Theory Of Positive Emotions Research Articles

The effect of pleasurable emotions on weight perception.

Based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and embodied cognition theory, this study explored the effects of two different forms of pleasure on the perception of object weight through two experiments. Experiment 1 induced pleasure by having participants watch a funny video and further investigated the effect of pleasure on weight perception. The results showed that the weight estimation of the pleasure group participants was significantly lower than that of the calm group. Experiment 2 induced pleasure through embodied pleasure postures and further investigated the effect of pleasure on weight perception. The results showed that subjects in the embodied pleasure posture group had lighter weight estimates compared to the calm posture and no posture groups. This study suggests that pleasure affects individuals' perception of the weight of objects, and pleasure makes individuals more optimistic in their perception of object weight.

Mediating Effect of Principals’ Perceived Workplace Hope on the Relationship Between Workplace Savoring Beliefs and Workplace Resilience

In recent years, principals have been challenged in their school operations by the low birth rate, the promotion of significant education policies, and changes in the power structure of schools in Taiwan. These problems once caused a retirement boom among principals, significantly affecting educational development. Past research on principals’ school operations has focused chiefly on external policies and related support systems, but rarely examined the psychological aspects of the principals themselves. Based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion, this study explored the relationship among principals’ workspace savoring beliefs, principals’ perceived workplace hope, and workplace resilience. A total of 302 principals (66 females, 236 males, with an average age of 55.6 years) from Taiwanese senior high schools completed the paper-based questionnaire. The study results indicate that both principals’ workplace savoring beliefs and workplace hope positively impacted workplace resilience and that perceived workplace hope partially mediated between workplace savoring beliefs and workplace resilience. This study makes specific recommendations for educational authorities, principals, and subsequent research directions based on the above conclusions.

A societal perspective on nostalgia in satellite sports fandom: insights from the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions

ABSTRACT Nostalgia has been identified as a critical influence on sport fans. Although researchers have explored various aspects of satellite fans’ nostalgia, none have approached it from a societal standpoint. Therefore, this study explored the relationship between social connectedness needs and sport nostalgia among satellite fans. In addition, we examined how nostalgia is related to affective relationships, subjective well-being, and travel intention based on Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Data were collected from 222 Singapore satellite fans using an online questionnaire. Results showed that satellite fans’ nostalgic feelings, which arose from social connectedness needs, positively impacted their affective relationships and subjective well-being. These feelings motivated them to travel to sporting events. The findings enhance our understanding of how social connectedness needs influences satellite fans’ psychology and behaviour. Furthermore, it illustrates how nostalgia can expand and strengthen emotional connections and subjective well-being, underscoring its ability to affect travel intentions.

Visual metaphors and white space: How the visual rhetorical language in advertising influences consumer responses to paradox brands

Paradoxical brands are very common in the marketplace, and increasing the appeal of paradoxical brands to consumers is not only an important challenge for marketers but also a key issue for scholars. Based on psychobiological dual system theory, the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, and high-low context culture theory, this study examines the effects, mechanisms, and boundary conditions of visual metaphor ads with extended white space on consumers' responses to paradoxical brands. The results of the three experiments showed that visual metaphor ads with extended (vs. limited) white space increased consumers' favorable evaluations and preferences for paradoxical brands by serially increasing their aesthetic pleasure and cognitive flexibility. In addition, these indirect effects were more pronounced in high-context cultures and were not observed in low-context cultures. This study not only makes important theoretical contributions but also provides new managerial insights into how managers can effectively promote paradoxical brands.

Teachers' Emotional Intelligence and Organizational Commitment: A Moderated Mediation Model of Teachers' Psychological Well-Being and Principal Transformational Leadership.

Given the global challenge of increasing teacher attrition and turnover rates, the exploration of factors and mechanisms that improve teachers' organizational commitment has become a pivotal topic in educational research. In this context, the present study examines the influence of teachers' emotional intelligence on their organizational commitment, with a specific inquiry into the mediating role of teachers' psychological well-being and the moderating role of principal transformational leadership, as informed by the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and the trait activation theory. We verified this study's hypotheses based on 768 valid questionnaires collected from Chinese primary and secondary school teachers. The results reveal that teachers' emotional intelligence can predict their organizational commitment both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of psychological well-being. Additionally, principal transformational leadership amplifies the positive effect of teachers' emotional intelligence on psychological well-being and, subsequently, organizational commitment. These findings theoretically deepen our understanding of the psychological pathways and the boundary conditions linking teachers' emotional intelligence to their organizational commitment, while also offering valuable practical implications for building a stable and effective teaching workforce.

It’s my pleasure to serve you! Examining the job contact, happiness, prosocial motivation, and innovative work behavior link

Purpose Job characteristics can potentially influence employees’ attitudes and behaviors. However, their impact on employees’ innovative behaviors, particularly in public sector organizations, has received little scholarly attention. Based on relational job design theory and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study aims to examine the effect of job contact on public sector employees’ innovative work behavior through the mediator of happiness at work. It also assesses whether prosocial motivation strengthens the influence of job contact on innovative work behavior (via happiness at work). Design/methodology/approach The model was examined on a sample of 180 employee-supervisor dyads (90 supervisors and 180 employees) recruited from various government departments in the United Arab Emirates. Findings The findings support the proposed moderated mediation model in which job contact positively and significantly impacts innovative work behavior. The association between job contact and innovative behavior via happiness at work is found to be stronger for employees who are highly prosocially motivated. Originality/value The findings offer prescriptive insights into public sector employee happiness and prosocial motivation by illustrating when and how job contact influences innovative work behavior. The authors also present relevant managerial recommendations for promoting public sector employees’ innovative behavior.

The Impact of Diffidence and Stereotypes on the Performance of Francophone Learners of English

The Impact of Diffidence and Stereotypes on the Performance of Francophone Learners of English

Channeling Employees’ Positive Moral Emotions in CEO Activism: The Role of Care-Oriented Leadership Communication

ABSTRACT CEO activism has the potential to inspire employees’ activism and engender a broad societal impact. Yet, few studies have provided empirical evidence exploring the impact of CEO activism on employees’ cognition, emotion, and behavior. Drawing on multidisciplinary insights from moral psychology theories, signaling theory, social learning theory, and build-and-broaden theory of positive emotions, we theorize a conceptual framework that delineates how CEOs’ communication stressing the moral value of ethics of care triggers employees’ other-directed positive moral emotions of gratitude, admiration, and elevation, which in term enhance employees’ perceived organizational virtuousness and their advocacy behavioral intentions in accord with the CEOs’ stances. The framework was supported by an online survey with 575 full-time U.S. employees. Our study sheds light on how CEOs can unleash the power of their activism in promoting a moral climate within their organization and producing a collective impact among their followers to enhance societal well-being.

Are my wife's recovery activities related to my subsequent recovery activities at work?

We proposed a model where a male employee's wife's engagement in recovery activities results in the husband's own enactment of recovery activities while in the workplace, via emotional contagion, based on the COR theory and broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. We expected wives may experience positive emotions after engaging in social interactions, which has a contagion effect on husbands' positive emotions. Further, husbands were expected to leverage their positive emotions to engage in future recovery activities (better lunch nap and meal quality while at work). Lastly, we examined whether power imbalance in the married couple has a moderating effect on emotional contagion processes. To test our model, we used an experience-sampling method in which 110 dyads completed daily diary questionnaires for 8 consecutive days (N = 768, after removing 112 invalid observations). As expected, wives' social interactions are linked to husbands' positive emotions via wives' positive emotions. Further, husbands' positive emotions predict the quality of two workplace recovery activities (lunch naps and meals). Finally, power imbalance moderates the association between wives' (donors) emotions and husbands' (recipients) emotions such that the crossover of emotions is stronger when wives (donors) have relatively more power than when they have less.

How does employee financial well-being influence employee productivity: a moderated mediating examination

PurposeDrawing from the combined theoretical approaches of the conservation of resources theory, broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and social cognitive theory, the current study examined the relationships between employee financial well-being and employee productivity via employee happiness while exploring the moderating role of gender in this mediated relationship.Design/methodology/approachUsing partial least squares approach for structural equation modeling, the hypothesized model was tested employing primary data collected from banking employees.FindingsThe results showed that employee financial well-being has a significant positive effect on employee productivity and this effect was mediated by employee happiness. In addition, the results showed that this indirect effect was moderated by gender such that the relationship was more pronounced in males (versus females).Originality/valueThis study contributes to the nescient research on the consequences of financial well-being especially at an organizational level, with several implications for individuals, employees and organizations, while at the same time offering new insights for future investigation.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2023-0676

Individuals who see the good in the bad engage distinctive default network coordination during post-encoding rest.

Focusing on the upside of negative events often promotes resilience. Yet, the underlying mechanisms that allow some people to spontaneously see the good in the bad remain unclear. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion has long suggested that positive affect, including positivity in the face of negative events, is linked to idiosyncratic thought patterns (i.e., atypical cognitive responses). Yet, evidence in support of this view has been limited, in part, due to difficulty in measuring idiosyncratic cognitive processes as they unfold. To overcome this barrier, we applied Inter-Subject Representational Similarity Analysis to test whether and how idiosyncratic neural responding supports positive reactions to negative experience. We found that idiosyncratic functional connectivity patterns in the brain's default network while resting after a negative experience predicts more positive descriptions of the event. This effect persisted when controlling for connectivity 1) before and during the negative experience, 2) before, during, and after a neutral experience, and 3) between other relevant brain regions (i.e., the limbic system). The relationship between idiosyncratic default network responding and positive affect was largely driven by functional connectivity patterns between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the rest of the default network and occurred relatively quickly during rest. We identified post-encoding rest as a key moment and the default network as a key brain system in which idiosyncratic responses correspond with seeing the good in the bad.

Bidirectional relations between gratitude and depression/anxiety: based on three follow-up data

In the study, 512 high school students from China were followed three times over a two-year period using a follow-up study design. Based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, a cross-lagged model was developed to investigate the bidirectional relationship between gratitude and depression/anxiety. The results showed that gratitude was significantly negatively correlated with depression and anxiety. However, gratitude did not significantly negatively predict depression and anxiety in the cross-lag analysis, while depression and anxiety did significantly negatively predict gratitude. Based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study breaks the direct promoting effect of gratitude on promoting mental health in traditional cognition, and reveals the one-way predicting relationship between depression and anxiety, two typical adverse psychological emotions, on gratitude, which has important theoretical and practical significance for understanding the development of social emotions in adolescents from the perspective of mental health.

How Do Compulsory Volunteer Experiences at Sporting Events Help Improve Sport Participation and Life Satisfaction?

Education programs in many countries include voluntary experiences that have been made compulsory requirements. However, the positive effect of this has not yet been identified in the field of leisure. This study, therefore, investigated how compulsory volunteer experiences affect volunteers’ future behavioral intention and well-being. Specifically, we examined the effect of compulsory volunteers’ nostalgia on exercise motivation, extraversion, sport participation intention, and life satisfaction based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. A total of 605 responses were collected from university students who had compulsory volunteer experiences at sport events. Results showed that nostalgia positively affected exercise motivation and extraversion; exercise motivation had a positive effect on extraversion, life satisfaction, and sport participation intention. In addition, extraversion positively affected life satisfaction and sport participation intention. The findings of this study contribute to identifying the role of compulsory volunteer experience and understanding its impact on individuals’ future behavior and well-being.

What Factors Impact Visitors’ Intentions to Use Location-Based AR Games? An Empirical Study from Chinese Cultural Heritage Sites

Location-based AR games have been discussed as a promising means of providing visitors with meaningful experiences at cultural heritage sites, with great potential to enhance users’ positive emotions and well-being. This research created a conceptual model to empirically evaluate the impact of location-based AR games on the experiential intentions of cultural heritage sites based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. The model was empirically validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) on 260 visitors who had played location-based AR games at several Chinese cultural heritage sites. The results suggested that visitors’ positive emotions (fulfillment, enjoyment, and self-existence) in location-based AR games positively impact the intention to use location-based AR games. Further, this study demonstrated that competence, relatedness, immersion, presence, interaction existence, emotional existence, and social existence significantly impact tourists’ positive emotional experience. The findings of this study help to complement the application of positive-affect expansion and building theory to the field of cultural heritage research while providing practical insights into the experience of cultural heritage sites.

Positive Affectivity as a Motivator: How Does It Influence Employees’ Sustainable Careers

Given the critical role of the sustainable careers of employees in their survival and development, interest in how to improve employees’ sustainable careers is growing rapidly. Previous studies primarily focused on the role of contextual factors, and neglected the role of agentic factors such as positive affectivity. Based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, the aim of this study is to investigate whether, how and when positive affectivity affects sustainable careers. A time-lagged study with two waves of data collected 8 months apart was conducted. With a sample of 580 employees in China, regression analyses showed that positive affectivity influenced employees’ sustainable careers indicated by vigor and level of pay; cognitive reappraisal mediated the positive relationships between positive affectivity and sustainable careers; and organizational commitment moderated the indirect effects of positive affectivity on sustainable careers via cognitive reappraisal. Our findings illustrate the important role of positive affectivity in building employees’ sustainable careers in the workplace.

The Role of Positive and Negative Emotions in Shaping Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language: Self-Perceived Communication Competence as a Moderator

Willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2) is one of the key concepts in L2 communication and learning. Previously, research practice in this area has been more concerned with investigating the relationship between individual negative emotions and WTC. However, insufficient attention has been given to a wide range of positive and negative emotions contributing to WTC. This study aims to address the impact of emotions (positive and negative) and self-perceived communication competence (SPCC) on WTC in an L2 in the context of Pakistan. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions has driven theoretical reasoning. Higher education students (N = 401) were considered the participants of this study and were approached conveniently. Data were processed and analyzed in SPSS. The findings revealed that positive emotions and SPCC positively influence WTC in an L2. On the contrary, negative emotions have a negative impact on WTC in an L2. Additionally, SPCC appears to be a significant moderator in the relationship between emotions (positive and negative) and WTC in an L2. The study’s findings have important practical implications for Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) in drafting and implementing policies to enhance students’ WTC within higher education classrooms.

Moral elevation affects the causal attributions about others’ behavior

ABSTRACT Moral elevation refers to the positive emotional response resulting from witnessing acts of virtue or moral beauty. While the evidence demonstrates that experiencing elevation has a positive effect on people’s prosocial behavior, an intriguing question is whether this emotion also affects social-cognitive processes involved in the perception of others’ behavior. The present research aims to study whether this elevation affects the causal attributions people make about the behavior of others. The results of three studies (total N = 267 adults from Spain; 79.03% women) show that a) elevation trait correlates with internal causal attributions about others’ behavior, b) experimental manipulation of elevation affects causal attributions about others’ behavior, and c) experimental manipulation of elevation can reduce correspondence bias (fundamental attributional error). The results are discussed within the framework of the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.

The Influence of Decision-Making Logic on Employees' Innovative Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Positive Error Orientation and the Moderating Role of Environmental Dynamics.

The derivation of employees' innovative behaviour is a complex multi-stage process influenced by decision logic. However, previous research on the relationship between the two has not been comprehensive without considering the individual level of employees, and the mechanism of action between the two is still unclear. Based on the behavioral decision theory, the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and triadic reciprocal determinism. This study investigates the mediating effects of positive error orientation between decision-making logic and employees' innovative behavior, and the moderating effects of environmental dynamics between decision-making logic and employees' innovative behavior, focusing on the individual level. The questionnaire data was obtained from 403 employees randomly selected from 100 companies in Nanchang, China, in various industries such as manufacturing, transportation, storage and postal services, trade, and wholesale and retail trade. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Effectual logic had a significantly positive impact on employees' innovative behavior. The direct effect of causal logic on employees' innovative behavior was not significant, but the total effect was significantly positive. Positive error orientation played a mediating role between both types of decision-making logic and employees' innovative behavior. Moreover, environmental dynamics played a negative moderating role between effectual logic and employees' innovative behavior. This study expands the application of behavioral decision theory, the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and triadic reciprocal determinism in employees' innovative behaviour, enriches the research on the mediating and moderating mechanism between employees' decision-making logic and innovative behaviour, and provides a new research perspective and empirical support for subsequent related research. The results of this study provide practical suggestions for promoting employees' innovative behaviour. For example, employees need to cultivate logical thinking, train their decision-making ability, form a positive error orientation, and objectively assess the external environment.

The crisis cloud's silver linings: The effects of hope and gratitude on employee burnout and engagement

A crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic has a tremendous impact on organisations and their employees. Building on the job demands–resources model, conservation of resources theory and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, we examined the influence of job stressors on employee burnout, as well as how positive emotions can help employees thrive in tough times. We collected data from 503 Australian employees during the transition period of the COVID-19 crisis, when the country had reached a high vaccination rate and was starting to prepare to return to pre-crisis normal. Our findings show that financial insecurity has a direct impact on employee burnout, whereas a health threat has only an indirect effect. Further, our findings highlight the importance of positive emotions. Hope for the post-crisis future was found to buffer the negative impact of financial insecurity and reduce employee burnout, and feeling gratitude at work was found to mitigate the effects of burnout and enhance employee engagement even when employees are emotionally exhausted.

Environmentally responsible behaviour among the teachers: role of gratitude and perceived social responsibility

PurposeBased upon the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study aims to assess the role of perceived social responsibility (PSR) in mediating the relationship between gratitude and environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB) among teachers.Design/methodology/approachData were collected, following a correlational design, from a total of 292 school teachers in Kerala state, India. In total, 256 data were taken for final analysis. Out of the total participants, 63.3% were female and the remaining 36.7% were male. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to verify the factor structure and discriminant as well as convergent validity of the study variables. The relationship between gratitude and ERB with mediating role of PSR was tested.FindingsThe mediation analysis output revealed that PSR fully mediates the effect of gratitude on ERB, and it is concluded from the findings of the study that ERB can be enhanced by humanizing the citizens to integrate social responsibility in their acts and promoting the significance of having positive emotions like gratitude to widen their thought–action repertoires.Research limitations/implicationsIn line with the broaden-and-build theory, a positive state of mental faculty can be a prime facilitator to increase concern for green environments as an outcome of an expanded thought–action repertoire. The findings imply the importance of inculcating enduring personal resources like the sense of gratefulness as it weighs the effect of producing altruistic acts like ERB along with many other benefits associated with having a positive emotion which is obviously considered to be a fair contribution to serve social resources in the community.Social implicationsThe study findings can be an inspiration for the formation of policies to encourage pro-environmental behaviour and to further expansion of policies like national education policy of India. As teachers being the facilitators of knowledge and wisdom, they are potential sources to inspire students to practice healthy behaviours, they can be better models by practicing ERB.Originality/valueThe authors have verified the application of broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion in the context of ERB along with identifying its relationship with gratitude and PSR.