Positive Emotions Broaden and Build

Towards a science and practice of resilience in the face of pain

“…A recent study in parents with and without chronic pain for instance showed that parents with chronic pain were more likely to catastrophize about their child's pain and respond with protective behaviours than parents without chronic pain (Wilson and Fales, 2015). Observational learning of pain-related fear, catastrophizing thoughts and avoidance behaviours, has been suggested as a potential mechanism of intergenerational transmission of chronic pain problems Helsen et al, 2011;2013;. An increased understanding of those intrapersonal and interpersonal risk mechanisms over the years has informed and improved the multidisciplinary treatment of chronic pain, in which risk mechanisms such as pain-related fear and catastrophizing thoughts about pain are primary targets of the intervention (Williams et al, 2012;Ehde et al, 2014).…”

“…One of the most influential theories in this regard is the Broaden & Build Theory of Positive Emotions, developed by Barbara Fredrickson and colleagues (Fredrickson, 2001(Fredrickson, , 2013Fredrickson and Losada, 2005). According to this theory, positive affect broadens people's visual awareness, attention, thoughts and behaviour (Waugh and Fredrickson, 2006;Rowe et al, 2007), enabling a larger range of behavioural options.…”

“…Indeed, getting active again after prolonged periods of reduced functioning and deconditioning of the body (Verbunt et al, 2003) may be extremely hard for patients. Finding activities they enjoy and experiencing mild positive emotions during activity may be key for getting patients active again, and letting them stay active on a long-term basis (see also Fredrickson, 2013).…”

Emodiversity: Robust predictor of outcomes or statistical artifact?

“…Experience from several fields with these kinds of numerical-rating scales (e.g., Berbaum, Dorfman, Franken, & Caldwell, 2002;DeSoto, 2016;Mickes, Wixted, & Wais, 2007) suggests that the most responses will likely be multiples of 1 In fact, did not report the exact responses corresponding to the values 1, 2, and 3. We have assumed that the version of the mDES that these authors used in Study 1 was similar to that described by Fredrickson (2013), from which the responses shown here are taken, and that the responses for the unspecified 10-item measure used in Study 2 were labeled similarly. 10, with a tendency to cluster further around 0, 50, and 100.…”

Resilience, traumatic brain injury, depression, and posttraumatic stress among Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans.

“…There is also prospective evidence that positive emotions may be elements of resilience that promote adaptive cognitive appraisals of symptoms experienced by persons with chronic health conditions (Ong et al, 2010). From the perspective of Fredrickson's (2013) broaden-and-build model positive emotion may be the defining feature of trait resilience as it promotes flexibility in thinking and appraisals of stress, facilitates flexible coping and problem solving, enhances social relationships and circumvents lingering effects of stress and negative emotions (Ong et al, 2009). Future research should attend to the potentially unique benefits of positive emotionality in resilient personality prototypes to further our understanding of the interplay between positive affect, psychological flexibility, coping and supportive relationships.…”