
b .20
Daily Positive Emotions
Changes in SWB
p lt .001 p lt .01.
Fredrickson et al., (2006). In preparation.
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The Flourish Hypothesis

• Positive affect is an active ingredient within
  human flourishing.

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How much positive affect is needed to flourish?
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Empirical Strategy(Losada, 1999)

• Observed 60 business teams
• High Performance (n 15)
• Medium Performance (n 26)
• Low Performance (n 19)
• Coded all speech acts
• Positive-Negative
• Inquiry-Advocacy
• Self-Other
• Created a nonlinear dynamics model of observed
  interactions

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Dynamics of Losadas Business Teams
Emotional Space
Inquiry / Advocacy
Fredrickson Losada (2005). American
Psychologist, 60, 678-686.
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Empirical Strategy

• Context Diary Study, 28 days
• Between-Ps Classification
• Flourishing
• Languishing
• Dependent Measure
• Ratio of Positive to Negative Emotions

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The Losada LinePos Neg 2.9 1
Fredrickson Losada (2005). American
Psychologist, 60, 678-686.
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What happens at higher levels of positive affect?
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Pos Neg 100 1
Emotional Space
Inquiry / Advocacy
Fredrickson Losada (2005). American
Psychologist, 60, 678-686.
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How much positive affect is needed to flourish?

• Pos Neg gt 2.9 1
• Pos Neg lt 11.6 1

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Positive Affect Transforms People
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What Good Are Positive Emotions?

• Broaden attention and thinking
• Undo lingering negative emotions
• Fuel psychological resilience
• Build consequential personal resources
• Seed human flourishing