Previous studies have shown that the experience of joy normally accompanies the experience of tenderness or love. Theorists have thus suggested that tenderness is not a distinct emotion, but rather a variety of joy. The present study explored whether it is possible to induce tenderness while inhibiting joy. Participants watched scenes designed to induce different emotions. Results showed that a scene could induce high levels of tenderness and low levels of joy if that scene also induced high levels of sadness. These findings suggest the need to reconsider theoretical assumptions regarding the distinction between tenderness and joy.

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Begränsad forskning har gjorts om den positiva emotionen beundran som associerats med motivation till handling. Förståelse av värden och emotioner tyder på att beundran kan främja psykisk hälsa genom värdeuppfyllelse. Syftet var att förstå vilka aspekter som ingår i upplevelsen av beundran och om beundran kan motivera och leda till handling för att möjliggöra värdeuppfyllelse. Utav 8 intervjuer, kunde 5 teman och 6 subteman urskiljas genom en fenomenologiskt inspirerad analys. Dessa var temana: positiv upplevelse, avundsjuka, förvåning, reflektion, vägledning samt subtemana: det kändes bra, varm känsla, stolthet, hoppfullhet, inspiration som tillhör positiv upplevelse samt tankegång förändrade känsla och tillskrivande av motiv som tillhör reflektion. Hur beundran kan motivera till självförbättring och imitation och även handling uppvisades. Avundsjuka kunde övergå till beundran, utifrån tidigare forskning ges förslag på hur detta kan ske. Beundran som emotion framstår som ett lovande område för att främja psykisk hälsa och rekommenderas därför att utforskas vidare.

A research study was conducted to examine Fredrickson's Broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions in a speech anxious sample of undergraduate students. Experimental elicitation of positive emotions has previously been shown to speed cardiovascular recovery, increase attention, and broaden thought-action repertoires compared to elicitation of negative or neutral emotions (Fredrickson et al., 2000). 88 undergraduate students were selected from a screening process based on their reported speech anxiety on the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (PRCS). Students who reported low or high speech anxiety completed an anxiety provoking task and were subsequently exposed to either a neutral emotion condition "Pipes" film) or one of two positive emotion conditions ("Puppy" film or thinking of a happy memory task). Fredrickson's theory was not supported since results showed no differences in cardiovascular recovery, thought-action repertoires, or global thinking for either groups or conditions. However, differences were found for broadened scope of attention on a modified Stroop task where the low anxiety group responded faster to threat words in the neutral and happy memory conditions than after viewing a positive film. Results of the study are discussed in light of attribution theory of emotion and previous studies on the effects of positive emotions. / Ph. D.

Self-worth is a global self-evaluation of one's value as a person (Harter & Whitsell, 2003). Self-worth in children may be influenced by affective social competence (ASC), which involves abilities to effectively express, identify, and manage emotions when interacting with others (Halberstadt, Denham, & Dunsmore, 2001). Children diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) are likely to have poorer social competence (Burns et al., 2009). ODD is a commonly diagnosed, disruptive behavior disorder in children that involves symptoms of excessive argumentativeness, defiance, and anger (Loney & Lima, 2003; Pfiffner, McBurnett, Rathouz, & Judice, 2005). Children with ODD often report a lower sense of self-worth than non-diagnosed peers. Because experiencing positive emotions may be linked with emotional buffering from stressors and may bolster positive characteristics in individuals (Fredrickson, 2003), I studied components of ASC in regard to positive emotions in children with ODD. With 86 parent-child dyads, children's ability to recognize, encourage, and express emotions was studied alongside parents' reports of children's emotion regulation in relation to children's reports of perceived self-worth. Components of ASC were expected to be positively associated with children's perceptions of self-worth. However, results did not support these expectations. Discussion focuses on methods and future research. / Master of Science

According to Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, positive emotions -- such as joy, contentment, and love -- help individuals cope with stress, maintain well-being, and flourish in life. Guided by this theory, this dissertation project conducted three studies which explored the multidimensional influences of positive emotions on stress, coping strategies, resilience, trait anxiety, depressive symptoms, and work engagement. Study 1 examined the mediating role of coping strategies on the link between positive emotions and resilience; in addition, the moderating effect of resilience on the influence of stress toward trait anxiety and depressive symptoms was tested. Study 2 investigated if one's positivity would distinguish differences in their levels of stress, trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Finally, Study 3 examined whether stress and positive emotions would account for the variance in work engagement, over and above what has been explained by known predictors -- specifically, work meaningfulness and supervisor support. Path analysis, interaction analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to test the different models within these studies. A sample of 200 postdoctoral fellows completed the survey (38% response rate). Results showed that a) coping strategies partially mediated the link between positive emotions and resilience; b) resilience moderated the effect of stress on trait anxiety and depressive symptoms; c) the different categories of positivity distinguished differences in experienced stress, trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms; d) stress and positive emotions accounted for additional variance in work engagement, above what is already explained by work meaningfulness and supervisor support; and e) positive emotions completely mediated the relationship between supervisor support and work engagement. Findings support the broaden-and-build theory's hypotheses that positive emotions enhance adaptive coping strategies and fuel resilience. The data also demonstrated that resilience protected postdocs from experiencing heightened levels of trait anxiety and depressive symptoms by diminishing their relationships with stress. One strategy to optimize health would be to increase opportunities for postdocs to experience positive emotions, which would subsequently spark the upward spiral toward improved coping, greater resilience, and reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. To promote work engagement, it is important for supervisors to not only be mindful of assigning meaningful work to their employees (or help employees find meaning in their work), but supervisors should also be a supportive leader within a positive workplace environment. / text

There has been considerable research interest in the nature of service failure and recovery over the past few decades. In this context, the role of frontline service employees has emerged as a crucial factor in successful service recovery. Interestingly, while management and organizational behaviour literatures have looked at the favorable influence positive psychological capacities (optimism, hope, self-efficacy, and resilience) have on employee performance, this literature has not yet been used to shed light on how such capacities in frontline service employees might impact service recovery. By bringing this literature into the service recovery context, this research aims to examine how, and to what extent, these internal positive psychological capacities in frontline employees affect service recovery and complaint handling. Using emotion contagion theory, the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, the theory of cognitive appraisal, and justice theory, the study develops a number of hypothesized relationships, centered on the proposition that employee positive psychological capacities influence service recovery and complaint handling through both an emotional and a behavioral path. Specifically, it is posited that frontline employee positive emotions influence customer perceived interactional justice through the emotional path, while the behavioral path influences frontline employee problem solving, thus influencing customer perceived distributive and procedural justice. Data to examine these questions was collected using two studies. The first, based on a survey of service providers, investigates the influence of positive psychological capacities on positive emotions and problem solving competencies of frontline employees. The second uses an experimental design with service customers as subjects, investigating the influence of employee problem solving levels and positive emotions on customer perceptions of justice. Data analysis supports both paths with a stronger influence for the behavioural paths. The study brings new insight to service managers and service recovery.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of tenderness on problem solving. Thirty-four female undergraduates participated. In the experimental condition, participants received instructions to reproduce a specific respiratory-posturo-facial pattern that had induced tenderness in previous studies. Participants in the control condition performed a non-emotional exercise. After either the pattern or the control exercise, participants completed one of two jigsaw puzzles. One puzzle had only an empty room while the other had a family scene. For participants who worked on the room puzzle, the tenderness pattern led to longer completion times. In contrast, for participants who worked on the family puzzle, the tenderness pattern led to shorter completion times.

In this study, the use of human character strengths was evaluated as a component of mental and physical health. The majority of previous character strengths research has been limited to monotonic use of character strengths. This study evaluated subjective outcomes based on a new measure of how much adults reported underusing, optimally using, and overusing their character strengths. This exploratory study was theoretically grounded in the upward spiral model of lifestyle change. The underuse, optimal use, and overuse of character strengths were evaluated as predictors of physical and mental health status, health behaviors, and emotions. Using a convenience sample of 100 participants and a correlational design with regression analyses, as well as mediation with bootstrapping methods, the study determined that the optimal use of character strengths was predictive of better physical health, better mental health, more frequent health behaviors, and more frequent positive emotions. The underuse of character strengths was predictive of worse physical health, worse mental health, less frequent health behaviors, and more frequent negative emotions. Additionally, the overuse of character strengths was predictive of worse physical health, less frequent health behaviors, and more frequent negative emotions. Overuse of character strengths was not found to be predictive of worse mental health. Positive emotions mediated 53% of the relationship between optimal use of character strengths and health behaviors. Motivating individuals to engage in healthier lifestyles, although critical, can be challenging at times. This study is socially significant because it may offer increased knowledge on promoting positive emotions, the upward spiral of healthy behavioral choices, and better physical and mental health.

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