Happiness unpacked: Positive emotions increase life satisfaction by building resilience.

Abstract

Happiness – a composite of life satisfaction, coping resources, and positive emotions – predicts desirable life outcomes in many domains. The broaden-and-build theory suggests that this is because positive emotions help people build lasting resources. To test this hypothesis we measured emotions daily for one month in a sample of students (N=86) and assessed life satisfaction and trait resilience at the beginning and end of the month. Positive emotions predicted increases in both resilience and life satisfaction. Negative emotions had weak or null effects, and did not interfere with the benefits of positive emotions. Positive emotions also mediated the relation between baseline and final resilience, but life satisfaction did not. This suggests that it is in-the-moment positive emotions, and not more general positive evaluations of one’s life, that form the link between happiness and desirable life outcomes. Change in resilience mediated the relation between positive emotions and increased life satisfaction, suggesting that happy people become more satisfied not simply because they feel better, but because they develop resources for living well.

An Examination of the Broaden-and-Build Model of Positive Emotions in Military Marriages: An Actor-Partner Analysis

“…This increased cognitive flexibility is believed to lead to new ways of problem solving that build resilience. It was suggested that because positive emotions can increase resilience, positive emotions allow persons to develop resources that help them deal with life challenges that in turn lead to life satisfaction (Cohn, Fredrickson, Brown, Mikels, & Conway, 2009). Research supports the claim that psychological resilience is associated with positive emotions especially during stressful times (e.g., Ong, Bergeman, Bisconti, & Wallace, 2006).…”

Do unto others or treat yourself? The effects of prosocial and self-focused behavior on psychological flourishing.

“…For example, in one study, daily positive emotions predicted increases in life satisfaction and resilience over the course of a month (Cohn et al, 2009). In another investigation, the experience of more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions explained the association between resilience and life satisfaction (Liu et al, 2013).…”

Laughter as a specific means of physical recreation

“…Johnson, Penn, Fredrickson, Meyer, Kring, a Brantley (2009) ve své studii poukazují, jak mohou pozitivní emoce (kam patří veselí, jehož tělesnou reakcí je smích) přerušit emoce negativní. Navíc pozitivní emoce pomáhají lepšímu vnímá-ní skutečnosti (viz také Nešpor, 2011) a napomáhají zvyšovat životní spokojenost a odolnost psychickou (Cohn, Fredrickson, Brown, Mikels, & Conway, 2009).…”

“…Navíc studie prokázaly, že smích (jak spontánní tak simulovaný) vede k veselosti a celkové dobré náladě, a tím pomáhá čelit vyčerpanosti, pře devším psychické (viz např. Cohn, Fredrickson, Brown, Mikels, & Conway, 2009;Johnson, 2009;Nešpor, 2010a;Vagnoli, Caprilli, & Messeri, 2010 Smích působí zvláště na psychickou zdatnost člověka např. jako významný prostředek regulace stresu.…”