POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

In Scripture, we read: ‘A joyful heart is good medicine.’ – Proverbs 17:22

Positive psychology’s leading researcher in the field of positive emotions is Barbara Fredrickson. She has devoted her academic career to investigating the nature and purpose of positive emotions and testing out her theories under laboratory conditions. We’ve all come across the “fight-or-flight” response which accompanies negative emotions. This automatic response mechanism has the effect of narrowing down our thoughts and behaviours to very specific, self-protecting actions; in the case of anger it’s to fight, and in the case of fear, to run. But positive emotions are relatively under-researched and not as well understood. There are thousands of academic psychology papers devoted to the experience of fear, for example, and only hundreds on the subject of positive emotions such as compassion.

Fredrickson’s goal has been to find out if positive emotions have a purpose apart from making us feel good. Her “broaden and build” theory suggests that, in contrast to negative emotions which focus us, positive emotions lead to more expansive and creative thoughts and behaviour which create additional personal resources over time. These are identified in four main categories:

. Intellectual – for example, developing our problem solving skills

. Physical – for example, developing our physical strength and cardiovascular health

. Social – such as facilitating the quality and quantity of our friendships and other relationships and connections

. Psychological – Developing resilience and optimism.

In short, the experience of positive emotions creates “upward spirals” of thought and action which prepare you for future challenges.

Other psychologists suggest that experiencing positive emotions also allows you to seek out and work towards new goals.

Fredrickson’s research shows that positive emotions don’t just feel good, they do us good too.

. Positive emotions good, negative emotions bad?

No one should fall into the trap of thinking that positive emotions are always good and that negative emotions are always bad, as this is simply not the case. For example, getting angry at an injustice can spur you into action. Recent research in positive psychology has started to stress the importance of understanding context.

In the early days positive psychologists were excited by Fredrickson and Losada’s discovery of the so-called “3:1 Positivity Ratio”, that is the ratio of positive to negative emotions above which flourishing occurs, and below which we languish. However, more recent research at the University of East London have demonstrated that the science on which the Positivity Ratio was based is flawed, much to the disappointment of many positive psychologists. All we can say at the moment is that positive emotions are generally more fleeting whereas negative emotions are more “sticky”, experiencing more positive emotions is better (but we cannot put a number on it) and that the frequency of positive emotions is more important than their intensity.

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LET’S now think of ways in which we can increase the number of positive emotions we experience. Psychologist Michael Frisch suggests creating a playlist of all the activities which interest you and which you’ve enjoyed in the past. His work lists over 200 simple activities including writing poetry, singing or dancing by yourself, getting up early in the morning, playing board games, and doing something outside.

You might also like to consider keeping a well-being journal noting down when you were creative, when you didn’t worry, where you have learned something new or contributed to your community. Recording your most positive experiences, in particular those which give you a boost, will greatly help as you develop your “upward spirals”. These are crucial for positive emotional stability.

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