Body-related pride in young adults: An exploration of the triggers,contexts, outcomes and attributions

This study explored body-related emotional experiences of pride in young adult males (n = 138) and females (n = 165). Data were collected using a relived emotion task and analyzed using inductive content analysis. Thirty-nine codes were identified and grouped into six categories (triggers, contexts, cognitive attributions, and affective, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes) for each of two themes (hubristic and authentic pride). Hubristic pride triggers included evaluating appearance/fitness as superior. Cognitions centered on feelings of superiority. Behaviors included strategies to show off. Triggers for authentic pride were personal improvements/maintenance in appearance and meeting or exceeding goals. Feeling accomplished was a cognitive outcome, and physical activity was a behavioral strategy. Contexts for the experience of both facets of pride primarily involved sports settings, swimming/beach, and clothes shopping. These findings provide theoretical support for models of pride as it applies to body image, and advances conceptual understanding of positive body image.     

Children's and adolescents' narratives of guilt: Antecedents and mentalization

In this study, situational antecedents and mentalization of guilt were examined by asking children and adolescents for written narratives. The sample of 240 participants, aged between 9 years and 15 years 6 months, was divided into two groups of 120 children (M = 9 years and 7 months; SD = 0.4) and 120 adolescents (M = 14 years and 7 months; SD = 0.4). Participants displayed typical development, were recruited at schools in Milan city, and came from middle-class backgrounds. There was an equal number of males and females in each of the two age groups. Both content analysis for antecedents and mental states language analysis for mentalization were applied to the texts. We found that the distribution of guilt antecedents varied as a function of age, and only in the adolescent group as a function of gender. We also found that the use of mental states language varied very significantly with age, but not with gender. The results support the idea that in the transition from childhood to adolescence antecedents shift their focus from externalizing behaviours to internal thoughts and intentions; in addition, a more advanced ability to represent and reflect on the experience of feeling guilty is acquired.     

Moral emotions and the development of the moral self in childhood

Researchers have been emphasizing the importance of moral emotions for young children's moral self. However, the relationship between children's moral self and moral emotions has never been investigated empirically. The present study examined the relationship between children's self-representations about (im)moral behaviour and moral emotions attributions in a sample of 132 elementary-school children (M _age = 8.39 years, SD = 2.50). Participants were presented a newly developed moral self measure, along with a measure of moral emotion attributions. Two dimensions of children's moral self-concept were identified: preference for prosocial behaviour and avoidance of antisocial behaviour. Results revealed a slight decrease in preference for prosocial behaviour with age, as well as an increased correlation between preference for prosocial behaviour and moral emotion attributions. Overall, findings suggest that moral emotions do not play a pivotal role for young children's moral self-concept. Children's moral self-concept becomes increasingly coordinated with moral emotions as they approach adolescence.     

Shame and guilt development in preschoolers: The role of context,audience and individual characteristics

The study examined the early development of shame and guilt, the individual differences related to them and the role of situation and audience. Fifty-eight children aged 3 to 5 years were observed in two paradigms: moral, in which they were led to believe that they had broken an object, and non-moral, in which they failed an easy task. Each session was led twice, with an adult and with a peer. Temperament and conduct were assessed through parental reports. Results showed that older children expressed more guilt than younger children. Shame-proneness was characterized by bodily tension, reticence and gaze avoidance, whereas guilt-proneness by latency to repair and confession. Children were able to distinguish the moral from the non-moral situation and, only in the former, shame was associated with difficult temperament and with emotional problems, whereas guilt was correlated with adaptive characteristics. Finally, children mainly expressed distress with the adult, who holds the authority.     

In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of long-term positive behavior change

A number of positive psychology interventions have successfully helped people learn skills for improving mood and building personal resources (e.g., psychological resilience and social support). However, little is known about whether intervention activities remain effective in the long term, or whether new resources are maintained after the intervention ends. We address these issues in a 15-month follow-up survey of participants from a loving-kindness meditation intervention. Many participants continued to practice meditation, and they reported more positive emotions (PEs) than those who had stopped meditating or had never meditated. All participants maintained gains in resources made during the initial intervention, whether or not they continued meditating. Continuing meditators did not differ on resources at baseline, but they did show more PE and a more rapid PE response to the intervention. Overall, our results suggest that positive psychology interventions are not just efficacious but of significant value in participants’ real lives.     

Flourishing students: A longitudinal study on positive emotions,personal resources,and study engagement

The aim of this two-wave questionnaire study with a 4-week interval among 391 Dutch university students was to test a gain cycle of positive emotions, personal resources, and study engagement. As a theoretical basis, this study drew on the broaden-and-build (B&B) theory and the conservation of resources (COR) theory. More specifically, it was hypothesized that the experience of positive emotions predicts students’ future personal resources and study engagement. Moreover, it was expected that there is a longitudinal relationship between personal resources and study engagement. Furthermore, we hypothesized that positive emotions, personal resources, and study engagement are reciprocally related. Results, obtained by means of structural equation modeling, confirmed both causal (except for the positive relationship between positive emotions and study engagement) and reciprocal hypotheses, thereby successfully integrating the B&B theory with the COR theory.     

Emotional labor among trainee police officers: The interpersonal role of positive emotions

The aim of this study is to get an insight of the interpersonal process of emotional labor, and the role of positive emotions in the interaction between the sender and receiver, while taking both the perspective of the sender and the receiver into account. We tested the influence of the perceived display of positive emotions of Dutch trainee police officers (N?=?80) during an interaction with offenders on perceived authenticity and perceived performance success, incorporating the senders’ emotion regulation technique (i.e., deep acting and surface acting). Consistent with hypotheses, results of structural equation modeling analyses showed that perceived authenticity mediates the relationship between the perceived display of positive emotions and perceived performance success, while the specific senders’ emotion regulation technique was not related to perceived performance success. Furthermore, results showed that perceived performance success mediated the relationship between the perceived display of positive emotions and senders’ felt positive emotions after the interaction, controlling for senders’ positive affect.     

Finding happiness in negative emotions: An experimental test of a novel expressive writing paradigm

Positive emotions are evoked on seeing one's favorite person. To investigate the psychological and physiological responses accompanying these positive emotions, we simultaneously recorded various parameters such as the mood state, heart rate, skin conductance level (SCL), serum levels of catecholamines, and proportions of T cells and natural killer (NK) cells among the lymphocytes while participants viewed films featuring their favorite persons. The participants reported that they felt better and invigorated; in addition, SCL and proportion of NK cells in peripheral blood increased significantly, and these physiological changes were positively correlated. These results suggest that positive emotions elicited on seeing a favorite person may lead to psychological and physiological activation and, more importantly, may promote health.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bone (Proverbs 17 : 22; New International Version)     

Hope and emotional well-being: A six-year study to distinguish antecedents,correlates, and consequences

Hope is a motivational factor that helps initiate and sustain action toward long-term goals, including flexible management of obstacles that get in the way of goal attainment. Despite an abundance of research on the benefits of hope, little attention has been given to this aspect of youth development via longitudinal studies. In this study, we collected ratings of hope and positive and negative affect from 975 adolescents over a six-year assessment period (Grades 7–12). Using cross-lagged structural equation modeling, we found that hope led to greater positive affect, with little evidence for the reverse direction. In contrast, hope and negative affective states were reciprocally related. Hope predicted future well-being particularly well in years when the young people where in transition (e.g. starting high school and transitioning to senior high school). Our data support the position that hope is a malleable attribute that fosters positive youth development.     

The buffering effect of awe on negative affect towards lost possessions*

Abstract

Although the positive emotion of awe is of growing interest, past research has not directly examined its buffering effect in negative circumstances. As awe has been theoretically linked to experiences of vastness and spirituality, the present study proposes that awe helps individuals alleviate their negative affect, in the context of possession loss. Study 1 manipulated awe and examined participants’ responses in an imagined situation in which they lost a cherished possession. Study 2 manipulated awe and happiness and compared their effects on participants’ response to an actual loss in the form of points obtained and deducted during a laboratory task. In Study 3, daily experiences of awe, other positive emotions, and affect in response to actual loss, were measured using event sampling. In all studies, awe predicted lower negative affect towards loss of possessions. Implications of the function of awe in coping with loss and other future directions are discussed.