ABSTRACT:
Positive emotions are hypothesized to undo the cardiovascular aftereffects of negative emotions. Study 1 tests this undoing effect. Participants (nD170) experiencing anxiety-induced cardiovascular reactivity viewed a film that elicited (a) contentment, (b) amusement, (c) neutrality, or (d) sadness. Contentment-eliciting and amusing films produced faster cardiovascular recovery than neutral or sad films did. Participants in Study 2 (n D 185) viewed these same films following a neutral state. Results disconfirm the alternative explanation that the undoing effect reflects a simple replacement process.Findings are contextualized byFredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions."Positive emotions feel good. Plus, the balance of people’s positive and negative emotions contributes to their judgments of life satisfaction (Diener & Larsen, 1993). Beyond this, however, positive emotions may also be useful, pointing to reasons for the pursuit of happiness beyond intrinsic enjoyment. Existing evidence suggests that positive emotions reliably alter people’s thinking and actions. Together with this past work, the experiments described in this article suggest that one reason positive emotions are worth pursuing is that they can help regulate negative emotions..."
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