5. Emotion: Benefits and Complications Flashcards
Fredrickson’s (1998; 2001) Broaden-and-Build theory of positive emotions is a model that seeks to explain
how positive emotions can influence our thoughts and actions
The Broaden-and-Build Theory argues that positive emotions help us to
broaden our awareness and promote novel and varied thoughts and actions, which will then help us to build skills, resources and resilience against emotional setbacks, and promote psychological growth (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2001; 2005).
Although positive emotions may be transient, the broadening effect they have instils resources that are durable and can be transferred to
other relevant situations, contributing to a general feeling of well-being
the benefits of positive emotions, such as enhanced creativity, flexibility, and openness, occur in environments devoid of
pressure and hostility
positive emotions enable individuals to engage in self-development by pursuing
new goals and preparing for future challenges
Lyubomirsky, King, and Diener (2005) postulate that chronically happy people experience
increased self-esteem and general optimism
Galanakis, Moraitou, Stalikas, and Garivaldis (2011) found that positive emotions during childbirth, in particular, joyfulness, pride, and interest, were associated with
lower symptoms of postnatal depression amongst new mothers
A recent study by Eichstaedt et al. (2015) even found that language used on Twitter could predict
heart disease mortality at a country-level, such that negative language patterns used on Twitter that reflected negative emotions, particularly anger were risk factors for atherosclerotic heart disease (AHD), even after controlling for covariates such as education and income
Although there does appear to be support for the Broaden and Build model, not all positive emotions
broaden attention and accrue resources
Another limitation of Broaden and Build theory is that it does not adequately account for
positive benefits that can be accrued from experiencing negative emotions
fear enables individuals to avoid
danger and directs efforts towards conservation
disgust restricts attention to specific features of
an object or event, rather than global patterns
anger arouses a readiness to
attack
When individuals are feeling negative, they are able to
engage more fully in tasks and to remember events more accurately
negative affective states enhance the capacity of individuals to
write convincing arguments (Forgas, 2007) and to practice vigorously before a performance
