Bridget Grenville-Cleave, MAPP graduate of the University of East London, is a UK-based positive psychology consultant, trainer and writer. She is author of Introducing Positive Psychology: A Practical Guide (2012), and The Happiness Equation with Dr Ilona Boniwell. She regularly facilitates school well-being programs and Positive Psychology Masterclasses for personal and professional development. Find her on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @BridgetGC. Website. Full bio. Her articles are here.
I recall from our MAPP lecture on emotions that Diener and colleagues believe it’s the frequency rather than the intensity of emotion which is important to well-being.
Faces with various emotions
Bad is stronger than good…
I also recall from our MAPP lectures that we (in the Western world at least) pay more attention to negative emotions than we do to positive ones – the so-called negativity bias described by Baumeister and colleagues. This means that if today we experience one negative event and one positive event of the same intensity, the negative one will have a greater and longer impact on our well-being than the positive one.
[I’m beginning to see this as one of those algebraic brain-teasers: “If a positive emotion with intensity of X and frequency of Y has twice as much positive impact on your well-being than a negative emotion with intensity of ?X and frequency of 3Y, is a positive emotion with intensity of X² and frequency of ?Y better or worse?” You get my drift.]
Emotions as Information
The third piece of the puzzle is the argument that our feelings, rather than our actual experiences, influence how we judge our life satisfaction. In other words we (in the Western world at least) seem to treat our emotions as intelligence – we believe that they’re giving us correct information about how we feel about what is going on in our lives. Of course you say, that’s why it’s called Subjective Well-being.
So let’s just consider that for a moment. Is it possible for our emotions to give us incorrect information? If we go back to Ellis’s ABCDE model (the cornerstone of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, as well as many resilience interventions), we can see that thoughts and emotions drive behaviour, which then reinforces those same thoughts and emotions. So if our thoughts are in some way “faulty”, the resulting emotions (and behaviour) could also be wrong.
Shedding new light on the experience of emotion
Given the whole “-10 to +10” argument on which Positive Psychology is based (as well as the “nature abhors a vacuum” principle), it’s not surprising that recent research (Kuppens, Realo & Diener, 2008) concludes that experiencing positive emotions is more strongly related to life satisfaction than not experiencing negative ones. But what is curious is that different nations put a different spin on the same emotions:
- In individualist nations (e.g. America or Australia) negative emotions are more negatively related to life satisfaction than in collectivist nations (e.g. India or China)
- In nations that value self-expression (i.e. those high on economic and physical security – most of the developed world) positive emotions are more positively related to life satisfaction than in nations that value survival (those countries low on economic and physical security e.g. in the undeveloped world).
This suggests that the same emotions (positive or negative) are not experienced in the same way (and thus allocated the same importance) the world over, in other words, people living in collectivist and/or undeveloped nations don’t put as much store by feeling bad as do people living in the West. Kuppens and colleagues explain this in terms of the hierarchy of needs – if basic physical safety and survival needs aren’t met, you’re far less likely to be focused on whether or not you feel good. Once survival values are no longer top priority, however, feeling good and avoiding feeling bad become much more important.
It seems then that the relationship between emotions and well-being isn’t as straightforward as we might think. The frequency versus intensity theory seems to oversimplify the issue: context is one of the most important criteria in understanding the impact of emotion (positive or negative) on ones assessment of life satisfaction. Perhaps the ‘answer’ for people looking for positive psychology interventions to create a happier life isn’t so much about finding more and more opportunities to maximize positive experiences and minimize negative ones. Maybe it’s more about perspective, about finding ways to gain greater insight and awareness into all emotional experiences, whether the earth moves or not!
References
Baumeister, R., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C. & Vohs, K. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5(4), 323-370.
Diener, E., Sandvik, E. & Pavot, W. G. (1990). Happiness is the frequency, not intensity, of positive versus negative affect. In F. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Subjective Well-Being: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (International Series in Social Psychology) (119–139). Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press.
Kuppens, P., Realo, A. & Diener, E. (2008). The role of positive and negative emotions in life satisfaction judgment across nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 66-75.
Nozick, R. (1974). Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York. Basic Books.
Images:
1) ???
2) *MarS
3) Netream
6 comments
I have to agree with Bridget. We underestimate the impact of what we THINK about experiences – what our INTERPRETATIONS of events are – and how much this affects how we feel about them. Gaining PERSPECTIVE might then be more effective as a primary strategy than trying to maximize positive experiences.
In the Authentic Happiness Coaching 4 course (which I wrote about just last night, coincidentally, on my new blog which I started earlier this month), Martin Seligman contrasted Freud’s theory that thought is riding on a sea of emotion with Beck’s theory of it being roughly the other way around. He concluded that basically Beck was right. It turns out that how you interpret events can have a profound impact on how you feel about them. Of course the ABCDE model focuses on disputing self-defeating belief (reducing the negative), but there is also value in enhancing self-benefiting belief (enhancing the positive and supportive).
Bridget – Depends whether you are measuring the right things. Most instruments don’t measure the subtler emotions eg calmness and contentment. Research suggests these are the power emotions. see http://www.innate-intelligence.com.au/blog/?p=233
Thanks for your comments Steve. Re the “gaining perspective” angle, I read some stuff recently about the importance of mindfulness and emotions which I meant to include in the posting but then mislaid the reference…If I find it I’ll add it to the comments.
Congratulations on your new blog BTW – excellent – keep up the good work!
Bridget
Hi Wayne, good point – I’ll go back to the studies and see what measures they used. Also do you know the full reference for the article mentioned – I’d be interested to read it.
Bridget
Bridget, the extent of the reference is at the bottom of the blog – that should suffice
Emotion is a very powerful force. It is something I especially try to convey in training courses, as it stimulates the part of the brain that leads to memory retention. It’s great to have an audience feeling the vibe of emotions as well.
Alison