The Effects of Broadening Positive Emotion on Attention, Cognition and Self-Complexity in the Depression Group

Abstract

This research is intended to study—based on the Broaden and Build theory—whether positive emotion can broaden the attention function, cognitive function, and self-complexity via repeated experimentation and expansion of the theory, incorporating the depression group and the control group. The Broaden and Build theory suggests that positive emotion develops the physical, intellectual, and social resources of an individual by broadening the breadth of attention and cognition. In ‘Research 1’, both the depression group (40 subjects) and control group (42 subjects) were sub-categorized into either the positive emotion induction group or the neutral emotion induction group, and underwent global/local processing and thought-action repertory tasks. In this research, the group with positive emotion induction has shown that the number of global processing and thought-action repertory increased significantly regardless of the degree of depression. In ‘Research 2’, the same two groups from ‘Research 1’, with the positive and neutral emotion inductions switched this time, underwent the self-complexity task. In this second research, the level of positive self-complexity appeared significantly higher in the positive emotion status than in the neutral one, and the negative self-complexity has not displayed much difference depending on the emotion induction. The results explain that when individuals with cognitive vulnerability experience positive emotion, their breadth of attention and cognition can be expanded and self-complexity can become positive and diverse. However, there is a limit of positive emotion that can control the negative complexity. Furthermore, to maximize the benefit of positive emotion intervention, effort is required to ease the negative experiences and memories of depression patients and to help them experience positive emotion more frequently on a daily basis.