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The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology
The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions
Barbara L. Fredrickson
University of Michigan
In this article, the author describes a new theoretical
perspective on positive emotions and situates this new
perspective within the emerging field of positive psychol-
ogy. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences
of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-
action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their
enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and
intellectual resources to social and psychological re-
sources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the
broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical
questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory
and findings suggest that the capacity to experience posi-
tive emotions may be a fundamental human strength cen-
tral to the study of human flourishing.
T
he mission of positive psychology is to understand
and foster the factors that allow individuals, com-
munities, and societies to flourish (Seligman & Csik-
szentmihalyi, 2000). What role do positive emotions play
in this mission? On first consideration, the answer seems
simple: Positive emotions serve as markers of flourishing,
or optimal well-being. Certainly moments in people's lives
characterized by experiences of positive emotions—such as
joy, interest, contentment, love, and the like—are moments
in which they are not plagued by negative emotions—such
as anxiety, sadness, anger, and despair. Consistent with this
intuition, the overall balance of people's positive and neg-
ative emotions has been shown to predict their judgments
of subjective well-being (Diener, Sandvik, & Pavot, 1991).
Building on this finding, Kahneman (1999) suggested that
"objective happiness" can best be measured by tracking
(and later aggregating) people's momentary experiences of
good and bad feelings (but see Fredrickson, 2000c). Ac-
cording to these perspectives, positive emotions signal
flourishing. But this is not the whole story: Positive emo-
tions also produce flourishing. Moreover, they do so not
simply within the present, pleasant moment but over the
long term as well. The take-home message is that positive
emotions are worth cultivating, not just as end states in
themselves but also as a means to achieving psychological
growth and improved well-being over time.
A review of current perspectives on emotions, affect,
and their respective functions provides an important back-
drop.
A selective review follows.
Perspectives on Emotions and Affect
Working definitions of emotions and affect vary somewhat
across researchers. Yet despite ongoing debate (e.g., Die-
ner, 1999; Ekman & Davidson, 1994), consensus is emerg-
ing that emotions are but a subset of the broader class of
affective phenomena. Emotions, according to this perspec-
tive,
are best conceptualized as multicomponent response
tendencies that unfold over relatively short time spans.
Typically, an emotion begins with an individual's assess-
ment of the personal meaning of some antecedent event.
This appraisal process may be either conscious or uncon-
scious, and it triggers a cascade of response tendencies
manifest across loosely coupled component systems, such
as subjective experience, facial expression, cognitive pro-
cessing, and physiological changes.
Affect, a more general concept, refers to consciously
accessible feelings. Although affect is present within emo-
tions (as the component of subjective experience), it is also
present within many other affective phenomena, including
physical sensations, attitudes, moods, and even affective
traits.
Thus, emotions are distinct from affect in multiple
ways.
First, emotions are typically about some personally
meaningful circumstance (i.e., they have an object),
whereas affect is often free-floating or objectless (Oatley &
Jenkins, 1996; Russell & Feldman Barrett, 1999; Ryff &
Singer, in press). Additionally, emotions are typically brief
and implicate the multiple-component systems described
above, whereas affect is often more long-lasting and may
be salient only at the level of subjective experience (Ek-
man, 1994; Rosenberg, 1998; Russell & Feldman Barrett,
1999).
Finally, emotions are often conceptualized as fitting
into discrete categories of emotion families, like fear, an-
ger, joy, and interest. Affect, by contrast, is often concep-
Editor's note. Kennon M. Sheldon and Laura King developed this
Positive Psychology section.
Author's note. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Department of Psychology and
Research Center for Group Dynamics at the Institute for Social Research,
University of Michigan.
My research on positive emotions is supported by Grants MH53971
and MH59615 from the National Institute of Mental Health, a Rackham
Faculty Grant and Fellowship from the University of Michigan, and funds
from the John Templeton Foundation. •
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bar-
bara L. Fredrickson, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan,
525 East University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109. Electronic mail
may be sent to blf@umich.edu.
218March 2001 • American Psychologist
Copyright 2001 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 00O3-066X/01/S5.0O
Vol. 56. No. 3, 218-226 DOI: 10.1O37//0OO3-O66X.56.3.218
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