Positive Emotional State
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A Positive Emotional State is an emotional state that can lead to a thriving existence through enhanced psychological well-being, cognitive function, and social connection.
- AKA: Feel Good, Positive Affect, Positive Mood, Pleasant Emotion.
- Context:
- It can typically generate Neural Activity in reward pathways of the brain, including the ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex.
- It can typically enhance Cognitive Function through positive emotional broadening of attention and thought patterns.
- It can typically facilitate Social Connection through positive emotional expression that attracts social engagement.
- It can typically improve Physical Health through positive emotional influence on immune function, cardiovascular health, and stress hormone regulation.
- It can typically support Psychological Resilience through positive emotional buffering against negative experiences and adversity.
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- It can often result from achieving a personal goal or experiencing a rewarding social interaction.
- It can often be cultivated through positive thinking, gratitude practices, and emotional regulation.
- It can often lead to Approach Behavior toward positive stimuli and reward opportunities.
- It can often improve Problem-Solving Ability through creative thinking and cognitive flexibility.
- It can often counteract negative emotional effects of stress, anxiety, and depression.
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- It can range from being a mild sense of contentment to an intense state of joy or euphoria, depending on positive emotional intensity.
- It can range from being a Fleeting Positive Emotional State to being a Sustained Positive Emotional State, depending on positive emotional duration.
- It can range from being a Simple Positive Emotional State to being a Complex Positive Emotional State, depending on positive emotional complexity.
- It can range from being an Anticipatory Positive Emotional State to being a Reflective Positive Emotional State, depending on positive emotional temporality.
- It can range from being a Self-Focused Positive Emotional State to being an Other-Focused Positive Emotional State, depending on positive emotional orientation.
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- It can enhance well-being and mental health through positive emotional contribution to life satisfaction and psychological flourishing.
- It can facilitate Goal Achievement through positive emotional enhancement of motivation, persistence, and self-efficacy.
- It can strengthen Interpersonal Relationships through positive emotional sharing and emotional contagion.
- It can improve Decision-Making through positive emotional influence on risk assessment and future orientation.
- It can support Identity Formation through positive emotional integration with self-concept and personal values.
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- Examples:
- Hedonic Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Pleasure-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Joy in response to positive events or achievements.
- Contentment from need satisfaction or peaceful circumstances.
- Happiness during positive life experiences or favorable conditions.
- Excitement-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Enthusiasm when engaging with inspiring possibilities.
- Exhilaration during novel experiences or thrilling activities.
- Anticipation when looking forward to future rewards or positive outcomes.
- Pleasure-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Eudaimonic Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Meaning-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Fulfillment when living according to personal values.
- Purpose when engaged in meaningful activity.
- Accomplishment upon completing significant goals.
- Growth-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Curiosity when exploring new information or learning opportunities.
- Inspiration when encountering admirable qualities or exemplary achievements.
- Flow during complete absorption in optimally challenging tasks.
- Meaning-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Relational Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Connection-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Love in close relationships with significant others.
- Compassion toward suffering individuals or vulnerable groups.
- Gratitude for received benefits or supportive actions.
- Affiliation-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Pride from group membership or collective achievement.
- Admiration for respected individuals or impressive accomplishments.
- Elevation when witnessing moral excellence or virtuous behavior.
- Connection-Based Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Transcendent Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Spiritual Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Awe in response to vast stimuli that exceed mental schemas.
- Reverence during sacred experiences or religious practice.
- Serenity from deep acceptance of present moment.
- Peak Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Ecstasy during intense pleasure or profound connection.
- Euphoria from powerful experiences or altered consciousness.
- Bliss in states of complete fulfillment or perfect contentment.
- Spiritual Positive Emotional States, such as:
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- Hedonic Positive Emotional States, such as:
- Counter-Examples:
- Negative Emotional States, which involve unpleasant feelings and avoidance motivation, such as fear, anger, sadness, and disgust.
- Neutral Emotional States, which lack the pleasant valence characteristic of positive emotional states.
- Mixed Emotional States, which contain both positive components and negative components simultaneously, such as nostalgia, bittersweet memories, or poignant experience.
- Pathological Positive States, which involve excessive or inappropriate positive emotions detached from reality, such as mania or substance-induced euphoria.
- State of Empathy, which can involve sharing another person's emotional state, whether positive or negative, and thus is not inherently positive.
- See: Emotional Well-Being, Positive Psychology, Happiness, Subjective Well-Being, Broaden-and-Build Theory, Hedonic Adaptation, Emotion Regulation, Flow State, Rational Decision Making, Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Contagion, Positive Affect, Mindfulness, Savoring.
References
2016
- (McCann, 2016a) ⇒ Mike McCann. (2016). “It feels good getting the numbers right."
- QUOTE: Bob was the Assistant Library Director … he was in charge of getting the library’s operating and capital budgets approved each year, … he told me something that only an accountant might understand in his bones: That he remembers how good it felt each year “just to get the numbers right,” to hit his spending target, get his complete budget in balance, and properly account for every dollar.
