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Positive Emotions: Short-Term Mechanisms, Long-Term Outcomes, and Mediating Processes

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Positive Emotions: Short-Term Mechanisms, Long-Term Outcomes, and Mediating Processes Positive Emotions: Short-Term Mechanisms, Long-Term Outcomes, and Mediating Processes by Michael A. Cohn A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) in the University of Michigan 2008 Doctoral Committee: Professor Barbara L. Fredrickson, University of North Carolina, Co- Chair Professor Phoebe C. Ellsworth, Co-chair Professor Christopher M. Peterson Assistant Professor Stephanie L. Brown © Michael A. Cohn 2008 Restrictions imposed by academic publishers require that this dissertation be copyrighted under US law. You retain your legal and constitutional rights to Fair Use and are encouraged to exercise them. Dedication Dedicated to all the little acts of civility, and cooperation, and understanding and the people who do them every day. ii Acknowledgments I thank both the people who supported me academically and the friends who sustained me through a challenging part of my life: John Kraemer, for being a kindred mind and spirit. Christine Kraemer, for demonstrating how to live an exciting life. Alex Scouras, for helping hold together an extraordinary group of friends. Murph Murphy and Cara Talaska, for kindness, good advice, and a connection to the world outside of grad school. Barbara Fredrickson and the PEPlab, for pursuing knowledge with openness, teamwork, and resilience. Elizabeth Bartmess-LeVasseur, who has been with me from the first day to the last, and who has deeply influenced the way I think about psychology and the person I have become. I also thank my co-authors: Alice Isen for chapter 2, Stephanie Brown, Joe Mikels, and Anne Conway for chapter 3, Kimberly Coffey, Jolynn Pek, and Sandra Finkel for chapter 4, and Barbara Fredrickson throughout. These were true collaborative works and I regret that I must confine your credit to this page. Finally I thank my parents, who taught me to love language and ideas, and to use my powers for good. iii Foreword This is a dissertation about positive emotions. It's a topic that tends to start fights, and a lot of them aren't necessary. I'll skip ahead and describe one of my core ideas here -- by preventing a common misunderstanding, it may save you some annoyance. Encouraging positive emotions does not mean that my colleagues and I are devaluing negative emotions. I am not trying to wave away the vigilance that comes from anxiety, the strength that comes from anger, or the love and commitment expressed in grief. Negative emotions help regulate our attention, energy, and behavior in small ways throughout the day, and in large ways during unusual crises. It would indeed be Pollyannaish -- and in some cases simply cruel -- to suggest that there's something wrong with people for feeling bad. Rather, I describe many ways in which positive emotions are constructive and restorative. They're not a simplistic cure for all life's ills or a one-step path to health and wisdom, but they do help. Positive emotions can be anything from whimsical cheeriness to intense interest to quiet contentment. Amid difficult situations or profound sadness, they can take the form of a sense of hope, a moment of peace, or a fond memory. Whatever the situation, they can help people unlock the resources to make new discoveries, care for themselves or change things for the better. I'll discuss evidence that nearly everyone could benefit from a little more positive emotion. So as you continue reading, please remember: I am discussing the value of adding something to our lives -- not trying to take something away. iv Contents DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................... iii FOREWORD.................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 The Broaden-and-Build Theory.................................................................................................. 2 Background and Evidence for the Theory .................................................................................. 6 Positive emotions: A functional view..................................................................................... 6 The Broaden Hypothesis: Positive Emotions Broaden Perception, Thoughts, and Actions... 8 The Build Hypothesis: Positive Emotions Create Lasting Resources .................................. 15 Open Questions and Recent Progress ....................................................................................... 17 Question 1: What form does broadening take in individual activities? ................................ 17 Question 2: Can we link short-term effects of positive emotion to actual resource-building in a cognitive performance context?......................................................................................... 19 Question 3: Can the broaden and build effects be linked specifically to emotions, as opposed to various positive traits or cognitions? Are high or elevated levels of positive emotion necessary?............................................................................................................................. 20 Question 4: Does the theory need to include negative emotions? ........................................ 21 Question 5: Is it possible to increase one's level of positive emotion long enough to build meaningful resources? .......................................................................................................... 23 Question 6: Can deliberately induced positive emotions create meaningful change?.......... 23 Overview................................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2: POSITIVE AFFECT DISRUPTS EFFECTIVE ATTENTIONAL ALLOCATION ON COMPLEX TASKS.......................................................................................................................... 26 Abstract..................................................................................................................................... 26 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 27 Positive and Negative Emotions........................................................................................... 27 Mood and performance......................................................................................................... 28 Attempts to Reconcile Conflicting Findings ........................................................................ 29 Aligning Performance Research with Reality ...................................................................... 30 The present study.................................................................................................................. 31 Method ...................................................................................................................................... 32 Participants ........................................................................................................................... 32 Measures............................................................................................................................... 32 Stimuli .................................................................................................................................. 33 Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 33 Results....................................................................................................................................... 36 v Manipulation Check..............................................................................................................36 Main Hypotheses: ................................................................................................................. 39 Discussion................................................................................................................................. 43 Positive affect and performance ........................................................................................... 43 Affect and task strategy ........................................................................................................45 Future Studies ....................................................................................................................... 45 Positive Affect and Divided Attention.................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER 3: HAPPINESS UNPACKED: POSITIVE EMOTIONS INCREASE LIFE SATISFACTION BY BUILDING RESILIENCE ................................................................................................................ 50 Introduction..............................................................................................................................
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