Positive emotions trigger upward spirals toward emotional well-being.

Full Abstract

The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions predicts that positive emotions broaden the scopes of attention and cognition, and, by consequence, initiate upward spirals toward increasing emotional well-being. The present study assessed this prediction by testing whether positive affect and broad-minded coping reciprocally and prospectively predict one another. One hundred thirty-eight college students completed self-report measures of affect and coping at two assessment periods 5 weeks apart. As hypothesized, regression analyses showed that initial positive affect, but not negative affect, predicted improved broad-minded coping, and initial broad-minded coping predicted increased positive affect, but not reductions in negative affect. Further mediational analyses showed that positive affect and broad-minded coping serially enhanced one another. These findings provide prospective evidence to support the prediction that positive emotions initiate upward spirals toward enhanced emotional wellbeing. Implications for clinical practice and health promotion are discussed.

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Author information

Author/s: Fredrickson, Barbara L (BL); Joiner, Thomas (T);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-1109, USA. blf(-atsign-)umich.edu

Grants: MH53971 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; MH59615 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society / APS (Psychol Sci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Mar; vol 13 (issue 2) : pp 172-5

Dates: Created 2002/04/05; Completed 2002/10/29; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 11934003, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Emotions
Female
Humans
Male
Personality Inventory
Students - psychology

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