Context

An ordinary day

You get in the car to go to work, it's 7:05 a.m., you're just going to get there on time; today you have to turn in a very important report and you cannot be late. Before leaving the garage, you realize that a car is blocking the exit, you enter the house again shouting to move the car: How many times have I told you not to leave your car behind mine because I have to leave first? You do not find the reaction you expected, they do not find the keys, they do not remember where they left them. You keep screaming and you make them see how inconsiderate they are with you.

You are anxious and this does not help at all. Finally, they find the keys, they were above the refrigerator. It's already 7:25 am, you get out of the garage quickly, you accelerate and remember that you do not have any gas, you were going to put some in yesterday before arriving at your house, but you got lazy and said "I’ll go later", and you did not do it. You leave the car, you are in a bad mood, reluctantly ask to be taken. You are late for work, the meeting to present the report has already started and your boss makes a somewhat uncomfortable remark referring to you. Although you prepared your report well, your thinking is blocked and you fail to present it properly, you do not remember anything. Obviously, the result will be very bad and all because of ...

Sound familiar?

We all know the negativity, because it frequently dominates our internal dialogue and our opinions. Negativity generates negative emotions - such as anger, depression or anxiety - which are harmful to our health. We can feel them in our body as a burning or pain in the stomach, or blood pressure, making the muscles of the neck and shoulders harden, we feel the face tense up. We advance in the day, finding mistakes and guilt anywhere.

Given the strength of negative emotions, positive emotions seem weak, but these include a broad repertoire of emotions that are the basis for building positivity, positivity has a wide repertoire of emotions that form the basis for constructing positive meanings, optimistic attitudes, open minds and calm and relaxed faces. Positive emotions have a high impact on our relationships, our communities and our environments (Fredrickson, 2009).

Before continuing the reading, rewrite the previous story with a positive approach, without changing the circumstances.

Explanation

Psychologists distinguish a wide repertoire of positive emotions that include pleasurable sensations, affections, emotions, moods, among others.

The different emotions differ in the intensity and duration of the reaction with respect to the stimuli or situations that cause them (Peterson, 2006).

There are two theoretical perspectives to explain how positive emotions are constructed.

One of them postulates that there is a repertoire or set of positive emotions, while the other postulates that there is a process that can produce as many emotions as possible combinations can occur (Vázquez and Hervás, 2009).

A common denominator in almost all authors in these two perspectives is that physical and psychological pleasure are fundamental ingredients of emotion.

What is the theory of the expansion and construction of positive emotions?

Barbara Fredrickson proposed in the nineties The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions to understand their value. The proposal supports that - unlike the negative emotions that limit our ideas about possible actions - positive emotions broaden our ideas about them (Fredrickson, 2009).

10 positive emotions

Positive emotions can build vital resources. Jubilant impulses generate resources that help us to face adverse situations in a better way. Positivity impels us to explore, to interact with the world in different ways. Every time we learn something new, this will be useful in the future.

Fredickson has found that there are ten forms of positivity or positive emotions that are what people experience and identify most often. These are:

1. Joy

2. Gratitude

3. Serenity

4. Interest

5. Hope

6. Pride

7. Amusement

8. Inspiration

9. Awe

10. Love

The wonderful thing about positive emotions is that they are individual, they depend more on our internal interpretations than on external circumstances; this means that the path of each one towards flourishing is unique.

Fredrickson (2009) describes each of the positive emotions in the following article:

Click to see the information

Positive emotions open up your mind

Barbara Fredrickson discusses how positive emotions expand our awareness of the world, allowing us to be more in tune with the needs of others.

Which of the elements do you feel identified with?

Click on the icon to watch the video

Greater Good Science Center (2011, 21 de junio). Barbara Fredrickson: Positive Emotions Open Our Mind [Video File].
Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dFDHzV36g

Closure

Facing the situations that are presented to us in life with a positive attitude opens us to the possibility to be more creative, and broadens the panorama of possible actions.

According to Barbara Fredrickson (2009), it is important to emphasize that positive emotions only occur in the following circumstances:

In a familiar and safe environment.
When things are going well.
When the situation requires little effort.

Below, review the Checkpoint:

Make sure you understand:

The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions
The characteristics of positivity
The manifestations of positive emotions in behavior.