1. What Good are Positive Emotions?
Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2. Specific Action Tendencies
Fear escape
Anger attack
Disgust expel
Guilt make amends
Shame disappear
Sadness withdraw

3. Specific Action Tendencies
Contentment inaction
Joy free activation
Affection approach
Relief cessation of vigilance

4. Specific Action Tendencies
Thought–Action
Specific Action Tendencies X X

5. Breadth of Momentary Thought-Action Repertoire
Negative Emotions Narrow
Positive Emotions Broaden

6. Positive Emotions Broaden Thought-Action Repertoires
Joy play
Interest explore
Contentment savor & integrate
Love all of the above

7. Positive Emotions Build Durable Personal Resources
Physical resources
Social resources
Intellectual resources
Psychological resources

8. The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions
Fredrickson (1998). Review of General Psychology, 2,
Fredrickson (2001). American Psychologist, 56,
Fredrickson (2003). American Scientist, 91,

9. The Broaden Hypothesis
Positive emotions broaden people’s attention and thinking.

10. Empirical Strategy Between-Ps Manipulation: Dependent Measure:
Contentment
Joy
Neutral
Anger
Fear
Dependent Measure:
Global-Local Visual Processing

11. Global-Local Visual Processing

12. Global Preference
Fredrickson & Branigan (2005). Cognition and Emotion, 19,

13. The Undo Hypothesis
If negative emotions narrow and positive emotions broaden … then positive emotions should be efficient antidotes for the lingering aftereffects of negative emotions.

14. Empirical Strategy Context: Speech Anxiety Between-Ps Manipulation:
Contentment
Joy
Neutral
Sadness
Dependent Measure:
Duration of Cardiovascular Reactivity

15. Responses to Speech Preparation
Heart Rate**
Finger Pulse Amplitude**
Pulse Transit to Finger**
Pulse Transit to Ear**
Diastolic Blood Pressure**
Systolic Blood Pressure**
** p < .001

16. Duration of Cardiovascular Reactivity
Fredrickson et al., (2000). Motivation and Emotion, 24,

17. The Resilience Hypothesis
Positive emotions are an active ingredient within trait resilience.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84,
Tugade & Fredrickson (2004) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86,

18. Empirical Strategy Assessed early in 2001:
Trait Resilience
Psychological Resources
Assessed after September 11th:
Depression
Negative and Positive Emotions

19. Resilience Predicts Depression after 9/11 . . .
Psychological
Resilience
b = -.24*
Depressive
Symptoms
* p < .05.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84,

20. . . . through Positive Emotions
b = .59***
b = -.45**
Psychological
Resilience
b = .02
Depressive
Symptoms
*** p < .001; ** p < .01.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84,

21. Resilience Predicts Growth after 9/11 . . .
Increases in
Psychological
Resources
Psychological
Resilience
b = .27*
* p < .05.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84,

22. . . . through Positive Emotions
b = .59***
b = .48**
Increases in
Psychological
Resources
Psychological
Resilience
b = 0.01
*** p < .001; ** p < .01.
Fredrickson et al., (2003). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84,

23. The Build Hypothesis
Over time, positive emotions build consequential personal resources and increase well-being.

24. Empirical Strategy Context: Diary Study, 28 days Daily Measures:
Positive and Negative Emotions
Pre- and Post-Measures:
Trait Resilience
Subjective Well-being

25. Positive Emotions uniquely linked to growth
Increases in Resilience
Increases in SWB
Daily Positive Emotions
r = .31***
r = .34***
Daily Negative Emotions
r = -.16
r = -.14
***p < .001.
Fredrickson et al., (2006). In preparation.

26. Positive Emotions Increase SWB by Building Resources
Changes in Resilience
b = .31**
b = 38***
Daily Positive Emotions
b = .20
Changes in SWB
*** p < .001; ** p < .01.
Fredrickson et al., (2006). In preparation.

27. The Flourish Hypothesis
Positive affect is an active ingredient within human flourishing.

28. How much positive affect is needed to flourish?

29. Empirical Strategy (Losada, 1999)
Observed 60 business teams
High Performance (n = 15)
Medium Performance (n = 26)
Low Performance (n = 19)
Coded all speech acts
Positive-Negative
Inquiry-Advocacy
Self-Other
Created a nonlinear dynamics model of observed interactions

30. Dynamics of Losada’s Business Teams
Emotional
Space
Inquiry / Advocacy
Fredrickson & Losada (2005). American Psychologist, 60,

31. Empirical Strategy Context: Diary Study, 28 days
Between-Ps Classification:
Flourishing
Languishing
Dependent Measure:
Ratio of Positive to Negative Emotions

32. The Losada Line Pos : Neg = 2.9 : 1
Fredrickson & Losada (2005). American Psychologist, 60,

33. What happens at higher levels of positive affect?

34. Pos : Neg = 100 : 1 Emotional Space Inquiry / Advocacy
Fredrickson & Losada (2005). American Psychologist, 60,

35. How much positive affect is needed to flourish?
Pos : Neg > 2.9 : 1
Pos : Neg < 11.6 : 1

36. Positive Affect Transforms People

37. What Good Are Positive Emotions?
Broaden attention and thinking
Undo lingering negative emotions
Fuel psychological resilience
Build consequential personal resources
Seed human flourishing