The Role of Stressful Events in the Relationship Between Positive and Negative Affects: Evidence From Field and Experimental Studies

Abstract

Three studies are presented that examine the effects of stress on the relationship between positive and negative affective states. In the first study, recently bereaved and disabled older adults were compared to matched control groups without these recent stressors. Negative affect was inversely correlated with positive affect to a significantly greater extent for the highly stressed groups compared with controls. In a second study, older adults were exposed to a laboratory stressor, and their positive and negative affective reactions recorded. Immediately following a speech stressor task, the inverse correlation between positive and negative affect was significantly greater than in pre- and postassessments of affects. The third study was an attempt to replicate and extend the findings from Study 2 with a mid-aged sample of women. The speech stressor had the same effects as in Study 2. A second stressor, which induced pain through immersion of an arm into cold water, had no effects on the correlation between affective states. Alternative explanations for these effects and the implications for cognitive interventions are discussed.

Positive Affect and Adjustment to Perceived Racism

“…Reich, Zautra, and Davis (2003) reviewed a number of studies showing that positive affect, when present during times of stress, appear maximally effective at strengthening resistance. The finding that positive affect reduces vulnerability to stress has now been documented in different laboratory and field studies (e.g., Zautra, Reich, Davis, Potter, & Nicolson, 2000), under different stressful contexts (Ong, Bergeman, Bisconti, & Wallace, 2006;Zautra et al, 2005), and with different indices of health and well-being (e.g., Davis, Zautra, & Smith, 2004;Ong & Allaire, 2005). …”

Afecto positivo y negativo: ¿Una dimensión bipolar o dos dimensiones unipolares independientes?

“…En cambio, en situaciones de baja presión de afrontamiento y especialmente en situaciones de buen funcionamiento del individuo el uso de un procesamiento más complejo que permita la valoración de ambos tipo de afecto de forma separada e independiente favorece una mejor adaptación. El modelo cuenta ya con apoyo empírico (Zau tra, Potter & Reich, 1997;Zautra, Reich, Davis, Nicolson & Potter, 2000).…”

Individual Difference Variables, Affective Differentiation, and the Structures of Affect

“…Unlike Feldman, who used a within-subjects design, we will employ a between-subjects design in which the structure of affect is examined in contrasted groups (cf. Bagozzi, Wong, & Yi, 1999;Reich, Zautra, & Potter, 2001;Zautra, Reich, Davis, Potter, & Nicolson, 2000). These groups are hypothesized to differ in the way in which their members differentiate among emotional states, so the group analyses indirectly reflect the processing of affective information in individuals.…”