Positive Emotions Broaden and Build - PEP Lab · goal (Tracy & Robins, 2007). Pride creates the...
Transcript of Positive Emotions Broaden and Build - PEP Lab · goal (Tracy & Robins, 2007). Pride creates the...
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PositiveEmotionsBroadenandBuild
BarbaraL.Fredrickson
UniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill
Runninghead:BroadenandBuild
ChaptertoappearinVolume47ofAdvancesonExperimentalSocialPsychologyeditedbyE.
AshbyPlant&PatriciaG.Devine,
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Abstract
Thiscontributionoffersareview,comprehensivetodate,ofafifteen-yearresearch
programonthebroaden-and-buildtheoryofpositiveemotions.Althoughcenteredon
evidencethathasemergedfromFredrickson’sPositiveEmotionsandPsychophysiology
Laboratory(PEPLab),itfeatureskeyfindingsfromotherlaboratoriesaswell.Itbegins
withadescriptionoftenrepresentativepositiveemotions,alongsideapproachesfor
assessingthem,bothdirectlywiththemodifiedDifferentialEmotionsScaleandindirectly
throughphysiologicalandimplicitmeasures.Next,itofferstheseedsofthebroaden-and-
buildtheory,includingworkontheundoeffectofpositiveemotions.Itthenreviewsthe
stateoftheevidenceforthetwinhypothesesthatstemfromthebroaden-and-buildtheory,
thebroadenhypothesisandthebuildhypothesis,includingafocusonupwardspiral
dynamics.Ittouchesnextonnewfrontiersforthetheory,includingdeeperinvestigations
intothebiologicalresourcesthatpositiveemotionsbuildaswellasclinicaland
organizationalapplications.Finally,thiscontributioncloseswithabriefpresentationof
twooffshootsfromthebroaden-and-buildtheory,namely,theupwardspiralmodelof
lifestylechange,andworkonloveaspositivityresonancebetweenandamongpeople.Both
aretargetsofincreasingworkinthePEPLab.
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PositiveEmotionsBroadenandBuild
Fromitsverystart,psychologyhasharboredaninferioritycomplex.Despitethefact
thatbehavioralscientistsrelyonthescientificmethodandstrivingsforvalidandreliable
measuresjustasferventlyasdothoseworkinginthenaturalsciences,thiscomplex
persists.Psychologyhastoooftenplayedthesocialcomparisongame,lookinguptothe
naturalsciencesandmedicine,pressingitsnoseagainsttheglassceilingofthesehigh-
prestigeenterprises,whiletryingtoclimbawayfromanddistinguishitselffromthe
humanitiesandothersocialsciences,claiminggreaterempiricalvalidityandrelevancy.The
recenttrendtorenameacademicdepartmentsof“Psychology”asdepartmentsof
“PsychologicalScience”or“PsychologyandBrainScience”maywellreflectthisinsecurity
(Kihlstrom,2012).
Oneoutwardlegacyofthisdeep-seatedinferioritycomplexhasbeentostayclearof
topicsthatfallundertheumbrellaofhumanbehaviorandexperiencethataredeemedtoo
soft,frivolous,orethereal.Howeverintriguingtheymaybe,experiencesmarkedbylevity
ordelightwerelongignoredbypsychologists,perhapsforfearthattheymightsomehow
spoilanoutwardimpressionofrigororobjectivity.Forpsychologytobetakenseriouslyas
ascience,itseemed,requirednotonlythatitberigorousandobjective–byfollowingthe
principlesofthescientificmethod–butthatisalsoappearrigorousandobjectiveby
tacklingproblemsofgravenature,likementalillness,violence,orsocialostracism.
Itistruethatemotion,aconceptoftencastasethereal,wasanearlytopicwithin
psychology(e.g.,James,1884;Cannon,1929).Yetemotionalphenomenawereeventually
cordonedoffinthezeitgeistofbehaviorism,whoseproponentscatalogedthemas
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irrelevantandmisleadingepiphenomena(Skinner,1974),andderidedthosewhostudied
themasmentalists.Althoughafewunorthodoxpsychologistsventuredoffthebeatenpath
tostudyemotionsnevertheless(e.g.,SilvanTompkins,1962,whoseworkinspiredPaul
Ekman,CarrollIzard,amongothers),emotionssciencedidnotemergeasanorganized
subspecialtyuntilthemid1980s,asmarkedbytheformationoftheInternationalSociety
forResearchonEmotions(ISRE)in1984,thefirstmulti-disciplinaryprofessional
associationforscholarsspecializinginthisarea.It’sfairtosaythatinthethirtyyearssince,
researchonemotionshasexploded.
Yetevendecadesafteremotionsbecamearigorousandacceptedtopicofscientific
inquiry,psychology’sinferioritycomplexheldswaytokeepthefocusonthemostserious
ofemotions,namelyfear,anger,sadness,andthelike.Evendisgustmadeitswaytothe
fore(e.g.,Rozin&Fallon,1987).Itwasasifthelight-heartedemotionswithinthehuman
repertoiremightsomehowweakenthefibersofthecloakofrigorthathasbeenso
importantforpsychologytodon.Thisismysenseofhowpsychologycouldexistasa
scienceforanentirecenturybeforepsychologistswereallowedtotakeacloseempirical
lookatpositiveemotionswithoutjeopardizingtheirreputations.
Ihavehadthegoodfortunetoworkontheleadingedgeofthenewandamply
rigorousscienceofpositiveemotions.Togetherwiththestudentsandcollaboratorswho
haveworkedwithmeinmyPositiveEmotionsandPsychophysiologyLaboratory(PEPLab,
firstattheUniversityofMichiganandnowattheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapel
Hill),Ihavesoughttocreateanevidence-basedunderstandingoflight-heartedmoments,
chartingtheirvariety,thewaystheychangehowthehumanmindworks,andhow,little-
by-little,theychangepeople’slives.Thiswasnotaneasyprogramofresearchtolaunch.
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Myfirstempiricalworkonpositiveemotionswasinfactrejectedcountlesstimesoverthe
spanofsevenyearsbeforeitsawpublication(i.e.,Fredrickson&Levenson,1998).While
serialrejectionsareneverpleasant,thisearlyresistancetaughtmeimportantlessonsboth
aboutscholarlyprecisionandaboutresilienceandpersistence.Thepurposeofthischapter
istoreviewthenowlongstandingPEPLabresearchprogramonpositiveemotions,
centeredonmybroaden-and-buildtheory,withdiscussionofrelevantstudiesfromother
laboratoriesaswell.Ibeginwithadescriptionofthevariousaffectivephenomenamy
collaboratorsandItarget.
TenRepresentativePositiveEmotions
Isetthestageforthisreviewbybrieflydescribingtenkeypositiveemotions.Thisis
bynomeansanexhaustivelist.Ichoosetofocusonthesetenemotionsnotonlybecause
theyarethetargetsofincreasingresearch,butalsobecauseevidencefromthePEPLab
suggeststhatthesetenareexperiencedrelativelyfrequentlyinpeople’sdailylife.Withone
importantexception,Idescribethemintheorderoftheirrelativefrequency,startingwith
thepositiveemotionspeopleappeartofeelmostoften,andmovingontothosethatthey
feelmorerarely.Theexceptionislove,whichinourstudiesemergesasthemost
frequentlyexperiencedpositiveemotion.Asdescribedbelow,Iseegoodreasonto
describeitlast.
Likeallemotions,positiveemotionsarebrief,multi-systemresponsestosome
changeinthewaypeopleinterpret–orappraise–theircurrentcircumstances.Whenthis
multi-systemresponseregistersthatcircumstancesaresomehowbadfortheself,a
negativeemotionarises,whenitregistersgoodprospectsorgoodfortune,apositive
emotionarises.Toforeshadowthebroaden-and-buildtheory,foreachofthesetenpositive
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emotions,Idescribe(a)theappraisalpatternsthattriggerit,(b)thebroadenedthought-
actionrepertoireitsparks,and(c)thedurableresourcesthatithelpstobuild.Table1
offerstheseinsummaryformacrossitsfirstfourcolumns.
Joy.Joyemergeswhenone’scurrentcircumstancespresentunexpectedgood
fortune.Peoplefeeljoy,forinstance,whenreceivinggoodnewsorapleasantsurprise.Joy
createstheurgetoplayandgetinvolved,orwhatFrijda(1986)termedfreeactivation,
definedasan“aimless,unasked-forreadinesstoengageinwhateverinteractionpresents
itself”(p.89).Thedurableresourcescreatedthroughplayaretheskillsacquiredthrough
theexperientiallearningitprompts.
Gratitude.Gratitudeemergeswhenpeopleacknowledgeanotherpersonasthe
sourceoftheirunexpectedgoodfortune.Joybecomesgratitude,forinstance,when
awarenessofone’sowngoodfortuneiscombinedwithadmirationforanotherpersonfor
thoughtfullygoingoutoftheirwaytocreatethatgoodfortune(Algoe,inpress).Gratitude
createstheurgetocreativelyconsidernewwaysbekindandgenerousoneself.The
durableresourcesaccruedwhenpeopleactonthisurgearenewskillsforexpressing
kindnessandcaretoothers.
Serenity.Alsocalledcontentment,serenityemergeswhenpeopleinterprettheir
currentcircumstancesasutterlycherished,right,orsatisfying.Peoplefeelserenity,for
instance,whentheyfeelcomfortable,ateasein,oratonewiththeirsituation.Serenity
createstheurgetosavorthosecurrentcircumstances,andintegratethemintonew
prioritiesorvalues.Thedurableresourcescreatedthroughsavoringandintegrating
includeamorerefinedandcomplexsenseofoneselfandofone’spriorities.
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Interest.Interestarisesincircumstancesappraisedassafebutofferingnovelty.
Peoplefeelinterest,forinstance,whentheyencountersomethingthatismysteriousor
challenging,yetnotoverwhelming.Interestcreatestheurgetoexplore,tolearn,to
immerseoneselfinthenoveltyandtherebyexpandtheself(Izard,1977;Silvia,2008).The
knowledgesogainedbecomesadurableresource.
Hope.Whereasmostpositiveemotionsariseincircumstancesappraisedassafe,
hopeistheexception.Hopearisesindirecircumstancesinwhichpeoplefeartheworst,yet
yearnforbetter(Lazarus,1991).Peoplefeelhope,forinstance,ingrimsituationsinwhich
theycanenvisionatleastachancethatthingsmightchangeforthebetter.Hopecreatesthe
urgetodrawonone’sowncapabilitiesandinventivenesstoturnthingsaround.The
durableresourcesitbuildsincludeoptimismandresiliencetoadversity.
Pride.Prideemergeswhenpeopletakeappropriatecreditfromsomesocially-
valuedgoodoutcome.Peoplefeelpride,forinstance,whentheyaccomplishanimportant
goal(Tracy&Robins,2007).Pridecreatestheurgetofantasizeaboutevenbigger
accomplishmentsinsimilararenas.Thebigdreamssparkedbypridecontributetothe
durableresourceofachievementmotivation(Williams&DeSteno,2008).
Amusement.Amusementoccurswhenpeopleappraisetheircurrent
circumstancesasinvolvingsomesortonnon-serioussocialincongruity.Itcanerupt,for
instance,inthewakeofaharmlessspeecherrororphysicalblunder.Amusementcreates
urgestosharealaughandfindcreativewaystocontinuethejoviality.Aspeoplefollow
theseurges,theybuildandsolidifyenduringsocialbonds(Gervais&Wilson,2005).
Inspiration.Inspirationariseswhenpeoplewitnesshumanexcellenceinsome
manner.Peoplefeelinspired,forinstance,whentheyseesomeoneelsedoagooddeed,or
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performatanunparalleledlevel.Inspirationcreatestheurgetoexceloneself,toreach
one’sownhighergroundorpersonalbest.Thedurableresourceitbuildsisthemotivation
forpersonalgrowth(Algoe&Haidt,2009;Thrash&Elliot,2004).
Awe.Aweemergeswhenpeopleencountergoodnessonagrandscale.Peoplefeel
awe,forinstance,whenoverwhelmedbysomething(orsomeone)beautifulorpowerful
thatseemslargerthanlife.Theexperienceofawecompelspeopletoabsorband
accommodatethisnewvastnessthey’veencountered.Thedurableresourcesawecreates
arenewworldviews(Shiota,Keltner,&Mossman,2007).
Love.Love,whichappearstobethepositiveemotionspeoplefeelmostfrequently,
ariseswhenanyotherofthepositiveemotionsisfeltinthecontextofasafe,interpersonal
connectionorrelationship.Iwillofferaricherdescriptionoflovelaterinthischapter,
whenIdiscusspositivityresonanceasanoffshootofthebroaden-and-buildtheory.For
now,sufficeittosaythatasanamalgamofotherpositiveemotions,lovebroadensthought-
actionrepertoiresbothinan“alloftheabove”manner,andbycreatingmomentary
perceptionsofsocialconnectionandself-expansion.Likewise,lovebuildsawiderangeof
enduringresources,especiallysocialbondsandcommunity.
AssessmentApproaches
Myempiricalapproachhasbeentoassesseachofthesepositiveemotionsvia
people’sself-reportsoftheirownsubjectiveexperiences,whetherinresponseto(a)an
emotioninductionpresentedinthelaboratory,(b)arepeatedend-of-daysurveyoftheir
experiencesoverthepast24hours,or(c)aquestionnaireinquiringabouttheiremotional
experiencesoverthepasttwoweeks.Todothis,thePEPLabusesavariantofthemodified
DifferentialEmotionsScale(mDES,seeAppendix;Fredrickson,Tugade,Waugh,&Larkin,
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2003)selectedtofitthetemporalframeofagivenstudydesign.ThemDESiexpandedon
theDifferentialEmotionsScale(DES;Izard,1977)toincludeafarwidersetofpositive
emotions.IcreatedthemDEStobeamoreencompassingmeasureofpositiveemotions
thanthemorecommonlyusedPANAS,whichexclusivelytargetshighactivationpositive
affectivestates(Watson,Wiese,Vaidya,&Tellegen,1999).LiketheDESbeforeit,themDES
usesatrioofemotionadjectivestocaptureeachemotion.ThefifthcolumninTable1
presentstheparticulartriousedinthemDESforeachofthetenpositiveemotionsinturn.
Basedonevidencethatpeoplearebetteratrecallingpeakemotionalexperiencesthanthey
areataggregatingacrossmultipleaffectiveepisodes(Fredrickson&Kahneman,1993;
Kahneman,Fredrickson,Schreiber,&Redelmeier,1993),wetypicallyaskrespondentsto
indicate“thegreatestamountthatyou’veexperiencedeachofthefollowingfeelings”
(responseoptions:0=notatall;1=alittlebit;2=moderately,3=quiteabit;and4=
extremely).Attimes,however,weinquireaboutthefrequencyofexperience,byasking
respondents“Howoftendidyoufeel_______?”(responseoptions:0=never;1=rarely;2=
someofthetime;3=often;4=mostofthetime).Dependingonourempiricalapproach,we
askrespondentstothinkbacktoaparticularlaboratoryprocedure(e.g.,agivenfilmor
activity),thepast24hours,orthepasttwoweeks.Inallcases,eachof20distinctemotions
isrepresentedbyatrioofaffectiveadjectives.Thoseforthepositiveemotionsaresupplied
inTable1(researchersinterestedinusingthemDESmaydownloadvariousversionsfrom
thePEPLabwebsite,www.PositiveEmotions.org).WhileattimesmycollaboratorsandI
examineindividualitemsofthemDEStoexploretheeffectsofspecificemotionsor
laboratoryinductions,mostoftenweaggregatethe10positiveand10negativeemotion
itemsseparatelytocreateindependentpositiveandnegativeemotionscores,respectively.
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Thesescalesyieldhighinternalreliability,rangingfrom.82to.94(Cohn,Fredrickson,
Brown,Mikels,&Conway,2009;Fredrickson,Cohn,Coffey,Pek,&Finkel,2008).
Beyondtheexplicitself-reportsofemotionexperiencecapturedbythemDES,inour
laboratory-basedstudiesmyPEPLabregularlyusesfacialelectromyography(EMG)to
capturethefrequencyofDuchennesmiles,usinganewdata-reductiontechnique
developedbyformerstudentsKareemJohnsonandChristianWaugh(Johnson,Waugh,&
Fredrickson,2010).Tofurthercircumventdemandeffects,we’vealsousedarangeof
implicitmeasuresofpositiveaffect(e.g.,lexicaldecisiontask,LDT,Niedenthal,Halberstadt,
&Setterlund,1997;affectmisattributionprocedure,AMP,Payne,Cheng,Govorun,&
Stewart,2005).WealsodeployaversionofRussell’sAffectGrid(Russell,Weiss,&
Mendelsohn,1989)especiallywheninneedofdensely-repeatedmeasuresofemotion
withinasinglelaboratoryvisit.WemodifytheAffectGridbyrevisingtheemotion
adjectivesthatappeararoundthegrid’sperimetertobestfitourcurrentempirical
objectives.Idirectreadersinterestedinadeeperdiscussionofemotionmeasurementtoa
chapterRandyLarsenandIwroteonthistopicforaneditedvolumeonwell-being(Larsen
&Fredrickson,1999).
SeedsoftheBroaden-and-BuildTheory
TheUndoEffectofPositiveEmotions
Ibeganmyformalstudyofemotionsasapost-doctoralfellowintheearly1990s,
supportedbytheNIMHtraininggrantonemotionsledbyPaulEkmanandRichardLazarus.
Myintellectualcuriosityaboutpositiveemotionswaspiquedbythesimplefactthatthey
weresorarelydiscussedintheexistingempiricalliterature.WorkingwithRobert
LevensonatUCBerkeley,IbecamecaptivatedbythetwosentencesLevensonhaddevoted
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topositiveemotionsinachapterhe’dwrittenonbestpracticesforinvestigatingwhether
specificdiscreteemotionscarrieduniqueautonomicsignatures.Indiscussingthecrucial
issueofhowtoselectanappropriatebaselineagainstwhichtoexaminethephysiological
effectsofdistinctemotions,hewrote“…theevolutionarymeaningofpositiveemotions
suchashappinessmightbetofunctionasefficient‘undoers’ofstatesofANS[autonomic
nervoussystem]arousalproducedbycertainnegativeemotions.Totestthishypothesisa
reasonablebaselineconditionfortheinvestigationofANSconcomitantsofhappiness
wouldbeonethatproducesapriorstateoffear,angerorsadness.”(Levenson,1988,p.25).
Indeed,priorworkbyLevensonandcolleagueshadexaminedtheautonomiceffectsof
“happiness”assessedagainstthemorecommonlyusedbaselineofneutralaffect
(Levenson,Carstensen,Friesen,&Ekman,1991;Levenson,Ekman,&Friesen,1990).
Resultsofthisearlierworkshowedessentiallynoautonomicsignaturewhatsoeverforthis
positiveemotion,whichseemedapuzzle.
Soatthestartofmypost-doctoralfellowship,inthefallof1990,LevensonandI
designedaninitiallaboratoryexperimenttotestthisundohypothesis(Fredrickson&
Levenson,1998).AsLevensonhadproposed,weexaminedtheeffectsofpositiveemotions
againstthebackdropofanegativeemotion,inthiscasefear.Wedid,ofcourse,alsoinclude
apriorneutralbaselinetoestablishtheeffectsofourfearinduction.Weusedashortvideo
clipthatcapitalizedonafearofheights,tocreateacommonnegativeemotioninall
participants,whowerefemalestudentsattheUniversityofBerkeley.Theclipshoweda
maninchingalongtheouterledgeofahigh-rise,huggingthesideofthebuilding;atone
pointheloseshisfooting,graspsatwhateverhecananddangleshighabovetraffic,
strugglingtokeepfromdroppingtohiscertaindeath.
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Frompretestingweknewthatthisshortclip,just83secondslong,waseffectivein
inducingfearspecifically.Participantsinthisexperimentreportedtheirownsubjective
experiencesofemotionbymanipulatingaratingdialwhosepointermovedonacontinuous
180-degreescale,labeledfrom“verynegative”(0)to“neutral”(~4.5)to“verypositive”(9).
Duringtheirpre-videorestingbaselineperiod,meanratingdialreportswerenear5(very
slightlypositive),whereasduringthishigh-riseledgeclipparticipants’ratingsdroppedto
about3(negative).Moreimportantlyfortestingtheundohypothesis,participantsalso
experiencedsignificantcardiovascularreactivitytothisvideoclip,with3of4
cardiovascularmeasuresshowingsignificantchangerelativetorestingbaseline,namely,
heartrate;fingerpulseamplitude,anindexofperipheralvasoconstriction;andpulse
transmissiontimetotheear,acorrelateofbloodpressure.Pulsetransmissiontimetothe
fingerwasalsomeasured,butdidnotshowsignificantchangeduringthefearclipandso
wasnotusedwithinouraggregateindexofcardiovascularrecoveryinthisinitialstudy.
Wetestedtheundohypothesisbyrandomlyassigningparticipantstoviewoneof
fourdifferentshortvideoclipsimmediatelyfollowingthefear-inducingledgeclip.From
pretesting,weknewthattwoofthefourclipsevokedtwodifferentpositiveemotions,
amusementandcontentment.Theseclipspresentedimagesofapuppyplayingandocean
waves,respectively.Athirdwasknowntobeneutral,elicitingnoemotionwhatsoeverby
presentinga1990s-eracomputerscreensaver,andafourthwasknowntoelicitsadnessby
showingaboycryingatthedeathofhisfather.Importantly,thetwopositiveandthe
neutralclips,whenviewedfollowingastandardrestingbaseline,producevirtuallyno
cardiovascularsignatureswhatsoever(Fredrickson,Mancuso,Branigan,&Tugade,2000,
Study2).Thatis,there’snowaythatanyonecouldknow,justbylookingattheensuing
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physiologicalresponses,whethersomeonewerewatchingpuppies,waves,orasimple
screensaver.Wechosesadnessasanadditionalcomparisonconditionbecausealthoughit
producessmallincreasesinsympatheticactivation(Fredricksonetal.,2000),unlikeother
negativeemotions,itisnotassociatedwithanyhigh-actionmotorprogram(Fredrickson&
Levenson,1998),likefightorflightthatco-optsthesympatheticnervoussystem.Most
oftenitisassociatedwithinactivityordisengagementandassuch,onemightexpectit,too,
tospeedcardiovascularrecovery.
Soalthoughpositiveemotionsdonotappearto“do”anythingtothecardiovascular
system,whenviewedagainstthebackdropofpronouncednegativeemotionalarousal,the
positiveemotionsclearlystoodoutintheirabilityto“undo”lingeringcardiovascular
activation.Comparedtoeitherthoseintheneutralcondition,whotookabout40seconds
torecover,orthoseinthesadconditions,whotookabout60secondstorecover,thosein
theamusementandcontentmentconditionsshowedthefastestcardiovascularrecovery,
recoveringwithinabout20secondseach(Fredrickson&Levenson,1998,Study1).
Acrosstwosubsequentexperiments,conductedinmyownnewly-established
laboratoryattheUniversityofMichigan,mystudentsandIreplicatedthisexactpatternof
resultsusingsamplesmorediverseinage,gender,andethnicity.Wealsousedamore
activeandself-relevantwaytoinducetheinitialnegativeemotionbyhavingparticipants
preparetodeliveraspeechon“Whyyouareagoodfriend”underconsiderabletime
pressure,which,theyweretold,wouldbevideotapedforlaterevaluationbystudentsin
anotherstudy.Wealsoinstructedparticipantsthattherewasa50-50chancethat“the
computer”wouldselectthemtogivetheirspeechornot.If“bychance”theywerenot
selectedtogivetheirspeech,avideoclipwouldbeginonthemonitorthatwasplaced
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beforethem.Inactualitynoparticipantswereaskedtodelivertheirpreparedspeeches.
Thiscoverstorywasdevelopedbothtoboosttheanxietyofthespeechpreparationtask
andtojustifythequickswitchtoanunrelatedvideoclip.Whileourlaterexperimentsused
thesameclipstoelicitamusement,contentment,neutrality,andsadnessastheoriginal
Fredrickson-Levensonexperiment,weexpandedthearrayofcardiovascularmeasureswe
trackedtoincludebeat-by-beatassessmentsofbothsystolicanddiastolicbloodpressure.
Thespeechtaskproducedclearandpronouncedexperiencesofanxiety,asindicated
bothbyparticipants’self-reportsoftheirsubjectiveexperience,andbysignificantchanges
acrosstheentiresetof6cardiovascularmeasureswetracked,eachinthedirectionof
heightenedsympatheticarousal(Fredrickson,etal.,2000,Study1,Samples1and2).
Notably,usingdifferentsamples,differentcardiovascularmeasures,andadifferentinitial
negativeemotionfromwhichtorecover,twodistinctpositiveemotionsagainyielded
significantlyfasterrecoveryfromthecardiovascularsequelaeofnegativeemotions.
UsingarchivaldatathatI’dcollectedinLevenson’slabatUCBerkeley,Ialsotested
theundohypothesisusingamorespontaneousandecologicallyvalidpairingofnegative
andpositiveemotions.Peoplevaryintheirresponsestonegativeexperiences.For
whateverreasons,somepeoplesmileinthefaceofsadnessandadversitywhereasothers
donot.Weexploredwhetherthosewhosmiledduringanotablysadfilmclip(thefuneral
scenefromSteelMagnolias,clippedpriortothehumorousinterchanges),wouldshow
fastercardiovascularrecoveryaftertheclipended.Thosewhosmiledatleastonceduring
thesadclip,thedatasuggested,recoveredabout20secondsfasterthanthosewhonever
smiled(Fredrickson&Levenson,1998,Study2).
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WhereasLevensonhadsuppliedtheoriginalhypothesisthatlaunchedourresearch
ontheundoeffectofpositiveemotions,mycontributionwastodevelopatime-based
measureofcardiovascularrecoverywithfine-grainedtemporalresolution.Aswas
standardinLevenson’slab,wehadextractedsecond-by-seconddataonparticipants’
responsesduringtherestingbaselineaswellasduringthefilmsequencestheysaw.Using
thesedata,Icalculatedaconfidenceintervalaroundeachparticipant’sbaselinelevelof
activationdefinedbytheirmeanactivationoverthelast60-secondsofa2-minuteresting
baselineperiod,plusandminusonestandarddeviationofthatmean.Thisconfidence
intervalwasusedtocharacterizeeachparticipants’ownstateofemotionalquiescence.
Duringthefearclip,allparticipants’responsesmovedoutofthisrelaxedstate,aswouldbe
expectedwiththeexperienceoffear.Then,atthestartoftherandomly-assignedsecondary
videoclips,Icalculatedthetime,inseconds,foreachparticipants’cardiovascular
responsestoreturntowithintheconfidenceintervalthatrepresentedtheirownrelaxed
stateandremainwithinthisintervalfor5of6consecutiveseconds.Ididthisforeach
cardiovascularmeasurethathadshownreactivityinresponsetotheinitialnegative
emotionandthenaggregatedtherecoverytimesacrossdistinctcardiovascularmeasures.
Thisdatareductionapproachwas,atthetime,novel.Mostinvestigatorsassessedrecovery
indirectly,byre-assessingthemagnitudeofacardiovascularresponsesomeminuteslater
andtheninferringrecoveryfromanyevidentreductionsinreactivity.Ourmoresensitive
time-basedmeasureofcardiovascularrecoveryprecededthelaterandeventuallymore
sophisticatedappreciationforaffectivechronometry,theinvestigationofthetemporal
courseofemotionexperiences(e.g.,Davidson,1998;Waugh,Hamilton,&Gotlib,2010).
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Anoffshootofthisearlyworkontheundoeffectofpositiveemotionsemergedasan
auxiliarybranchofresearchonresilience.UsingBlockandKremen’s14-itemself-report
measureofEgo-Resilience(ER89;Block&Kremen,1996),wediscoveredthatpeoplewho
scorehigheronthisindexoftraitresilienceappeartospontaneouslyharnesstheundo
effectofpositiveemotionstoregulatetheirownnegativeemotionalexperiences.For
instance,whenfacedwiththesameanxiety-producingspeechpreparationtask,people
whoscorehigheronresilienceshowedsignificantlyfastercardiovascularrecovery.
Moreover,theirquickerrecoverywasmediatedbytheirgreatertendencytoexperience
positiveemotionsinresponsetothetask,intermixedwiththeiranxiety(Tugade&
Fredrickson,2004,Study1).
Inasecondstudy,byrandomassignmentwehadsomeparticipantreframethe
speechpreparationtaskasaninterestingchallengetoovercomeversusathreat.Underthe
typicalthreatinstructions,wereplicatedtheeffectwhereinpeoplewhoscorehigheron
BlockandKremen’sresiliencemeasureshowedfastercardiovascularrecovery.By
contrast,underchallengeinstruction,wefoundthatpeoplewhoscoredloweronresilience
showthesameswiftcardiovascularrecoveryastheirhighresilientcounterparts.
Moreover,theirspeedyrecoverywasmediatedbythegreaterpositiveemotionsthey
experiencedinresponsetothetaskalongsidetheiranxiety.Datafrombothstudiesbolster
theundoeffectofpositiveemotionsbysuggestingthatpositiveemotionsserveasuseful
resourcesforregulatingnegativeemotionalexperiencesindailylife.Beyondpromoting
cardiovascularquiescence,positiveemotionshavealsobeenfoundto(a)helpresilient
peoplefindpositivemeaningindifficultlifecircumstances(Tugade&Fredrickson,2004,
Study3),(b)bufferagainstdepressivesymptomsandfuelpost-crisisgrowthinthewakeof
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theSeptember11th,2001terroristattacks(Fredrickson,etal.,2003),and(b)helppeople
effectivelyrecoverfromstressbothindailylifeandduringbereavement(Ong,Bergeman,
Bisconti,&Wallace,2006).
TheBirthoftheBroaden-and-BuildTheory
Thetransitioninmyownthinkingfromtheundoeffecttothebroaden-and-build
theoryofpositiveemotionscarriesaninterestinglessonabouttheimportanceofhavingan
appropriatebalanceofpositivetonegativeemotionsforgenerativethinking.Asmyfirst
worktargetingpositiveemotions,mystudiesontheundoeffectignitedmyfascinationwith
theevolutionaryoriginsoftheselight-heartedstates.Withinthestillnewrenaissanceof
emotionsscience,verylittleworktargetedemotionswithapleasantsubjectivefeel.This
madepositiveemotionslargelyunchartedterrain,whichpresentedmyfavoritekindof
intellectuallandscape.Althoughit’snotalwayswisetotoilinareasunplowedbyothers,it
certainlyprovidesvastareastofreelyexploreandponder.
Inourfirstmusingsabouthowexistingemotiontheorywasperhapsunsuitablefor
thepositiveemotions,LevensonandIpointedoutthatthelynchpintheorythatspecific
emotionsactivatespecificactiontendenciesdidnotneatlyextendtothepositiveemotions
(Fredrickson&Levenson,1998).Theconceptofspecificactiontendencieshadbecomeso
centralwithinemotionssciencebecauseitsimultaneouslyexplainednotonlywhy
emotionsevokebodilychanges(tosupportspecificactionurges)butalsowhyemotions
exist(becausethesespecificactionshelpedhumanancestorssurvivespecificandrecurring
threatstolifeandlimb).
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Inthestretchofyearsduringwhichourinitialmanuscriptontheundoeffectwas
repeatedlysubmittedandrejected,Ihadtheopportunitytopresentmyresearchatthe
ISREmeetingin1996,heldinToronto.Theinvitationtopresentinthiscontextwasitself
unprecedentedbecause(atthetime)ISREmeetingswereopentomembersonlyand
membershiprequiredhavingatleast5publicationswithinemotionsresearch.AlthoughI
wasstartingmy2ndAssistantProfessorposition(havingjustmovedfromDukeUniversity
totheUniversityofMichigan),Iscarcelyhad5publications,letalone5publicationson
emotions.MotivatedinpartbythestringentmembershiprulesofISRE,anumberofmy
peershadformedaparallelacademicorganization,theEmotionsResearchGroup,orERG,
expresslyasaforumforearly-careeremotionsresearcherstohelpcultivateandrefine
eachother’swork.AsERGgainedmomentum,theleadershipatISREdecidedtomakean
exceptiontotheirstandardmembershiprequirementanddeemedallmembersofERGto
bemembersofISRE.Insodoing,JamesGross,thenERGPresidentwasinvitedtoorganize
asymposiumon“NewVoicesinEmotionsResearch”forthe1996ISREmeeting.Itwas
unprecedentedforacollectionofsuchjuniorresearcherstohaveareasonablylarge
audienceatthismeeting.ItwasbasedonthissymposiumthatPeterSalovey,then-editorof
thenewAPAJournal,ReviewofGeneralPsychology,invitedthoseofuswhopresentedto
puttogetheraSpecialIssueonemotionsresearchforVolume2ofhisnewjournal.
Althoughour“NewVoices”symposiumwaswellreceived,itwasnotwithoutsharp
criticism.Thesharpestofwhich,asIrecall,wasdirectedatme.Afterpresentingmydata
ontheundohypothesis,I’draisedthepossibilitythatthecentralconceptofspecificaction
tendenciessimplydidn’tapplytothepositiveemotions.Whereasangerandfearsparkthe
urgetofightorflee,respectively,alongsideattendantautonomicactivation,amusement
BroadenandBuild19
andcontentmentdonotappeartoevokeanyparticularactionsorautonomicactivation.
Whatthen,Iwonderedaloud,mightbetheirevolvedfunction?Thefunctionofpositive
emotions,Ispeculated,maywelltoundothephysiologicalaftereffectsofnegativeemotions
andIsuggestedthatthedatathatIhadpresentedreflectedthisundoingfunction.
Aseniorscientistinattendancechallengedmewithnosmallamountofemotionin
hisvoice.HeclaimedthatIhadnobasistodescribeundoingasafunctionofpositive
emotions.Atbest,heargued,Icouldcallitan“effect.”Bothhiswordsandintonationhitme
hardandIleftthepodiumwithlessconfidenceandmoredoubtsthanI’dhadwhenI
approachedit.
Theunknowncritic’swordslingeredwithmeformonths.iiAsIwaspreparingto
writemycontributiontotheinvitedRGPSpecialIssue,Isetmygoaltodevelopaproper
evolutionaryargumentforthefunctionofpositiveemotions.Ireadtheevolutionary
psychologistsoftheday(particularlyBarkow,Cosmides,&Tooby,1992;Nesse,1990;
Tooby&Cosmides,1990),andgatheredupasmanyofthedisparatestrandsofevidence
thathadthenaccumulatedaboutpositiveemotionsasIcouldfind.Thisincludedworkby
MihalyiCsikszentmihalyi,AliceIsen,andothers.Ipuzzledoverhowmyownevidencefor
theundoeffectmightfittogetherwithIsen’sworkthatshowedthatpositiveemotions“give
risetoanenlargedcognitivecontext”(Isen,1987,p.222)andwithCsikszentmihalyi’s
suggestionthatflow,aformofpositiveemotionakintointerest,ismarkedbyamomentary
lossofself,andyetovertimeparadoxicallyaugmentstheself(Csikszentmihalyi,1990).
Guidedbythelogicofevolutionarytheorists,Ipaidcloseattentiontothecircumstancesin
whichpositiveemotionsoccur,andtheancestrallyrecurrentproblemsofadaptationfor
whichpositiveemotionsmighthaveservedasawell-designedsolution.Catalogingthe
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widerangeofsituationsthatevokedpositiveemotionsmadeitcleartomethatthe
simplisticpairingofnegativeemotionswithsurvivalandpositiveemotionswith
reproductionwasinadequate.Intheend,Ialsodecidedthattheunknowncriticwasright.
Undoingwasunlikelytobetheevolvedfunctionofpositiveemotions.Itlookedinsteadbe
thebyproductofafarmoreconsequentialfunction.
Thefunctionofpositiveemotions,asshapedovermillenniabynaturalselection,I
cametoconclude,wastobuildanindividual’sresourcesforsurvival.Themeansbywhich
thisbuildfunctionwasachievedwasbyamomentarilybroadenedscopeofawareness,
creatingaformofconsciousnesswithinindividualsthatincludedawiderarrayofthoughts,
actions,andperceptsthantypical.Thismeantthatnegativeandpositiveemotionsalike
cametobepartofouruniversalhumannaturethroughselectivepressuresrelatedto
survival,albeitonvastlydifferenttimescales.Negativeemotionscarriedadaptive
significanceinthemomentthatourhumanancestors’experiencedthemastheirassociated
actionurges–e.g.,tofight,flee,orspit–drovebehaviorsthatsavedlifeandlimb.Positive
emotions,bycontrast,carriedadaptivesignificanceforourhumanancestorsoverlonger
time-scales.Havingamomentarilybroadenedmindsetisnotakeyingredientintherecipe
foranyquicksurvivalmaneuver.Itis,however,intherecipefordiscovery,discoveryof
newknowledge,newalliances,andnewskills.Inshort,broadenedawarenessledtothe
accrualofnewresourcesthatmightlatermakethedifferencebetweensurvivingor
succumbingtovariousthreats.Resourcesbuiltthroughpositiveemotionsalsoincreased
theoddsthatourancestorswouldexperiencesubsequentpositiveemotions,withtheir
attendantbroadenandbuildbenefits,thuscreatinganupwardspiraltowardimproved
BroadenandBuild21
oddsforsurvival,health,andfulfillment.Figure1providesagraphicsummaryofthis
broaden-and-buildtheoryofpositiveemotions.
ThisiswhatIofferedasanewaccountoftheevolvedadaptivefunctionofpositive
emotionsinthatRGPSpecialIssue(Fredrickson,1998).Itstatedthatpositiveemotions
havebeenusefulandpreservedoverhumanevolutionbecausehavingrecurrent,yet
unbiddenmomentsofexpandedawarenessprovedusefulfordevelopingresourcesfor
survival.Little-by-littlemicro-momentsofpositiveemotionalexperience,although
fleeting,reshapewhopeoplearebysettingthemontrajectoriesofgrowthandbuilding
theirenduringresourcesforsurvival.Thebroaden-and-buildtheorydescribestheformof
positiveemotionsastobroadenawarenessandtheirfunctionastobuildresources.
Fromtheperspectiveofthefreshlyarticulatedbroaden-and-buildtheory,the
undoingeffectofpositiveemotionswasaby-productofthebroadeneffect.Totheextent
thatpositiveemotionsbroadenedanindividual’saccessiblerepertoireofthoughtsand
actionurges,theywouldalsoservetoloosentheholdthatanyparticularnegativeemotion
mightgainonanindividual’smindsetbyvirtueofitsassociatedurgeforspecificaction.
Onemarkerofthebody’spreparationforspecificactioniscardiovascularactivation.If,by
broadeningpeople’smindsets,positiveemotionscandismantlepreparationforspecific
actions,theyshouldalsoserveasefficientantidotesforthecardiovascularsequelaeof
negativeemotions.
Anotherstrandofevidencethatswayedmefromtakingundoingtobetheevolved
functionofpositiveemotionswasthewidearrayofcontextsinwhichpositiveemotions
occur.Iftheundoeffectcapturedthefunctionofpositiveemotions,thentheoccurrenceof
positiveemotionsincontextsnotcharacterizedbypriornegativitywouldneedspecial
BroadenandBuild22
explanation.Giventhatmostpositiveemotionsareexperiencedindependentlyfrom
negativeemotions,itseemedthatshouldbetheruletobeexplainedratherthanthe
exceptiontotherule.
Sothebroaden-and-buildtheorywasitselfevokedbypointedcriticismandmyown
initialnegativeemotionalresponsestoit.Yetmywishtobeopentothatcriticismand
learnfromitcoaxedmetoexpandthescopeofmythinkingaboutpositiveemotions,which
allowedmetodiscovermoreoftheirunsungvalue.Thesharpwordsfromthatsenior
scholaratISRE,then,becametheirritatinggrainofsandthatcommandedmyfocusuntilit
emergedassomethingmoreappealinganduseful.IndeedI’vecometoviewthe
developmentofthebroaden-and-buildtheoreticalframeworkasmypearlforhaving
generatedastringofhypotheses.Itmarkedaturnawayfromnearexclusivefocusonthe
undoeffectofpositiveemotionsandtowardamoreencompassingfocusontheirabilities
tobroadenmindsetsandbuildresources.
EvidencefortheBroaden-and-BuildTheory
TheBroadenHypothesis
Thebroadenhypothesis,drawnfromthebroaden-and-buildtheory,statesthat
positiveemotions,relativetonegativeemotionsandneutralstates,widenthearrayof
thoughts,actionurges,andperceptsthatspontaneouslycometomind.Thishypothesis
wasconsistentwith–andindeedinspiredby–theextensiveresearchprogramofthelate
AliceIsenandhercollaborators.Isenandcolleagues’workwasexemplaryfortworeasons.
First,shedidnotassumethatpositiveandnegativeemotionswere“opposites”andassuch
alwayscomparedtheeffectsofpositiveemotionstotheeffectsofneutralstatesintightly
controlledlaboratoryexperiments.Second,bolsteringgeneralizability,acrossstudiesshe
BroadenandBuild23
andhercolleaguesusedawiderangeoftechniquestoinducepositiveemotions,ranging
fromhavingparticipantsreadalistofpositivewords,viewcartoonsorashortcomedyclip,
hearsuccessfeedback,orhavingthemreceiveasmallbagofcandyasanunexpectedgift.
FromIsen’sexperiments,wecanconcludethatpeopleexperiencingpositiveemotions
showpatternsofthoughtthatarenotablyunusual(Isen,Johnson,Mertz,&Robinson,
1985),flexibleandinclusive(Isen&Daubman,1984;seealsoBolte,Goschke,&Kuhl,2003;
Dreisbach&Goschke,2004;andCompton,Wirtz,Pajoumand,Claus,&Heller,2004;),
creative(Isen,Daubman,&Nowicki,1987;seealsoPhillips,Bull,Adams,&Fraser,2002;
andRowe,Hirsh,&Anderson,2007),integrative(Isen,Rosenzweig,&Young,1991),open
toinformation(Estrada,Isen,&Young,1997),forward-lookingandhigh-level(Pyone&
Isen,2011),andefficient(Isen&Means,1983;Isen,etal.,1991).Isenandcolleagues’work
alsoprovidesevidencethatpositiveemotionsbroadenpeople’sactionurges,with
experimentsshowingincreasedpreferencesforvarietyandopennesstoawiderarrayof
behavioraloptions(Kahn&Isen,1993;seealsoRenninger,1992)
Fromtheperspectiveofthebroaden-and-buildtheory,Ireasonedthatthecognitive
andbehavioraleffectsofpositiveemotionsthatIsenandcolleagueshadpreviously
uncoveredwerethedownstreamconsequencesofamorebasiccognitiveshift,onein
whichtheboundariesofawarenessstretchopenabitfurtherduringpositiveemotional
experiences,enablingpeopletoconnectthedotsbetweendisparateideasandtherebyact
creatively,flexibly,andwithgreatersensitivitytofuturetimehorizons.Althoughaslim
amountofpriorevidencesupportedtheviewthatpositiveemotionsbroadenthescopeof
attention(seeBasso,Schefft,Ris,&Dember,1996;Derryberry&Tucker,1992;each
describedinFredrickson,1998;seealsoGasper&Clore,2002),conclusivenesswaslimited
BroadenandBuild24
becausethispriorworkdidnotincludeneutralcomparisonconditions.Notingthis,my
studentsandIsetouttotestthebroadenhypothesisadoptingmethodsfromcognitive
psychologythatcapturedthebreadthmomentaryawareness.
OneexperimentthatIconductedincollaborationwithChristineBranigan,for
instance,usedshortfilmclipstoinducepositive,negative,andneutralstatesinUniversity
studentparticipantsusingabetween-participantsdesign(Fredrickson&Branigan,2005,
Study1).Onestrengthofthisworkisthatwetestedtheeffectsoftwodistinctpositive
emotions(amusementandcontentment)andtwodistinctnegativeemotions(angerand
anxiety),eachrelativetoaneutralstate.Ourdependentmeasureofthescopeof
participants’attentionwasavariantofaglobal-localvisualprocessingtask,firstdeveloped
byNavon(1977;seeFigure2).Immediatelyafterviewingtherandomly-assignedvideo
clip,participantswereshownatriooffiguresandaskedtochoosewhichoftwo
comparisonfigures(onthebottom)wasmostsimilartothetargetfigure(thetop).While
therearenorightorwronganswers,onecomparisonfigurealwaysresembledthetarget
figureinitsglobalconfiguration(seelowerleftchoiceineachitemshowninFigure2),
whereastheothercomparisonfigurealwaysresembledthetargetfigureinitslocaldetail
elements(seelowerrightchoiceineachitemshowninFigure2).Pastworkhadshown
thatpersonalitytraitsassociatedwithnegativeemotions–namelyanxietyanddepression
–correlatedwithabiastochoosethelocaloption,consistentwithanarrowedscopeof
attention,whereastraitsassociatedwithpositiveemotions–namelysubjectivewell-being
andoptimism–correlatewithabiastochoosetheglobaloption,consistentwitha
broadenedscopeofattention(Basso,etal.,1996).Althoughourresultsfornegative
emotionswereinconclusive,thoseforpositiveemotionsclearlydemonstratedthat
BroadenandBuild25
temporarystatesoftwodistinctpositiveemotionsbroadenthescopeofattention:
Participantsinboththeamusementconditionandthecontentmentconditionchosethe
globaloptionsignificantlymoreoftenthanthoseintheneutralcondition(Fredrickson&
Branigan,2005,Study1).
Inasecondexperimentthatusedthesamesampleandsamefivevideoclipsto
inducepositive,negative,andneutralstates,weexaminedthebreadthofparticipants’
actionurgesusingathoughtlistingtask(Fredrickson&Branigan,2005,Study2).
Specifically,afterthevideoclipended,participantswereaskedtodescribe,inawordor
two,thestrongestemotiontheyfeltwhileviewingtheclip.Then,theywereaskedtostep
awayfromthespecificsofthevideoclipandimaginebeinginasituationinwhichthis
particularemotionwouldarise,andthen“giventhisfeeling,pleaselistallthethingsyou
wouldliketodorightnow.”Participantswerethengivenaformwith20blanklinesthat
beganwith“Iwouldliketo_____.”Wesimplytalliedthenumberofstatementscompleted
asanindexofthebreadthofparticipants’thought-actionrepertoire.Figure3presentsthe
results.Wefoundthatpositiveemotions,relativetoboththeneutralstateandthenegative
emotions,broadenedpeople’srepertoireofactionurges.Inthissecondexperimentwe
alsofoundmarginalevidencethatnegativeemotions,relativetotheneutralstate,
narrowedpeople’srepertoireofactionurges(Fredrickson&Branigan,2005,Study2).
Inlaterstudies,againwithUniversitystudents,weusedfacialEMGtomeasurethe
frequencyofparticipants’Duchenne(genuine)smilesduringemotioninductionsand
relatedsmilefrequencytochangesintheirperformanceoncognitivetestsofattentional
breadthandattentionalflexibility(Johnsonetal.,2010).Inthefirstoftwostudies,we
examinedfacialEMGdatawhileparticipantsviewedoneofseveralrandomly-assigned
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videoclipsknowntoelicitthepositiveemotionsofjoyorcontentment,thenegative
emotionsofangerorsadness,oremotionalneutrality.Thedependentmeasureinthis
studywasareaction-timebasedmeasureofglobal-localvisualprocessingadministeredat
baselineandthenagainfollowingtheemotioninduction.Inthistask,participantswere
shownalarge“T”(presentedupright,inverted,ororientedtowardtherightortheleft)
madeupofsmallerimagesoftheletter“T”(allalsoeitherupright,inverted,ororientedto
therightortheleft).Participantsweretoindicate,asquicklyandaccuratelyaspossible,
whethereitherthelargeorsmallerletterswereuprightorinverted.Resultsshowedthat
participantswithfrequentDuchennesmilesshowedasignificantlylargerchange(relative
totheirownbaselinescores)intheirbiastowardglobaltargets(Johnsonetal.,2010,
Experiment1).Inasecondstudy,weusedfacialEMGtoidentifytheDuchennesmiles
emittedwhileparticipantsreadaseriesof25self-relevantstatementswrittentoinduce
elation,anger,orneutralitywhilelisteningtoemotionally-consistentmusic.Thedependent
measureinthisstudywasacovertattentionalorientingtask,developedbyPosner(1980),
againadministeredbothatbaselineandfollowingtheemotioninduction.Participants’task
wastorespond,asquicklyandasaccuratelyaspossible,totargetsthatappearedoneither
sideofacentralfixationpoint.Onsometrialsthesetargetswereuncued,whereasonother
trialstheywereprecededbyabriefvisualcuethatwaseithervalidorinvalid,meaningthat
itappearedeitheronthesameoroppositesideastheensuingtarget,respectively.
Changesinattentionalflexibilitywereindexedbychangesinthevalidityeffect,calculated
asthedifferencebetweenreactiontimestotargetsprecededbyvalidversusinvalidcues.
ResultsshowedthatparticipantswithfrequentDuchennesmilesshowedthegreatest
increasesinattentionalflexibility(Johnsonetal.,2010,Experiment2).
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Takentogether,thesetwostudiesprovideevidencethatpositiveemotions,as
indexedbythefrequentexpressionofgenuine(Duchenne)smiles,forecastbroadened
cognition,namelyholisticprocessingandattentionalflexibility.Notably,although,the
randomly-assignedemotioninductiondidnotpredictcognitiveshiftsineitherofthesetwo
experiments,theseinductionsdidpredictthefrequencyofDuchennesmiles.Inturn,
frequentDuchennesmilespredictedcognitiveshifts.Importantly,ourstrategyofassessing
cognitiveprocessingatbothbaselineandfollowingtheemotioninductionallowedusto
concludethatsmilingperseappearstodrivetheobservedcognitiveshiftsratherthanany
stablepersonalitytraitsassociatedwithfrequentsmiling.Soevenincasesinwhich
people’sself-reportedemotionsdonotforecastchangesinthescopeoftheirattention,we
seethatfleetingchangesinfacialmuscleactivitydo.Smiling,then,doesn’tjustopenthe
face,italsoopensthemind.
Investigatorsinotherlaboratorieshavealsofoundevidencetosupportthebroaden
hypothesis.WadlingerandIsaacowitz(2006),forinstance,usedaneye-trackingapparatus
torecordthelocationanddurationofparticipants’gaze60timespersecondasthey
viewedasequenceof25arraysofimagesfromtheInternationalAffectivePictureSystem
(IAPS).Eacharrayincludedonecentralimageandtwoperipheralimagesinvarious
locations.Withinanysinglearray,imageswereofthesameaffectivevalence,butbetween
arrays,theimageswereselectedtoevokepositive,negative,orneutralaffectstates.Using
Isen’sclassictechnique,byrandom-assignment,universitystudentparticipantswere
inducedtofeeleitherapositiveemotionoraneutralstatebyreceivingasmallbagofcandy
eitherbeforeoraftertheeye-trackingtask.Specifically,theywereaskedtotakeintheslide
show“naturally,viewingwhateverinterestsyou–asifyouwerewatchingatelevision
BroadenandBuild28
show.”Comparedtothoseintheneutralcontrolcondition,participantsinapositive
emotionalstatechangedthefocusoftheirgazemorefrequently,andspentmoretotaltime
lookingatperipherally-locatedimages.Thesedatasuggestthatpositiveemotionsbroaden
thescopeofpeople’svisualattention.
Inaconceptuallyrelatedexperiment,Rowe,HirschandAnderson(2007)examined
theeffectsofpositiveandneutralstates,inducedthroughmusic,onbreadthofvisualand
semanticattention.Theyfoundthatrelativetosadandneutralstates,positivestatesnot
onlyincreasedthescopeofsemanticaccessonaremoteassociatestest(replicatingclassic
workbyIsenetal.,1987)butalsoincreasedthescopeofvisuospatialattentiononaflanker
task.Moreover,withinthepositiveemotioncondition,Roweandcolleaguesobserveda
significantassociationbetweenthespanofvisuospatialattentionandthespanofsemantic
attention,suggestingthatbroadenedvisualattentionundergirdsbroadenedsemantic
access(Roweetal.,2007).
Particularlycompellingevidenceforthebroadeneffectofpositiveemotionscomes
fromanelegantbrainimagingexperimentconductedbySchmitz,DeRosa,andAnderson
(2009).Theirempiricalapproachrestedonwell-validatedevidencefromcognitive
neurosciencethatoneparticularbrainarea,theextrastriatefusiformfacearea(FFA),
reliablyrespondstohumanfaces,whereasadistinctbrainarea,theparahippocampalplace
area(PPA)reliablyrespondstoplaceprocessing.Theyassessedthebreadthof
participants’fieldofviewinvisualcorticalencodingbyshowingthemaseriesofcompound
imagesthatfeaturedhumanfacesinacentrallocationsurroundedbyimagesofhouses.
Participantswereaskedtoindicatewhetherthefaceineachcompoundimagewasmaleor
female,whileignoringthehousethatsurroundedtheface.Positive,negative,orneutral
BroadenandBuild29
stateswereinducedinalternatingblocksusingIAPSimages.Thephysiologicalindicatorof
emotion-relatedchangesinscopeofparticipants’fieldofviewwasthechangesinblood
flowwithinthePPA.Consistentwiththebroadenhypothesis,resultsshowedgreater
activationinthePPAinthepositiveemotionconditions,relativetotheneutralcondition,
suggestingthatwhenundertheinfluenceofpositiveemotions,participantscan’thelpbut
takeinmoreofthecontextualsurround.Notably,thisstudyalsofounddecreased
activationinthePPAinthenegativeemotioncondition,relativetotheneutralcondition,
consistentwiththehypothesisthatnegativeemotionsnarrowpeople’sfieldofview
(Schmitzetal.,2009).
Intriguingevidenceconsistentwiththebroadenhypothesishasalsoemergedin
studiesofstrokepatientswithvisualneglectduetolesionsintheirparietalcortex.These
patientsareunabletoperceiveandactoninformationpresentedwithinthevisualfield
oppositethebrainlesion.Usingbothcontrolledbehavioraltasksaswellasbrainimaging,
researchersdiscoveredthatwhensuchpatientslistentopleasantmusic,theyovercome
theirlossofawareness.Thatis,theyaretemporarilyabletoseeandactoninformationthat
simplydoesn’tregisterforthemwhilenotlisteningtomusic,orwhenlisteningtomusic
theydon’tlike(Sotoetal.,2009).
Positiveemotionshavealsobeenlinkedwithbettersteeringperformancefor
participantsinadrivingsimulator,consistentwiththetheorythatbroadenedvisual
awarenesscontributesfavorablytosteeringperformance(Trick,Brandigampola,&Enns,
2012).Experimentsalsoshowthatrelativetonegativeemotionsandneutralstates,
positiveemotionsareassociatedwithbettertaskswitching,especiallywhenencountering
novelinformation(Wang&Guo,2008).
BroadenandBuild30
Evidencealsosuggeststhatthebroadeneffectofpositiveemotionsextendsintothe
socialdomain.Relativetothoseexperiencingneutralstates,peopleinducedtofeelpositive
emotionsexpandtheircircleoftrust(Dunn&Schweitzer,2005).Theyarealsomorelikely
toforminclusivesocialcategories(Dovidio,Gaertner,Isen,&Lowrance,1995;Isen,
Niedenthal,&Cantor,1992)andcommonin-groupidentitiessuchthattheyaremorelikely
tosee“them”as“us”(Dovidio,Isen,Guerra,Gaertner,&Rust,1998).Likewise,Johnsonand
Ifoundthatundertheinfluenceofinducedpositiveemotionstheown-racebiasinface
perceptiondisappearscompletely(K.J.Johnson&Fredrickson,2005).Consistentwith
thesedata,Nelson(2009)foundthat,comparedtothoseinneutralstatesornegative
emotions,peopleexperiencingpositiveemotionsshowgreaterperspective-takingand
compassionforapersonfromadissimilarculturalbackground.Theexperienceofpositive
emotionsalsopredictsthebreadthofconnection,assessedasself-otheroverlap,incoming
collegestudentsfeelwiththeirnewroommates,aswellasgreaterperspective-takingin
theirunderstandingoftheirroommates’actions(Waugh&Fredrickson,2006).
Beyondexpandingthescopeofpeople’svisual,semantic,andsocialawareness,
positiveemotionsalsoappeartobroadenpeople’sphysicaldemeanor.Instudies
conductedwithMelissaGross,weusedeffort-shapeandkinematicassessmentsto
characterizepeople’sbodymomentsduringdifferentemotionalstates.Participantswore
close-fittingexerciseclotheswith31lightweightsphericalmarkerstapedoveranatomical
landmarksandthenengagedinarangeofwarm-upactivities,Inalargelaboratory
equippedwithsixmotioncapturecameras,eachparticipantwalkedacrosstheroomas
theyrelivedpositive,negativeorneutralemotionalmemories(Gross,Crane,&Fredrickson,
2012).Thisstudyincludedtwodistinctpositiveemotions–joyandcontentment–and
BroadenandBuild31
eachwasmarkedbyamoreexpansivetorsoshape,comparedtoneutral,andamore
extendedneckandthorax,comparedtosadness.Conceivably,anuprightpostureofthe
upperbodyandneckwouldenableawiderscopeofvisualinformationandmorefreedom
ofmovementthanaflexedspine.Expandedbodiesmaytherebysupportexpanded
mindsetsandbehavioralrepertoires.Thesecommonalitiesalsoraisethepossibilityofa
commonneurologicalsourcefortheembodimentoftheopenheartsandopenmindsthat
arecharacteristicofpositiveemotions.
Boundaryconditionsofthebroadeneffecthavebeenuncoveredaswell.Workby
GableandHarmon-Jones(2008)forinstance,examinedparticipants’reactiontimesto
respondtoglobal-localvisualtargetsafterviewingeitherneutralimagesorimagesof
deliciousdesserts.Havingfoundlessglobalfocusofattentionafterpeopleviewdesserts
theseauthorsarguethatapproach-relatedpositiveaffectreducesthebreadthofattention,
aspeoplenarrowlyfocusonobtainingtheobjectoftheirdesire.Thesedataareconsistent
withthespeculationthatIhavemadethatpositiveemotionsaredistinctfromphysical
pleasures(Fredrickson,2001).Whilebothcarryapleasantsubjectivefeelingstate,Iposit
thatonlypositiveemotionsbroadenawareness.Byconsequence,then,itmaybethatonly
positiveemotions(andnotphysicalpleasures)arebecapableofhavingalong-termimpact
ontheaccrualofpersonalandsocialresources.Possiblyconsistentwiththisreasoning,
researcherswhohavetestedforthebroadeneffectfollowingthepleasuresinducedby
massagetherapyhavefoundnoevidenceforit(Finucane&Whiteman,2007).Ofcourse,
nullresultsareinherentlyambiguous,somyspeculationsaboutthepsychological
differencesbetweenpositiveemotionsandphysicalpleasuresawaitfurtherandmore
rigorousempiricaltest.
BroadenandBuild32
TheBuildHypothesis
Evidencethatsupportsthebroadeneffectofpositiveemotionsprovidesinitial
supportforthebroaden-and-buildtheory.Theformoftheexperienceofpositiveemotions,
thisevidencesuggests,isexpansive.Undertheinfluenceofpositiveemotionspeoplehave
widerperceptualaccess,widersemanticreach,moreinclusiveandconnectedsocial
perceptions,andmorerelaxedandexpansivebodilycomportment.Whiletheconnections
betweenandamongthesevariousformsofthebroadeneffectawaitfurtherinvestigation,
thebroaden-and-buildtheorypositsthatthefunctionoftheexpansiveformofpositive
emotionsistospurthedevelopmentofresources,placingpeopleonpositivetrajectoriesof
growth(Fredrickson,1998,2001,2005).Consistentwiththisbuildhypothesis,ample
researchhasshownthatpeoplewhoexperienceandexpresspositiveemotionsmore
frequentlythanothersaremoreresilient(Fredricksonetal.,2003),resourceful
(Lyubomirsky,King,&Diener,2005),sociallyconnected(Maussetal.,2011)andmore
likelytofunctionatoptimallevels(Fredrickson&Losada,2005;Maussetal.,2011).
Extendingbeyondsuchcorrelationalevidencelinkingpositiveemotionexperience
toresourcefulnessandoptimalfunctioning,prospectiveevidencemorespecificallylinks
positiveemotionalexperiencewithfutureincreasesinresourcefulnessandoptimal
functioning.Notably,thebroaden-and-buildtheorypositsthatpositiveemotions,although
fleeting,accumulateandcompoundovertimeinwaysthatincrementallybuildpeople’s
enduringresources.Assuch,testsofthebuildhypothesisdefytestwithinone-time
laboratorystudies,requiringinsteadthefrequentrecurrenceofpositiveemotional
experiencesplussufficienttimeforresourcestoaccrue.Anumberofstudiesthathavemet
thesecriteriahaveuncoveredevidenceconsistentwiththebuildhypothesis.Mystudents
BroadenandBuild33
andIfound,forinstance,thatdailyexperiencesofpositiveemotionspredictincreasesover
timeintraitresilience,whichareinturnassociatedwithimprovedlifesatisfaction(Cohn,
etal.,2009).Relatedly,Gableandcolleaguesfoundthatpositiveemotionalexchanges
betweenpartnerswithincloserelationshipsprospectivelypredictincreasesinrelational
resourcesoveratwomonthperiod(Gable,Gonzaga,&Strachman,2006;seealsoAlgoe,
Fredrickson,Gable,&Akers,2012).Studyingasampleofmultiplesclerosispatients,Hart
andcolleaguesfoundthatpositiveemotionspredictincreasesintheabilitytofindbenefit
inadversity(Hart,Vella,&Mohr,2008).
Akeyextensionoftheprospectivecorrelationalapproachtotestingthebuild
hypothesishasbeentoexplorewhetheranupwardspiraldynamicisproducedby
reciprocalprospectiverelationsbetweenpositiveemotionalityandincreasedpersonal
resources.Thatis,justasexperiencesofpositiveemotionsforecastincreasesinpersonal
resources,personalresourcesmayreciprocallyforecastincreasesovertimeinpositive
emotions.Thismutualinfluencerepresentstheupwardspiral,depictedinFigure1,that
leadstohigherlevelsofwell-beingandfunctioningovertime.
Inaninitialinvestigationintopositivity-triggeredupwardspiralprocesses,Thomas
JoinerandIexaminedthereciprocalrelationsbetweenpositiveemotionalexperienceand
thepsychologicalresourceofbroad-mindedcoping,whichcapturesthedegreetowhich
peoplecanstepbackfromtheircurrentproblemsandapproachthemfromabigpicture
perspective.Resultsrevealedboththatpositiveemotionspredictedincreasesovertimein
broad-mindedcoping,andthatbroad-mindedcopingpredictedincreasesovertimein
positiveemotions.Furtheranalysesrevealedthatthesetwovariablesseriallyinfluenced
eachother.Thatis,initiallevelsofpositiveemotionalitypredictedlaterlevelsofpositive
BroadenandBuild34
emotionalityinpartthroughchangesinbroad-mindedcoping;likewise,initiallevelsof
broad-mindedcopingpredictedlaterlevelsofbroad-mindedcopinginpartthrough
changesinpositiveemotionality(Fredrickson&Joiner,2002).
Subsequentworkhasreplicatedandextendedthisinitialevidenceforanupward
spiraldynamicbetweenpositiveemotionsandpersonalandsocialresourcesinmultiple
ways.ContinuingmycollaborationwithJoiner’sresearchteam,wefoundthatamore
encompassing,factor-analyticallyderivedindexofpositivecopingshowedthepredicted
reciprocalandserialrelationswithpositiveemotionsovertimeasdidanindexof
interpersonaltrust(Burnsetal.,2008).Exploringthebenefitsofmindfulnesstraining,Eric
Garland,SusanGaylordandIalsofoundsupportforupwardspiraldynamicsinthe
reciprocalrelationsamongpositivereappraisals,traitmindfulness,andemotionalwell-
being(Garland,Gaylord,&Fredrickson,2011).Inalongitudinalassessmentof258
secondaryschoolteachers,Salanovaandcolleaguesfoundthatpositiveemotionsatwork
(indexedasflowandintrinsicmotivation)werereciprocallyrelatedbothtopersonal
resources(indexedasself-efficacybeliefs)aswellastoorganizationalresources(indexed
associalsupportandcleargoals)inanupwardspiraldynamic(Salanova,Bakker,&
Llorens,2006;seerelatedworkon"gaincycles"describedinOuweneel,LeBlanc,&
Schaufeli,2011;Salanova,Schaufeli,Xanthopoulou,&Bakker,2010,andSalanova,Llorens,
&Schaufeli,2011).
Takingadeeperlookintohowtoday’soptimalfunctioningbegetsfutureincreases
inoptimalfunctioningthroughtheexperienceofpositiveemotions,LahnnaCatalinoandI
examinedtheprospectiveandreciprocalrelationsamongflourishingmentalhealth,
positiveemotionality,andthecognitiveresourceofmindfulness(Catalino&Fredrickson,
BroadenandBuild35
2011).Wefoundthatpeoplewhoflourishstandapartfromtheirnon-flourishingpeersin
themagnitudeofthepositiveemotionalboosttheygetoutofeverydaypleasantevents,
suchashelpingothers,interacting,playing,learning,andspiritualactivity.Thesebigger
“boosts”inday-to-daypositiveemotionforecastgreatergainsovertimeinthecognitive
resourceofmindfulness,whichinturnpredictsincreasedlevelsofflourishinginan
upwardspiraldynamic.
Inourfirstattempttoinvestigatethephysiologicalsubstrateofupwardspiral
dynamics,BethanyKokandIlookedattheprospectiveandreciprocalrelationsbetween
positiveemotionalityandthephysicalresourceofcardiacvagaltone(Kok&Fredrickson,
2010).Vagaltoneisassessedastheveryslightyetfunctionalarrhythmiainheartrate
associatedwithrespiration,markedbyadecreaseinheartrateduringexhalationrelative
toinhalation(Grossman,1983).Asakeymeasureofparasympatheticinfluenceonthe
heart,vagaltoneisofparticularinterestnotonlybecauseithasbeenrelatedtotrait
positiveemotionality(Oveisetal.,2009),butalsobecauseofitsstrongtiestobothphysical
andmentalhealth(Porges,2007;Thayer&Sternberg,2006).Thatis,vagaltonefunctions
asapersonalphysicalresourcewithimplicationsforbothcardiovascularandmetabolic
functioningaswellasemotionalandsocialwell-being.Supportingtheupwardspiral
hypothesis,ourresultsdemonstratedthatvagaltoneprospectivelypredictedincreasesin
positiveemotionsoverthespanoftwomonthsand,reciprocally,thattheseincreasesin
positiveemotionsprospectivelypredictedincreasesinvagaltone(Kok&Fredrickson,
2010).Takingvagaltoneasamarkerofphysicalhealth,thesedatashowthatpeoplecan
becomephysicallyhealthierthroughtheirexperienceofpositiveemotions.
BroadenandBuild36
Themostdecisivetestsofthebuildhypothesisnotonlyrequirelongitudinal
assessmentstogetherwithmeasured(orpresumed)positiveemotionalrecurrence,but
alsotheabilitytorandomlyassignpeopletodistinctemotionaltrajectories,andtolink
theseemotionaltrajectoriestolongitudinalincrementsinresources.Togetherwithmy
students,Imadetwoinitialattemptstoreachthislevelofempiricalrigor,yeteachfailedto
providetheopportunitytotestthebuildhypothesisexperimentallybecausethe
interventionsused,namelyfindingpositivemeaningindailylifeevents,didnotreliably
boostpositiveemotionalexperiences(e.g.,seeFootnote3inCohnetal.,2009;seeFootnote
3inFredrickson&Losada,2005).Withnodifferencesinpositiveemotionsbetween
experimentalgroups,acausaltestofthebuildhypothesiswasnotpossible.Inlate2004,
whileonthelookoutforamorepotentandreliableinterventiontoincreasepeople’sdaily
experiencesofpositiveemotions,Iwasfirstexposedtoloving-kindnessmeditation(LKM;
Salzberg,1995)inafacultyseminaronIntegrativeMedicineattheUniversityofMichigan
MedicalSchool(ledbyDr.RitaBenn).Emboldenedbyemergingempiricalinterestinthe
long-rangeeffectsofmind-trainingtechniques(e.g.,Davidsonetal.,2003),andwithgrant
supportfromNIMH,Ilaunchedaninitiallongitudinalfieldexperimentoftheeffectsof
learningLKMontheexperienceofpositiveemotionsandresource-building(Fredrickson,
etal.,2008).
Inthecontextofaworkplacewellnessprogram,weoffereda7-weekmeditation
workshoptoemployeesofalargecomputercompany.Theworkshopwaspresentedasan
opportunitytolearntechniquesto“reducestress.”Twohundredandtwovolunteers
completedaninitialsurveythatassessedtheirlifesatisfaction,depressivesymptomsand
theirstatusonawiderangeofpersonalresources.Theywerethenrandomlyassignedto
BroadenandBuild37
eitherourLKMmeditationworkshoporamonitoringwaitlistcontrolgroup.Overthenext
9weeks,bothgroupscompleteddailyreportsoftheiremotionexperiencesandmeditation
practice.Abouttwoweeksaftertheworkshopended,participantscompletedafinalsurvey
thatreassessedtheirlifesatisfaction,depressivesymptoms,andstatusonthesame
personalresourcesmeasuredpreviously.Atthissametime,participantsalsoprovideda
detailedaccountoftheemotionstheyhadexperiencedonthatparticularweekday(upto
andincludinglunch)usingtheDayReconstructionMethod(DRM,Kahneman,Krueger,
Schkade,Schwarz,&Stone,2004).
Firstandmostpivotally,ourresultsshowedthat,comparedwaitlistparticipants,
peoplerandomlyassignedtolearnLKMdidinfactexperienceincreasinglevelsofpositive
emotionsacrossthenineweeksofdailyreporting.Figure4depictsthisincrease.
Interestingly,weobservedthepredictedTimeXExperimentalConditioneffectnotonlyfor
ouraggregatepositiveemotionscore(computedfromthemDES),butalsoforeachofthe
ninespecificpositiveemotionsweassessed(inspirationwasnotyetanitemonthemDES
atthetimeofthisstudy).Inadditiontorandomassignmenttoexperimentalcondition,we
foundthatindividualeffort,assessedastimespentmeditating,alsosignificantlypredicted
thedailyexperienceofpositiveemotions,anddidsoincreasinglyoverthenineweeksof
assessment.Indeed,weobservedthatforparticipantsintheLKMgroup,thedose-response
relationshipbetweenthetimetheyspentmeditatingandthepositiveemotionalyieldfor
theirinvestedefforttripledoverthecourseofthestudy.Nocomparableorinverseeffects
emergedfornegativeemotionswhatsoever,suggestingthattheeffectsofLKMarespecific
topositiveemotions.Additionally,theDRMdatarevealedthatthetotalnumberofhours
spentinmeditativeactivityovertheprevious9weekspredictedtheamountofpositive
BroadenandBuild38
(butnotnegative)emotionsexperiencedonatypicalweekdaymorning,especiallywhen
interactingwithothers.
TheevidencethatLKMreliablyincreasedpositiveemotionswaspivotalbecauseit
createdthenecessaryplatformfromwhichwecouldtestthebuildhypothesis.Todoso,we
combinedagrowthmodelforpositiveemotionswithanSEMpathanalysistotestfor
mediation,asdepictedinFigure5,andtesteditforeachofthe18resourcesassessedpre-
andpost-workshop.Thatis,wetestedwhethertheslopeofpositiveemotionspredicted
increasesinresources(pathBinFigure5).Wemadeourtestofthebuildhypothesismore
stringentbyalsorequiringthatanyincreaseinresourcesproducedbyincreasingpositive
emotionsbeconsequentialasevidencedbyanincreaseinlifesatisfactionoradecreasein
depressivesymptoms(pathCinFigure5).Usingtheseconjointcriteria,wefoundthat9of
the18resourcesweassessedprovidedsupportforthebuildhypothesis,including
cognitiveresources(i.e.,mindfulness,pathwaysthinking,andtheabilitytosavorthe
future),psychologicalresources(i.e.,environmentalmastery,self-acceptance,andpurpose
inlife),socialresources(i.e.,socialsupportreceived,andpositiverelationswithothers),
andphysicalresources(i.e.,areductioninself-reportedillnesssymptoms).Thesewerethe
firstexperimentaldatatosupportthebuildhypothesis.
Insubsequentworkusingthissamelongitudinalexperimentaldesign,my
collaboratorsandIhaveaddedobjectivemeasuresofphysicalresources,mostnotablyby
measuringcardiacvagaltonebeforeandafterpeoplelearnLKM.Asnotedpreviously,vagal
tonehasbeenrelatedbothtotraitpositiveemotionality(Oveisetal.,2009)andtophysical
andmentalhealth(Porges,2007;Thayer&Sternberg,2006).Ourprimaryaimwastotest
thehypothesisthatlearningtoself-generatepositiveemotionswouldservetoaugment
BroadenandBuild39
vagaltone.Inaddition,becausepeoplewithhighvagaltonehavebeenshowntobebetter
abletoregulatetheirattentionandemotions(Porges,Doussard-Roosevelt,&Maiti,1994),
asecondaryhypothesiswasthattheseindividualswouldbepoisedtogetthemostoutof
theireffortstolearnLKM.
Beyondextendingourevidenceforthebuildhypothesisintoobjectivemeasures,
thissecondfieldexperimentontheeffectsofLKMallowedustotestwhetherthebroaden
effectofpositiveemotionsaccountsforitsbuildeffect.Todothis,weaddedassessments
ofsocialconnectionfollowingthedailyreportsofmeditationpracticeandemotion
experience.Specifically,participantscalledtomindtheirthreelongestsocialinteractionsof
thedayand,consideringthemasaset,ratedhow“intune”and“close”theyfelttothe
person/sinthoseinteractions.Basedonourpreviousevidencethatpositiveemotions
broadenpeople’sfeltsocialconnectionsasindexedbyperceptionsofself-otheroverlap
(Waugh&Fredrickson,2006),weconsiderthesedailyratingsasofferinganindexof
broadenedsocialawareness.
OurresultsreplicatedthefindingthatparticipantsrandomlyassignedtotheLKM
workshopeffectivelylearnedtoself-generateincreasinglymorepositiveemotionsindaily
life.Inaddition,resultsshowedthatpre-workshopvagaltonemoderatedthiseffect,
supportingourhypothesisthatparticipantswithhighervagaltonewouldexperiencethe
largestincreasesinpositiveemotions.Moreover,theupwardslopeinweek-by-week
positiveemotionsalsopredictedanupwardslopeinweek-by-weekreportsofsocial
connection.Plus,thetwoexperimentalgroupsdifferedintheirchangeinvagaltoneover
thecourseofthestudy,withthoseintheLKMgroup,onaverage,showingasignificantly
largerincrease.Wetestedtheplausiblecausalpathwaysofthiseffectonvagaltoneby
BroadenandBuild40
usingavariantofamediational,parallelprocesslatentcurvemodel.Theoverallmodelfit
providedstrongsupportforthebuildhypothesis,aswellasformediationbybroadening
andmoderationbyinitialvagaltone.Inotherwords,theupwardslopeinpositive
emotionsaccountedfortheupwardslopeinbroadenedreportsofsocialconnection,and
positiveemotionsandsocialbroadeninginturnmediatedtheeffectofLKMontheincrease
invagaltone,allofwhichwasmoderatedbyinitialvagaltone.Thisisthefirst
experimentalevidencethatsupportsbothaspectsofthebroaden-and-buildtheory:that
positiveemotionsbuildconsequentialresources,inthiscase,vagaltone,throughtheeffect
theyhaveonbroadenedawareness,inthiscase,bymakingpeoplefeelcloser,more
connected,andintunewithothersindailylife(Kok,Coffey,Cohn,Catalino,
Vacharkulksemsuk,Algoe,Brantley,&Fredrickson,2012).
Inmorerecentexperimentalwork,KokandItestedwhetheraveryminimalsocial
connectioninterventionmightproducesimilareffectsonpositiveemotionsandvagaltone
asdoesthemoreintensiveLKMworkshop(Kok&Fredrickson,2012).Theinterventionin
thiscasewassimplythetwoquestionstowhichpeoplewereaskedtorespondconcerning
theirlongestsocialinteractionsoftheday,asusedinthepreviousstudy.Specifically,
participantsratedhow“closeto”and“intunewith”theirinteractionpartnerstheyfelteach
dayfor49consecutivedays.Wewereinspiredtotestthisveryminimalintervention
becauseourfirstlongitudinalstudythatincludedthesetwoquestionsdailywasthefirst
studyinwhichwe’deverfoundthatdailypositiveemotionsincreasedforallparticipants–
evenforthosewithinthewaitlistcontrolgroup,andthisincreasepredictedanincreasein
vagaltone.Idescribedthesefindingsearlier,asreflectinganupwardspiralbetween
positiveemotionsandvagaltone(Kok&Fredrickson,2010).Totestwhethermerely
BroadenandBuild41
reflectingonsocialconnectionsmightcauseupswingsinpositiveemotionswithattendant
increasesinvagaltone,werandomlyassignedparticipantstoreflecteitheronthesetwo
socialconnectionquestions,orontwoplaceboquestionsthatinquiredhow“useful”and
“important”theirthreelongesttasksthatdayhadbeenforthem.Ashypothesized,
participantsrandomlyassignedtothesocialconnectionconditionreportedsignificantly
greaterweek-by-weekincreasesintheirpositiveemotions(withnoparalleloropposing
patternfortheirnegativeemotions).Inaddition,experimentalconditionproduced
increasesinvagaltone,aneffectmediatedbytheupswinginpositiveemotions.Asinour
pastwork,wealsofoundthatinitiallevelsofvagaltonemoderatedtheseeffects,yetthis
time,participantswithlowvagaltoneweretheonestoexperiencethebiggestpositive
emotionupliftfromtheintervention.Wespeculatethatbecauselowvagaltoneis
associatedwithlowersocialskillandlesserabilitytoregulateone’sownattentionand
emotions,thisveryminimalinterventionmayhavematchedtheskilllevelsforpeoplelow
onvagaltone,butmayhavebeentooelementary,andthereforemorefrustrating,forthose
highinvagaltone(Kok&Fredrickson,2012).Inanycase,insupportofthebuild
hypothesis,itappearsthatwhenpeoplelearntoself-generatemorefrequentpositive
emotions–eitherthroughmeditationorthroughmoreelementalshiftsintheirattention–
theylaunchthemselvesontopositivetrajectoriesofgrowth
NewFrontiersfortheBroaden-and-BuildTheory
DeeperInvestigationsintoBiologicalResourcesBuilt
SomeofthelatestevidencefrommyPEPLabdocumentsthatpeoplewhocan
cultivatemorefrequentpositiveemotionscanshifttheircharacteristiccardiovascular
patternstowardhealth,asindexedbyincreasesinvagaltone(Koketal.,underreview).
BroadenandBuild42
Inspiredbythesedata,thePEPLabisnowengagedintestingwhetherpeople’seffortsto
increasetheirdailydietsofpositiveemotionsbuildotherbiologicalresourcesforhealthas
well.Inaprojectcurrentlyunderway(fundedbytheNationalInstituteforNursing
ResearchthroughtheNIHinitiativetoadvancetheScienceofBehaviorChange),weare
investigatingwhether,inadditiontoincreasingvagaltone,astableriseinpositive
emotionsalsoyieldsenduringincreasesintonicoxytocinlevels,asassessedinurine
samplesgatheredovera24-hourperiod,andenduringreductionsinsystolicanddiastolic
bloodpressure.KarenGrewenandKathleenLightarekeyPEPLabcollaboratorsonthis
work.Previously,oxytocincouldonlybeassessedreliablyinhumansfromplasmaor
cerebralspinalfluid.Recentbreakthroughshaveledtonewmethodstoassayoxytocin
noninvasively,throughenzymeimmunoassay(EIA)ofurinesamples,aprocedure
pioneeredbyGrewenandLight(Grewen,Girdler,Amico,&Light,2005;Grewen,Light,
Mechlin,&Girdler,2008;Light,Grewen,&Amico,2005;Lightetal.,2004).Ourapproachof
collecting24-hoururinesamplesaspeoplebehavenormallyintheirhomeenvironments
allowsustoinfercharacteristicandpresumablystablelevelsofoxytocin.Weconceptualize
highertoniclevelsofoxytocinasabiologicalresourceforhealthbasedonpastevidence
thathigheroxytocinlevelspredictlowerbloodpressureandreducedstress.
Inthissameproject,wealsoventureintosocialgenomicsbyinvestigatingwhether
astableriseinpositiveemotionsalsoproducesreliablechangesingeneexpression,
particularwithingenesrelatedtotheimmunesystem’sregulationofinflammatory
processes.Ourinterestininflammationwasinspiredbythecytokinetheoryofdepression,
whichassertsthatbasalproductionlevelsofinflammatorymediatorsinperipheraltissues
signalthebraintoproduce“sicknessbehaviors”includingdecreasedpositiveaffectand
BroadenandBuild43
motivationandincreasednegativeaffectandsocialwithdrawal(Dantzer,2001;Dantzer&
Kelley,2007).SteveColeisakeyPEPLabcollaboratoronthiswork.Cole’spioneering
bioinformaticsapproachtosocialgenomicshaslinkedtheincreasedexpressionofpro-
inflammatorycytokinegenestovariouscircumstancesrepletewithchronicnegativeaffect,
suchasloneliness(Coleetal.,2007),socialstress(Milleretal.,2008;Miller,Rohleder,&
Cole,2009),lowsocioeconomicstatus(Chenetal.,2009),andgeneralsocialadversity(Cole
etal.,2010).Ourcurrentworknotonlyextendshumansocialgenomicsintothedomainof
positiveemotions,butalsoexpandsitfromcorrelationaltoexperimentaldesigns,which
willsubstantiallyenhanceunderstandingofhowpeople’spatternsofemotionexperience
andexpressionmayaltertheirpatternsofgeneexpression,withattendantconsequences
forphysicalhealth.Wearethuspoisedtodiscoverwhethertoandwhatextentpositive
emotionsfunctiontobuildcellularresources.
ClinicalandOrganizationalApplications
Puttingthebroaden-and-buildtheorytousewithaimstoalleviatepsychological
disordersoroptimizeorganizationalfunctioninghasbecomeagrowinginterest.Onelineof
clinicalapplicationemergedfollowingapresentationImadeonthePEPLab’sfirstLKM
fieldexperimenttotheClinicalPsychologyDoctoralProgramattheUniversityofNorth
Carolina–ChapelHill.NotingthatLKMincreasedpeople’sabilitytosavorfutureevents
(Fredricksonetal.,2008),myUNCcolleagueandschizophreniaexpert,DavidPenn
suspectedthatitmightalsobeparticularlyhelpfulforindividualsexperiencingthe
negativesymptomsofschizophrenia.Unlikethepositivesymptomsofschizophrenia,
whichincludehallucinationsanddelusions,negativesymptomsinvolveavarietyof
intertwinedemotionalandbehavioraldeficits,includinganhedonia(diminishedpleasure),
BroadenandBuild44
avolition(diminishedmotivation),asociality(diminishedinterestinordesirefor
interpersonalinteractions),alogia(diminishedspeech),andbluntedaffect(diminished
expressionofaffect).Negativesymptomsareespeciallyvexingbecausetheyareresistant
totreatmentandgreatlydiminishthequalityoflife.AnnKring,aschizophreniaresearcher
atUCBerkeley,hasproposedthatindividualswithschizophreniaexperiencenormallevels
ofpositiveemotions,orconsummatorypleasure,whentheydirectlyengagedinenjoyable
activities,yetsufferdisturbancesintheexperienceofpositiveemotionsinrelationto
futureactivities,oranticipatorypleasure(Kring,1999).Bothself-reportandfMRIdata
supportthisdistinction(Gard,Kring,Gard,Horan,&Green,2007;Juckeletal.,2006).Penn,
togetherwithDavidJohnson,agraduatestudentatthattime,putKring’sproposaltogether
withthePEPLab’sfindingonsavoringthefuture,andsuggestedthatwecollaborateto
explorewhetherLKM,usedasanadjunctivetreatmenttomedication,couldreduce
negativesymptomsforindividualswithschizophrenia.Topilotthisidea,weconductedan
opentrialacrosstwoLKMgroup-basedworkshopswith18outpatientsattheUniversityof
NorthCarolinaHospitals.Ourresultswerepromising.First,theoverallattendanceratewas
84%,whichisremarkableforclientswithnegativesymptomswhoareknowntohave
difficultieswithmotivationandsocialinteraction.Moreimportantly,however,clients
showedsignificantimprovementsintheirnegativesymptomsaswellastheirpositive
emotionsandlifesatisfaction,allofwhichmaintainedat3-monthfollow-up(Johnsonetal.,
2011;seealsoJohnsonetal.,2009).
Extendingfromthesepromisinginitialdataonschizophrenia,Ihaveworkedwith
EricGarlandandcolleaguestoarticulatemorepreciselyhowtheupwardspiraldynamics
triggeredbypositiveemotionsmightbeusedtocounterthedownwardspiraldynamicsof
BroadenandBuild45
negativitythatcharacterizeanumberofemotiondysfunctionsanddeficitsin
psychopathology(Garland&Fredrickson,inpress;Garlandetal.,2010).Emotions,we
pointout,areself-organizingsystemsthatoperatetomaximizeandmaintaintheirown
existence.Despair,forexample,triggersnarrowed,ruminativeandpessimisticpatternsof
thoughtalongsidebehavioralwithdrawalandsluggishness,thought-actiontendenciesthat
servetoincreasetheoddsthatdespairwillcontinueandexacerbateinaself-destructive
cycle.Positiveemotions,bycontrast,triggerbroadened,curious,andoptimisticpatternsof
thoughttogetherwithmorespontaneousandenergeticbehavior.Thesethought-action
tendenciesincreasetheoddsthatpeoplefindpositivemeaningintheirfuture
circumstancesinwaysthatseedfurtherpositiveemotionsthatdecreasestress,provide
emotionaluplift,andsupportresilience.Figure6depictsthisprocess.Weproposethat
upwardanddownwardspiralsarenotmirroropposites.Beyondtheirdifferencesin
valenceanddirection,upwardspiralsaremoreopen,permeable,flexible,andsocialthan
downwardspirals.Thesedistinctionsmaythusmakepositiveemotion,andthebroadened
thought-actionrepertoiresandupwardspiralstheytrigger,linchpinsinthepreventionand
treatmentoftheinertiaoftenobservedamongthosewithclinicaldisorders,particularly
depressionandanxiety.
Thebroaden-and-buildtheoryhasalsobeenappliedwithinorganizationswithan
eyetowardcreatingworkplaceclimatesthatfosterinnovativewaystobuildmore
sustainablebusinesspracticesthatbothpromoteworkers’healthandinspiretheir
productivity(Vacharkulksemsuk,Sekerka,&Fredrickson,2011).Asjustoneexample,ina
studyofworkersfromabroadrangeoforganizationswiththeirimmediatesupervisors,
Carsonandcolleaguesfoundthatthepositiveemotionsthatsupervisorshaveatthe
BroadenandBuild46
intersectionsoftheirworkandfamilylivescrossovertocreatesimilarpositive
experiencesfortheirsubordinates.Thispositivecontagioneffectwasfoundtobemediated
bysubordinates’perceptionsofgreaterautonomyinsettingtheirworkschedules,and
ultimatelyledtoimprovementsintheirjobperformance(Carlson,Kacmar,Zivnuska,
Ferguson,&Whitten,2011).Another,massiveorganizationalintervention,basedinpart
onbroaden-and-buildprinciples,isnowunderwayintheU.S.Army,undertheauspicesof
thearmy-wideComprehensiveSoldierFitnessinitiative(Cornum,Matthews,&Seligman,
2011).Trainingsoldiersinbasicskillsassociatedemotionalfitness,includingtheabilityto
increasethefrequencyanddurationofpositiveemotionsispartoftheArmy’soverall
effortstobuildgreaterresiliencetotheinevitableadversityandtraumathatsoldiers
experienceduringdeploymenttowarzones(Algoe&Fredrickson,2011;seealsoLuthans,
Vogelgesang,&Lester,2006).
OffshootsfromtheBroaden-and-BuildTheory
TheUpwardSpiralTheoryofLifestyleChange
AcurrentoverarchinggoalofmyPEPLabistoinvestigatewhetherandhow
positiveemotionsalterpeople’sbodilysystemsandnonconsciousmotivesinwaysthat
ultimatelyreinforcelifestylechange,definedassustainedadherencetopositivehealth
behaviors.TheU.S.NationalCancerInstituterecentlyputforththequestion“Whydon’t
morepeoplealterbehaviorsknowntoincreasetheriskofcancers?”(NIHRFA-CA-11-011).
Theneedtoaddressthisquestionisenormous,giventhattheAmericanCancerSociety
estimatesthat62%ofallcancerscouldbepreventedaltogetherthroughlifestylechange.
Yetthequestionhaslongdefiedarigorousandsatisfyinganswerbecausetoooftenwe’ve
assumedthatknowledgeispower.Peopleknowthattheirdailybehavioralchoices–about
BroadenandBuild47
theirphysicalactivitiesandintakeoffood,tobacco,andalcohol–accumulateand
compoundtosettheirrisksforcancerandotherchronicdiseasesthatshortenlives.
Armedwiththisknowledge,millionsresolvetomakechangeseachyear.Yetmostattempts
atlifestylechangefailbecauseknowledgeisnotpowerfulenoughtooverrideimplicit
nonconsciousdesires.
Anintriguingassociationbetweenpositiveemotionsandlifestylechangefirst
emergedinmylabwhenmyformerstudentandcollaboratorMichaelCohnconducteda
follow-uptoourinitialstudy(Fredricksonetal.,2008)oftheeffectsoflearninghowtoself-
generatemorefrequentpositiveemotionsthroughLKM.Ourresults,presentedinFigure7,
showcasethesubstantialpowerofpositiveemotionstopredictsustainedbehaviorchange:
Individualsonestandarddeviationabovethemeanintheirpositiveemotionalresponseto
theirnewly-adoptedhealthbehaviorofLKMwere~4.5timesmorelikelytomainthat
behavior15monthslater,comparedtothoseonestandarddeviationbelowthemean
(Cohn&Fredrickson,2010).Theextentofpeople’searlypositiveemotionalreactivityto
LKMwasthesolepsychologicalpredictorofwhether,morethanoneyearlater,they
voluntarilychoosetocontinuemeditatingasaregularhabit.
Theseandotherdatainspiredmetodevelopanewtheoreticaloffshootofthe
broaden-and-buildtheory,onethatIcalltheupwardspiralmodeloflifestylechange.This
modelstatesthatpositiveemotionscanbothknitpeopletonewpositivehealthbehaviors
andalsoraisetheiroverallpsychologicalpropensityforasuiteofwellnessbehaviors.
PositiveemotionsachievewhatNewYear’sresolutionscannotbymotivatingsustained
adherencetohealthbehaviorsbythecarrotofflexible,nonconsciousdesireratherthanthe
whipofrigid,consciouswillpower.Theupwardspiralmodeloflifestylechangeexpands
BroadenandBuild48
onthebroaden-and-buildtheorysubstantiallybyarticulatingkeyrolesfor(a)
nonconsciousmotivessparkedbypositiveemotions;(b)arangeofwellnessbehaviors
throughwhichindividualsbecomemoreactive,curious,andsociallyengaged,and
ultimatelyhealthierandmoreresilient;and(c)individualdifferencesinmutableresources,
bothbiological(e.g.,oxytocin,cardiacvagaltone,inflammation)andpsychological(e.g.,
resilience,other-focus,mindfulness),thatpredisposecertainpeopletosuccessfullong-
termlifestylechangebymoderatingthepositiveemotionyieldoftheirwellnessbehaviors.
Thespiralframeofthisnewmodelrestsonevidencethattherelationsbetween
emotionsandlifestyle-relevantresourcesisreciprocal.Forexample,whereasCo-
InvestigatorCole’spastworksuggeststhatnegativeemotionalitypromptspro-
inflammatoryprocesses,experimentalworkbyEisenbergerandcolleaguesdocumentsthe
reversecausalpathway,frominflammationtoaffect(Eisenberger,Inagaki,Rameson,
Mashal,&Irwin,2009).Specifically,theseinvestigatorsrandomlyassignedhealthyadult
volunteerstoreceiveeitheraninflammatorychallenge(i.e.,aninjectionofendotoxin)ora
placeboinjection.Thoseundertheinfluenceofendotoxinreportedincreasedfeelingsof
socialdisconnection,whichinturnincreaseddepressedmood.Inlinewiththecytokine
theoryofdepression,thisandotherworksuggeststhatinflammationbyitselfcanalterthe
affectivepropertiesofsocialandotherwellnessbehaviors.Evidenceforsuchreciprocal
andmutualinfluencecanexplainthedownwardspiraldynamicthatemergesbetween
negativeemotionsandnegativehealthbehaviorsthatcanleadtothefurtherentrenchment
ofinflammation-relatedchronicdiseases,suchastypeIIdiabetes,cardiovasculardisease
(bothhypertensionandstroke)andarthritis.
BroadenandBuild49
Preliminaryevidencesupportsmyhypothesisthatanopposingupwardspiral
dynamiccanemergebetweenpositiveemotionsandpositivehealthbehaviors.As
describedearlier,arangeofbiologicalandpsychologicalresources–namelyvagaltone,
oxytocin,resilience,other-focus,andmindfulness–notonlypredictenhancedpositive
emotions,butalsohavebeenshowntoincreasewithenhancedpositiveemotion(Burnset
al.,2008;Cohnetal.,2009;Fredricksonetal.,2008;Holt-Lunstad,Birmingham,&Light,
2008;Kok&Fredrickson,2010;Oveisetal.,2009;Waugh&Fredrickson,2006).This
reciprocalcausalitysetsthestageforupwardspiralprocessestounfoldthatcanfurther
reinforceadherencetopositivehealthbehaviors.
Anotherkeydriveroftheupwardspiraldynamicbetweenpositiveemotionsand
positivehealthbehaviorspositedbytheupwardspiralmodelisthenonconsciousincentive
salience,or“wanting”thatanypastpleasantexperienceengenders.Thisaspectofthe
theorystemsfromrecentadvancesinbehavioralneurosciencethatunpacksthecomplex
rewardsystemintoseparate“liking”and“wanting”systems,fueledbyopioidand
dopamineactivation,respectively(Berridge,2007).Overtime,“liking”agivenactivity–the
situatedexperienceofpositiveaffect–precedesandproducescue-triggered“wanting”for
thatsameactivity–whichinturnmotivatesdecisionstorepeatthatactivity,even
nonconsciously.ThroughsuchdopaminergicPavlovianlearning,cuesassociatedwithpast
pleasantexperiencesgainnonconsciousincentivesalienceandbecomeintrinsically
alluringasifcoveredineye-catchingglitterdust.Inthecaseofdrugaddictions,“wanting”
becomesdecoupledfrom“liking”asaddictsattemptingrecoveryexperienceintense
cravingstriggeredbybehavior-relatedcues(e.g.,drugparaphernalia)eventhoughthedrug
nolongerprovidespleasure(Robinson&Berridge,2003).Thenovelpremiseofthe
BroadenandBuild50
upwardspiralmodelisthatthesamenonconscious,biologically-basedprocessesthat
underliepeople’sunbiddencravingstoenactunhealthylifestylescanbeharnessedto
fostersimilar,yetpositivecravingstoenacthealthylifestyles,makingcuestopositive
healthbehaviorssparklewithincentivesaliencethatnonconsciouslypromptsbehavioral
adherence.Whereasbothphysicalpleasuresandpositiveemotionscarrythepleasant
subjectivefeelthatsparksnonconsciousincentivesalience,or“wanting,”asIsuggested
earlier,itappearsthatonlypositiveemotions–andnotpleasures–broadencognition.As
such,positiveemotionsappeartohaveuniquepsychologicalpropertiesbeyondtriggering
approach-relatedmotivation.Perhapsmostsignificantly,positiveemotions,inwidening
people’sawareness,engenderflexibleandcreativebehavioralchoicesratherthanrigidly-
pursuedbehavioraladdictions.
Figure8providesaconceptualdepictionoftheupwardspiralmodel.Thisnew
modelincorporatesthebroaden-and-buildtheoryastheouterloopofadual-layeredspiral.
Thislayer,asthischapterhasshown,restsonthenowsubstantialevidencethatpositive
emotionsbroadencognitionandbuildresources.Theinnerloopofthedual-layeredspiral
incorporatesBerridge’sperspectivesonlikingversuswantingandpositionsnonconscious
motivesrootedinpositiveemotions(asdistinctfromphysicalpleasures)askeydriversof
flexible–andthereforesustainable–decisionstomaintainwellnessbehaviors.Tethering
theouterandinnerloopstogether,themodelpositsthatcertainbiologicaland
psychologicalresources,knowntobebuiltupthroughrepeatedexperiencesofpositive
emotionsalsoservetoincreasethesubsequentpositiveemotionyieldofarangeof
wellnessbehaviors.Accordingtotheupwardspiralmodel,totheextentthatanew
wellnessbehaviorevokespositiveemotions,engaginginthatbehaviorgeneratesboth(a)
BroadenandBuild51
cue-triggerednonconsciousmotivesthatshapesubsequentbehavioraldecisions,
representedbytheinnerloopdepictedinFigure8,and(b)increasesinkeybiologicaland
psychologicalresourcesthatboostthesubsequentpositiveemotionyieldofthatwellness
behavior,asrepresentedbytheouterloopofthespiral,andmostcritically,bythecausal
arrowthatrunsbetweentheinnerandouterloops(seeFigure8).ThePEPLabhasaseries
oflongitudinalstudiesunderway(supportedbyNINRandNCI)totestthisnewtheoretical
offshootofthebroaden-and-buildtheory.
PositivityResonance:Broaden-and-BuildinSyncwithOthers
Backinmyinitialpresentationofthebroaden-and-buildtheory(Fredrickson,
1998),Iincludedloveasoneoffourpositiveemotionsfeatured,theothersbeingjoy,
interest,andcontentment.Loveiscomplex,however,inthatmosttheoristsacknowledge
thatloveisnotasingleemotionandthatpeopleexperiencevarietiesofit(e.g.,romanticor
passionatelovevs.companionatelovevs.nurturantlovevs.attachmentlove).Moreover,
loveexperiencesneedtobedistinguishedfromloverelationships.Whereasthelatter
mightlastalifetime,theformer,myfocushere,lastonlymoments.Backin1998,Iadopted
aperspectiveonlovethatI’dfoundinCarrollIzard(1977)work,thatloveiscomprisedof
anyotherpositiveemotionthatisfeltinthecontextofpeople’sconnectionswithothers.As
Izardputit,“acquaintancesorfriendsrenewyourinterestbyrevealingnewaspectsof
themselvesandtheresultingincreaseinfamiliarity(deeperknowledgeoftheperson)
bringsjoy[andcontentment].Inlastingfriendshipsorloverelationshipsthiscycleis
repeatedendlessly.”(1977,p.243).iiiSoasIforecastinearlierandinTable1,myinitial
theorizingonbroaden-and-buildprocessespresentedloveasan“alloftheabove”positive
emotion.Totheextentthatlovetriggeredthemorespecificmomentsofinterest,
BroadenandBuild52
contentment,joy,andthelike,italsobroadenedpeople’sthought-actionrepertoiresand
buildtheirenduringpersonalresources,particularlytheirsocialbonds.
Viewingloveasanypositiveemotionssharedbetweentwoormorepeopleisa
reasonableinitialdescriptionoflovetobesure.Lookingback,however,Iseethatitdoes
notgonearlyfarenoughtofullydescribewhathappensinthosepotentinterpersonal
momentsofsharedpositivity.Inmymostrecenttheorizingonlove(Fredrickson,inpress),
Iaddtwofurtherdefiningattributesofthismostubiquitousandconsequentialpositive
emotion,inadditiontosharedpositivity.Thesearebiobehavioralsynchronyandmutual
care.
Biobehavioralsynchronyreferstothemirroringacrosspeople’sbehaviors,bodies,
andbrainsthateachmomentofsharedpositiveemotionalconnectioncreates.Studying
thenonverbalgesturesoftwopeoplejustgettingtoknowoneanother,Tanya
VacharkulksemsukandIhavefoundthatnonverbalbehavioralsynchronyisakey
mechanismthroughwhichself-disclosureproducesanembodiedsenseofrapport
(Vacharkulksemsuk&Fredrickson,2012).Studyingchangesinoxytocinwithinparentsand
theirinfantsengagedinface-to-faceplay,RuthFeldmanandcolleagueshavediscovered
thatpositivity-infusedbehavioralsynchrony–thedegreetowhichamother,througheye
contactandaffectionatetouch,laughs,smiles,andcoosintimetogetherwithherinfant–
predictsasynchronybetweentheoxytocinsurgesevidentwithinbothherandherinfant.
Thesamepatternofoxytocinsynchronyalsoemergesforfathersandtheirinfants
(Feldman,Gordon,&Zagoory-Sharon,2010).Anotherindicationofbiologicalsynchrony
canbedrawnfromthebrainimagingworkofUriHassonandcolleagues.UsingfMRIof
people’sbrainswhileeithertellingorlisteningtoanengagingstory,Hassonandcolleagues
BroadenandBuild53
findwidespreadbraincouplingbetweenspeakerandlistener,especiallyduringemotional
momentsandforpairsforwhomcommunicationisparticularlyeffective(Hasson,2010;
Hasson,Nir,Levy,Fuhrmann,&Malach,2004;Stephens,Silbert,&Hasson,2010).It
appears,then,thatwhenpeopleshareapositiveemotionalstate,theyalsosharegestural,
biochemical,andneuralpatterns.Abiobehavioralunityoronenessunfolds.
Likeallemotions,lovesparksmotivationalchanges.Beyondthethought-action
tendenciesassociatedwithwhicheverparticularpositiveemotionisatthatmoment
shared,lovemotivatesmutualcare.Eachperson,inamomentofsharedpositivity,
becomesmomentarilyinvestedintheother’swell-being.ThisisanideaIdrawfrom
crossingemotionssciencewithrelationshipscience.Themomentaryexperienceoflove
bringsanurgetofocusontheotherperson,holistically,withcareandconcernforhisor
herwell-being,amotivethatmomentarilyeclipsesanytendencytowardself-absorption.
Andthiscaringmotiveismutual,reflectedback-and-forthbetweenthetwo.Whereas
relationshipscientistscastcaringandresponsiveinvestmentinthewell-beingofanother
forhisorherownsakeasahallmarkofintimateandlovingrelationships(Hegi&Bergner,
2010;Reis,Clark,&Holmes,2004),Iseemutualcareasamomentarystatethatrisesand
fallsinstepwithchangesincontextandemotion.
Icallthistrioofoccurrencespositivityresonance(Fredrickson,inpress).Within
momentsofinterpersonalconnectionthatarecharacterizedbythisamplifyingsynchrony–
ofsharedpositiveemotions,biobehavioralsynchrony,andmutualcare–resource-building
positivityresonatesbetweenandamongpeople.Thisback-and-forthreverberationof
positiveemotionalenergysustainsitself–andcanevengrowstronger–untilthe
momentaryconnectioninevitablywanes.
BroadenandBuild54
Indeed,Ipositsensoryandtemporalconnectionasafundamentalpreconditionfor
momentsofpositivityresonancetoemerge(Fredrickson,inpress).Neitherabstractnor
mediated,connectionlikethisisphysicalandunfoldsinreal-time,asgainedthrougheye
contact,touch,sharedvoice,ormirroredbodymovements.
Eyecontactappearstobeespeciallypowerful(Farroni,Csibra,Simion,&Johnson;
Niedenthal,Mermillod,Maringer,&Hess,2010).Eyecontact,studiesshow,isnecessaryfor
facialmimicrytounfold(Schrammel,Pannasch,Graupner,Mojzisch,&Velichkovsky,2009),
andfacialmimicry,inturn,isneededtoaccuratelydecodewhatanotherpersonisfeeling
(Maringer,Krumhuber,Fischer,&Niedenthal,2011).AccordingtoNiedenthaland
colleagues’SimulationofSmiles(SIMS)model(Niedenthaletal.,2010),braincoupling
mediatestheeffectoffacialmimicryondecodingaccuracy,whereaseyecontactmoderates
theeffect.
ExtendingtheideasonembodiedcognitionpresentedintheSIMSmodel,Ihave
proposedthattheevolvedadaptivefunctionofspontaneousandgenuinesmiles–what
havebeentermedDuchennesmiles–goesbeyondwhatothertheoristshavesuggested.
FollowingDarwin(1872),Ekmanandcolleaguescontendthatsuchsmilesevolvedasan
outwardexpressionofaperson’sotherwiseunseeninnersubjectivestate(Ekman,
Davidson,&Friesen,1990).Anopposingviewshiftsthefocusontotherecipientofasmile,
andproposesthatsmilesevolvednotbecausetheyprovidedreadoutsofpositiveemotional
states,butinsteadbecausetheyevokedpositiveemotionsinthosewhomeetasmiling
person’sgaze(Owren&Bachorowski,2003;seealsoGervais&Wilson,2005).Maintaining
thefocusonthepersonwhomeetsthesmiler’sgaze,theembodiedcognitionperspectiveof
theSIMSmodelsuggeststhat,throughneuralsimulation,smilestuneanobservertowarda
BroadenandBuild55
betterunderstandingthesmiler’ssubjectiveexperienceandmotives(Niedenthaletal.,
2010).Eachoftheseaccountsofthefunctionofgenuinesmilesseemsviable,albeitI’ve
arguedthateachremainsincompletebyremaininganchoredtooexclusivelywithinan
individual-levelpsychology.
Steppinguptothedyadiclevel,inwhichboththesmilerandthesmilerecipientplay
equalandimportantroles,IhaveproposedthatthefunctionofDuchennesmilesisto
createamomentofintersubjectivitycharacterizedbypositivityresonance,asreflectedby
thetriooflove’sfeatures:anowsharedpositiveemotion,biobehavioralsynchrony,andan
orientationtowardmutualcare(Fredrickson,inpress).Harkeningbacktothebroaden-
and-buildtheory,totheextentthatpositivityresonancebuildsresourcesinindividualsand
indyads,genuinesmilesmayhaveevolvedtospurpositivepsychosocialdevelopmentand
improvedphysicalhealthinindividuals,relationships,andindeedwholecommunities.
Castingloveasamomentofpositivityresonance,then,offersadetailedevolutionary
perspectiveonhowgenuinesmilesdogoodbothwithinthebodyandwithinsociety.iv
Recallingtherecentevidence(frommyPEPLab)thatshowsthatpositiveemotions
improvephysicalhealth,asindexedbyincreasesincardiacvagaltone,throughpeople’s
experiencesofsocialconnection(Koketal.,underreview),leadsmetospeculatethatlove,
definedasaformofsocialconnectionmarkedbypositivityresonance,mayperhapsbethe
mostgenerativeandconsequentialofallpositiveemotions.Thatis,Ihypothesizethatlove
broadensandbuildstoagreaterdegreethanother,individually-experiencedpositive
emotions.Love,then,maynotbejustanotherpositiveemotion.Byvirtueofbeingasingle
state,distributedacrossandreverberatingbetweenthebrainsandbodiesoftwo(ormore)
BroadenandBuild56
individuals,love’sabilitytobroadenmindsetsandbuildresourcesmayhavesubstantially
greaterreach.
ClosingComments
Thescienceofpositiveemotionshasmaturedgreatlysincethe1990s,whenIfirst
beganworkinthisarea.Thismaturityisreflectedintheemergenceofthefirstandsecond
editedvolumesdevotedexclusivelytoempiricalresearchonpositiveemotions,namelythe
HandbookofPositiveEmotions,editedbyMicheleTugade,MichelleL.Shiota,andLeslie
Kirby,forthcomingfromGuilfordPress,andtheDarkandLightSidesofPositiveEmotions,
editedbyJuneGruberandJudithMoskowitz,forthcomingfromOxfordUniversityPress.It
hasbeenequalpartsgratifyingandhumblingtoseethatthebroaden-and-buildtheoryhas
offeredonegenerativeframeworkforsustainedempiricalcontributionsinthisnow-active
areaofemotionsscience.
Perhapsthemostpivotalnudgethatthebroaden-and-buildperspectivehasoffered
thefieldistofullyuntetherourcollectivescientificimaginationaboutthevalueofpositive
emotions.Evidenceforthebroadenandundoeffectsofpositiveemotionsdemonstrates
thatfruitfuladvancescanbemadebylookingbeyondtheemotionalrewardsthatgood
feelingsbring.Likewise,evidenceforthebuildeffectofpositiveemotionsshowsthatit
paystolookbeyondtheexperientialmomenttounderstandthefunctionofthesepositive
statesoverthelong-term.Now,newtheorizingaboutpositivityresonancesuggeststhat
wemayalsoneedtolookbeyondthefamiliarindividual-levelpsychologicalprocessesto
bettergraspthefullpotentialofpositiveemotions.
Tobesure,theempiricaldiscoveriesmadethusfaraboutpositiveemotionsraise
manymorequestions.Additionalempiricalworkisstillneeded.Wehaveonlythe
BroadenandBuild57
slimmestempiricalliterature,forinstance,ontheneuroscienceofpositiveemotions(for
exemplarycontributionsseeworkbyAdamAnderson’slabattheUniversityofToronto
andTorWager’slabattheUniversityofColoradoatBoulder).Wealsoneedtoexpand
furtherintoepigenetics,tocharthowpositiveemotionalprocessesbuildcellularresources
(socialgenomicspioneerSteveColecollaborateswithmyPEPLabinthisarea).Wealso
needfarmoreworkonthedifferencesandsimilaritiesinthewayspositiveemotions
shape,andareshapedby,distinctculturesaroundtheglobe(forexemplarycontributions,
seeworkbyJeanneTsai’slabatStanfordUniversityandShigehiroOishi’slabatthe
UniversityofVirginia;seealsoLee,Lin,Huang,&Fredrickson,2012).Finally,although
manyofthemomentaryanddownstreameffectsofpositiveemotionsarebeneficial,we
can’tassumethattheyareexclusivelyorinvariablyso.Additionalstudiesareneededto
exploretheboundaryconditionsofthebenefitsofpositiveemotionsaswellastheir
potentialdarksides(Forexemplaryworkinthisvein,seeworkbyJuneGruber’slabatYale
University;seealsoMcNulty&Fincham,2012;Vincent,Emich,&Goncalo,inpress).
WhenIconsiderthecurrentcadreofcreativeandimpeccably-trainedearly-career
scientistswhohavealreadydevotedconsiderableempiricalattentiontothescienceof
positiveemotions,Ifeelconfidentthatthelight-heartedaspectsofhumanexperiencewill
neveragainbecastoutofpsychologicalscience.Withcontinuedapplicationofthemost
rigorousempiricalapproaches,ourempiricalunderstandingofpositiveemotionswill
broadenandbuildandperhapsevenyielddiscoveriesimportantenoughtoridpsychology
ofitslong-heldinferioritycomplexonceandforall.Timeanddatawilltell.
BroadenandBuild58
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Table1.TenRepresentativePositiveEmotions
EmotionLabel
AppraisalTheme
Thought-ActionTendency
ResourcesAccrued
CoretrioinmDESitem
Joy safe,familiar,unexpectedlygood
play,getinvolved
skillsgainedviaexperientiallearning
joyful,glad,orhappy
Gratitude receiveagiftorbenefit
creativeurgetobeprosocial
skillsforshowingcare;loyalty;socialbonds
grateful,appreciative,orthankful
Serenity(a.k.a.,Contentment)
safe,familiar,loweffort
savorandintegrate
newpriorities;newviewsofself
serene,content,orpeaceful
Interest safe,novel explore,learn knowledge interested,alert,orcurious
Hope fearingtheworst,yearningforbetter
planforabetterfuture
resilience;optimism
hopeful,optimistic,orencouraged
Pride sociallyvaluedachievement
dreambig achievementmotivation
proud,confident,orself-assured
Amusement non-serioussocialincongruity
sharejoviality,laugh
socialbonds amused,fun-loving,orsilly
Inspiration witnesshumanexcellence
strivetowardownhigherground
motivationforpersonalgrowth
inspired,uplifted,orelevated
Awe encounterbeautyorgoodnessonagrandscale
absorbandaccommodate
newworldviews
awe,wonder,amazement
Love any/alloftheaboveinaninterpersonalconnection
any/alloftheabove,withmutualcare
any/alloftheabove,especiallysocialbonds
love,closeness,ortrust
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Figures
Figure1.Thebroaden-and-buildtheoryofpositiveemotions.(adaptedfrom
Fredrickson&Cohn,2008,Figure48.1).
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Figure2.Sampleglobal-localitemsusedtotestthebroadenhypothesis(adapted
fromFredrickson&Branigan,2005,Figure1).
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Figure3.Thought-actionrepertoiresizebyemotioncondition.Note:Penguinsand
Natureelicitedamusementandcontentment,respectively.WitnessandCliffhanger
elicitedangerandfear,respectively.Stickselicitednoparticularemotion
whatsoever.(adaptedfromFredrickson&Branigan,2005,Figure3)
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Figure4.Week-by-weekpositiveemotionsbyexperimentalcondition.Note:
Meditationtrainingcenteredonloving-kindnessmeditataion.Positiveemotions
werecomputedasthemeanacrossallpositivestatesonthemDES,ratedonascale
from0-4.(adaptedfromFredricksonetal.,2008,Figure2).
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Figure5.Combinedlatenttrajectoryandpath-analysismodelusedtotestthebuild
hypothesisinthecontextofmeditationtraining.Avg.dailypos.emo.=Average
dailypositiveemotions;PE=positiveemotions;SWLS=satisfactionwithlife.Paths
labeledBandCarecentraltotestsofthebuildhypothesis,whereasthoselabeledA
andDserveasstatisticalcontrols.(adaptedfromFredricksonetal.,2008,Figure3).
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Figure6.Upwardspiralsofpositiveemotionsthatcancounterdownwardspirals
ofnegativity(adaptedfromGarlandetal.,2010,Figure2).
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Figure7.Earlypositiveemotionalreactivitytomeditationtrainingpredicts
continuedmeditationat15-monthfollow-up.(adaptedfromCohn&Fredrickson,
2010,Figure1).
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Figure8.Theupwardspiralmodeloflifestylechange.
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Appendix
modifiedDifferentialEmotionsScale(mDES)
Instructions: Please think back to how you have felt during the past twenty-four hours. Using the 0-4 scale below, indicate the greatest amount that you've experienced each of the following feelings.
Not at all A little bit Moderately Quite a bit Extremely 0 1 2 3 4
____ 1. What is the most amused, fun-loving, or silly you felt? ____ 2. What is the most angry, irritated, or annoyed you felt? ____ 3. What is the most ashamed, humiliated, or disgraced you felt? ____ 4. What is the most awe, wonder, or amazement you felt? ____ 5. What is the most contemptuous, scornful, or disdainful you felt? ____ 6. What is the most disgust, distaste, or revulsion you felt? ____ 7. What is the most embarrassed, self-conscious, or blushing you felt? ____ 8. What is the most grateful, appreciative, or thankful you felt? ____ 9. What is the most guilty, repentant, or blameworthy you felt? ____ 10. What is the most hate, distrust, or suspicion you felt? ____ 11. What is the most hopeful, optimistic, or encouraged you felt? ____ 12. What is the most inspired, uplifted, or elevated you felt? ____ 13. What is the most interested, alert, or curious you felt? ____ 14. What is the most joyful, glad, or happy you felt? ____ 15. What is the most love, closeness, or trust you felt? ____ 16. What is the most proud, confident, or self-assured you felt? ____ 17. What is the most sad, downhearted, or unhappy you felt? ____ 18. What is the most scared, fearful, or afraid you felt? ____ 19. What is the most serene, content, or peaceful you felt? ____ 20. What is the most stressed, nervous, or overwhelmed you felt?
BasedonFredrickson,2009andFredrickson,Tugade,Waugh,&Larkin,2003.Scoring:Usesingleitemstoassessspecificemotions,orcreateoverallpositiveandnegativeemotionscoresbycomputingthemeanof10positiveand10negativeemotions,respectively.Instructionscanbemodifiedtoassessemotionsinresponsetospecificincidents(e.g.,laboratorymanipulationsorepisodesrecalledusingtheDayReconstructionMethod).Scalecanbemodifiedtocaptureemotionsexperiencedoverthepasttwoweeksbychangingtheinstructionsto“howoftenhaveyou’veexperienced…,”theitemsto“Howoftenhaveyoufelt____?”andtheresponseoptionsto0=never;1=rarely;2=someofthetime;3=often;4=mostofthetime.
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Footnotes
i In my book, Positivity (2009, Crown), written for a general audience I refer to the mDES as the Positivity Self Test. The website that accompanies that book, www.PositivityRatio.com, offers a free version of this test along with on-line tools for tracking people’s changes in positivity, negativity, and positivity ratios over time. ii The 1996 Toronto meeting was my first ISRE meeting, and as a junior scholar, I did not recognize many senior scholars by sight. I had the chance to give a keynote on my positive emotions research a decade later at the 2006 ISRE meeting, and asked if anyone in the audience was or knew of this “unknown critic” because I wished to thank him personally. No one came forward, so the mystery continues. If you can help me solve this mystery, please do. iii Note that interest and joy were the only two positive emotions about which Izard wrote. He did, however, describe a low arousal state of “mild or receptive joy” that I think is better characterized as contentment or serenity. iv Although for simplicity I’ve depicted positivity resonance here as a property of dyads, I see it as equally able to account for communal experiences of shared positivity, or what Haidt and colleagues refer to as an innate hive psychology which periodically propels humans to lose themselves enjoyably in a much larger social organism, like the crowd at a football game, music festival, or religious revival (Haidt, Seder, & Kesebir, 2008). Through physical co-presence and behavioral synchrony, positivity resonance thus can spread from dyads to whole crowds or communities (e.g., Fowler & Christakis, 2008).