Turning adversity to advantage: On the virtues of the coactivation of positive and negative emotions.

Larsen, Jeff T.; Hemenover, Scott H.; Norris, Catherine J.; Cacioppo, John T.

doi:10.1037/10566-015

Cited by 172 publications

(203 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…However, there is growing evidence suggesting that mixed feelings, or coactivation, is not only possible but quite common (Larsen et al 2003;Larsen, McGraw, and Cacioppo 2001;Schimmack 2001;Watson, Clark, and Tellegen 1988;Williams and Aaker 2002). We argue that explanations for counterhedonistic behavior should be consistent with newer evidence that people can simultaneously experience conflicting emotions, though that is presently not the case.…”

Section: Hedonism and Negative Affectmentioning

confidence: 82%

On the Consumption of Negative Feelings

Andrade¹,

Cohen²

2007

J Consum Res

254

212

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How can the hedonistic assumption (i.e., people's willingness to pursue pleasure and avoid pain) be reconciled with people choosing to expose themselves to experiences known to elicit negative feelings? We assess how (1) the intensity of the negative feelings, (2) positive feelings in the aftermath, and (3) the coactivation of positive and negative feelings contribute to our understanding of such behavior. In a series of four studies, consumers with either approach or avoidance tendencies (toward horror movies) were asked to report their positive and/or negative feelings either after (experiment 1) or while (experiments 2, 3A, and 3B) they were exposed to a horror movie. We demonstrate how a model incorporating coactivation principles and enriched with a protective frame moderator (via detachment) can provide a more parsimonious and viable description of the affective reactions that result from counterhedonic behavior.R eaders who are unfamiliar with the vastly popular (in some circles!) horror movie genre might have missed the following scene. Two men wake up in a filthy bathroom chained to massive steel pipes at opposite ends of the room. The blood between them is from a man's corpse still holding the gun he used to kill himself. The two men discover two hacksaws. The tools are too dull to cut the massive chains that keep the men imprisoned but seem sharp enough to hack off their limbs and set them free. Jigsaw, the wildly popular killer, graphically tantalizes his prey. One victim must crawl through razor wire to escape. Another must find a key to overturn a bear trap attached to his mouth. Suggestively titled Saw, the movie generated $18 million in box office receipts in its opening weekend in October 2004, hitting third place in U.S. box office ratings (behind only Ray and The Grudge, another horror movie). Saw II was released 1 year later. Gainesville, FL, 32611-7155 (joel.cohen@cba.ufl.edu). Address correspondence to Eduardo B. Andrade. This project was sponsored by the Junior Faculty Research Grant and the Experimental Social Science Laboratory (Xlab) at the University of California, Berkeley. The article benefited from helpful comments and insights from the editor, the associate editor, and three reviewers, and also from participants in seminars at Stanford University, New York University, Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and the Emotion and Decision Making Reunion at the University of California, Berkeley. The authors thank James Chong, Cindy Wang, Simon Mak, Lawrence Sweet, Debbie Atlas, and Brenda Naputi for their assistance with data collection. John Deighton served as editor and Baba Shiv served as associate editor for this article.Electronically published June 26, 2007 These and a number of other box office hits attract audiences by immersing them in nearly 2 hours of fear, disgust, terror, and depravity. For that reason, horror movies provide an excellent window into counterintuitive consumer preferences for emotional experiences that produce negative emotional responses. Theor...

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Section: Hedonism and Negative Affectmentioning

confidence: 82%

On the Consumption of Negative Feelings

Andrade¹,

Cohen²

2007

J Consum Res

254

212

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“…It has been proposed that dopaminergic activity at the level of the ACC is essential in the willingness to exert effort and to overcome response costs 1 (Walton et al, 2005). Similarly, Larsen et al (2003); also Folkman and Moskowitz, (2000) suggest that stressors should co-activate positive affect (dopaminergic) approach/appetition systems to overcome simultaneous activation of negative affect (cholinergic) avoidance/aversion systems to enable active, problem-focused coping. The level of activation of this dopaminergic mechanism of effort-allocation and engagement may be reflected in the amplitude of the ERN (Boksem et al, 2006a,b;Lorist et al, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Task engagement and the relationships between the error-related negativity, agreeableness, behavioral shame proneness and cortisol

Tops

Boksem

Wester

et al. 2006

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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SummaryPrevious results suggest that both cortisol mobilization and the errorrelated negativity (ERN/Ne) reflect goal engagement, i.e. the mobilization and allocation of attentional and physiological resources. Personality measures of negative affectivity have been associated both to high cortisol levels and large ERN/Ne amplitudes. However, measures of positive social adaptation and agreeableness have also been related to high cortisol levels and large ERN/Ne amplitudes. We hypothesized that, as long as they relate to concerns over social evaluation and mistakes, both personality measures reflecting positive affectivity (e.g. agreeableness) and those reflecting negative affectivity (e.g. behavioral shame proneness) would be associated with an increased likelihood of high task engagement, and hence to increased cortisol mobilization and ERN/Ne amplitudes. We had female subjects perform a flanker task while EEG was recorded. Additionally, the subjects filled out questionnaires measuring mood and personality, and salivary cortisol immediately before and after task performance was measured. The overall pattern of relationships between our measures supports the hypothesis that cortisol mobilization and ERN/Ne amplitude reflect task engagement, and both relate positively to each other and to the personality traits agreeableness and behavioral shame proneness. We discuss the potential importance of engagement-disengagement and of concerns over social evaluation for research on psychopathology, stress and the ERN/Ne.

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“…Several studies have found that individuals experiencing positive mood and optimists do attend to negative, especially threatening, information when it is self-relevant and may hold a future advantage for them (Aspinwall & Brunhart, 1996;Estrada et al, 1997;Reed & Aspinwall, 1998;Larsen et al, 2003). Instead of individuals in positive moods merely viewing positive stimuli to maintain their moods, these individuals may instead actively seek out the most adaptive strategy in their information processing for future gains, even at the cost of short-term pleasure.…”

Section: Mood Maintenance and Broadeningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Optimists' attentional bias away from negative stimuli, however, may be dependent on the self-relevance of the stimuli. Optimism as well as other positive mood states may help facilitate the processing of negative information and experiences (Larsen, Hemenover, Norris, & Cacioppo, 2003). In one study, self-affirming their kindness before being shown threatening stimuli caused individuals to be more open and less biased in their processing of the stimuli as well as to more quickly orient toward the selfrelevant but threatening health-risk information (Reed & Aspinwall, 1998).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive mood broadens visual attention to positive stimuli

2006

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In an attempt to investigate the impact of positive emotions on visual attention within the context of Fredrickson's (1998) broaden-and-build model, eye tracking was used in two studies to measure visual attentional preferences of college students (n=58, n=26) to emotional pictures. Half of each sample experienced induced positive mood immediately before viewing slides of three similarlyvalenced images, in varying central-peripheral arrays. Attentional breadth was determined by measuring the percentage viewing time to peripheral images as well as by the number of visual saccades participants made per slide. Consistent with Fredrickson's theory, the first study showed that individuals induced into positive mood fixated more on peripheral stimuli than did control participants; however, this only held true for highly-valenced positive stimuli. Participants under induced positive mood also made more frequent saccades for slides of neutral and positive valence. A second study showed that these effects were not simply due to differences in emotional arousal between stimuli. Selective attentional broadening to positive stimuli may act both to facilitate later building of resources as well as to maintain current positive affective states. Keywords Positive mood; Visual attention Positive mood broadens visual attentionThe broaden-and-build model of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 1998) suggests that positive emotions, such as joy, interest, contentment, elation, or love, temporarily broaden an individual's thought-action repertoire, thereby promoting the expansion of attention or interest in the environment and encouraging play and exploration. In turn, these broadening behaviors build lasting resources such as physical agility, social relationships, and heightened psychological resilience. This stockpiling of resources and skills allow an organism to be better prepared for future circumstances in which they might face adverse conditions or negative affective states (Fredrickson, 1998(Fredrickson, , 2000a(Fredrickson, , 2001. The current study focused on testing the broadening component of the model, which has received relatively scant attention in previous research on the theory. Research demonstrating broadeningWhat exactly is broadening? Fredrickson (2000b, Article 7, 9) defines broadening as "having a wider array of perceptions, thoughts, and actions, with the consequences of broadening being flexible, creative and unusual thinking." Thus, research demonstrating broadening would show that positive emotions, as compared to negative or neutral emotions, act to expand thoughts or actions towards incorporating more aspects of one's environment. By having individuals watch © Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006 dmi@brandeis.edu . NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptMotiv Emot. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 April 28. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript short films, induced joy, serenity, fear, and sadness in individuals, and then had them perform a global-l...

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Turning adversity to advantage: On the virtues of the coactivation of positive and negative emotions.

Cited by 172 publications

References 52 publications

On the Consumption of Negative Feelings

On the Consumption of Negative Feelings

Task engagement and the relationships between the error-related negativity, agreeableness, behavioral shame proneness and cortisol

Positive mood broadens visual attention to positive stimuli

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