No abstract

The broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 1998(Fredrickson, , 2001) predicts that positive emotions broaden the scopes of attention and cognition, thereby facilitating the building of personal resources and initiating upward spirals toward increasing emotional well-being. This study attempts to replicate and extend previous empirical support for this model. Using a sample of 185 undergraduates, we assessed whether positive affect and broad-minded coping, interpersonal trust, and social support reciprocally and prospectively predict one another over a two-month period, and whether this upward spiral might be partially based in changes in dopaminergic functioning. As hypothesized, PA and positive coping did mutually build on one another, as did PA and interpersonal trust. Contrary to expectation, PA did not demonstrate an upward spiral relation with social support. Results suggest further study of the relationship between PA and changes in dopamine metabolite levels over time is warranted.

Clinical psychology tends to focus on groups of individuals who are experiencing clinically significant distress, often due in part to, caused by, or exacerbated by maladaptive ways of coping with their environments. Psychologists study this side of human behavior with the noble intention of understanding psychopathology-learning to prevent and treat the experience of painful, maladaptive psychological conditions. This work is well respected, and the traditional model of clinical psychology serves a useful purpose; however, the model is incomplete without the study of the positive aspects of human behavior. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) suggested that by adopting such a perspective, we are missing a substantial portion of human psychology, in that relatively few people will develop psychopathology in the course of their lives. This fact raises an important question: How do the majority of individuals successfully cope with life's stressors, while 261

A client's mood can hinder or enhance treatment and its effectiveness. Positive emotions can encourage exploration and experimentation, and they may have the long-term effect of resource building. The purpose of the present study was to assess this perspective as applied to the treatment of suicidal individuals. The authors found that patients prone to positive moods, as compared with those less prone to such moods, displayed more positive problem-solving attitudes following treatment for suicidal symptoms, and, partly as a function thereof, displayed enhanced treatment response. These findings suggest that clinicians may improve their chances of achieving successful treatment outcomes if they present skill-building treatments during windows of positive mood for the client, rather than in times of crisis.Suicidality represents an interesting yet challenging area for clinical practitioners. For at least two reasons, the interconnections between suicidality, problem-solving, and mood appear to be clinically important. First, suicidality has been linked to problemsolving deficits (Schotte & Clum, 1982), and skill-based treatments appear to be effective in reducing suicidal behavior (Rudd, Joiner, & Rajab, 2000;Rudd et al., 1996). Second, although there is no question that people in suicidal crises experience predominantly negative moods, suicidal crises are time limited, and much of therapy is conducted once the crisis subsides, when patients' range of moods is broader. In the course of therapy with suicidal patients, then, positive moods may well occur, and according to the logic of the broaden-and-build model (Fredrickson, 1998), may represent windows of opportunity for problem-solving skill acquisition.In her broaden-and-build model of positive emotions, Fredrickson (1998) proposed that emotions such as joy, interest, and contentment have the momentary effect of "broadening" cognition and behavior, so that exploration, experimentation, and play are more likely. Furthermore, because positive emotions subserve exploration and experimentation, they have the long-term effect of resource building. Through exploration and experimentation, new ideas and actions are discovered, building up an individual's repertoire of physical, intellectual, and social resources. The broaden-and-build model has accrued reasonable research support

There has been an increase in recent years in the use of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) for a variety of mental disorders. This study was an investigation of the impact of standardized use of ESTs in an outpatient community clinic. Clients treated prior to and those treated after the implementation of this policy were compared. The results indicate significant group differences, with the improvement ratings of the group receiving ESTs surpassing those of the group receiving unsupported treatment. Support for the use of ESTs indicates that patients may be best served if therapists rely primarily on these treatments.