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Novak L, Kiknadze N. Does the good life feel good? The role of positive emotion in competing conceptions of the good life. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1425415. [PMID: 39171224 PMCID: PMC11335640 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1425415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Flourishing refers to one kind of generalized wellbeing. Contemporary flourishing research often privileges positive emotion in the theorization and measurement of the construct, such that flourishing is frequently conceptualized as involving a predominance of positive over negative emotions. Positive emotions are thus, on some views of flourishing, seen as an essential component of "the good life." This paper explores the nuanced variations in conceptions of the good life, focusing on the interplay between positive emotion and flourishing. Through an analysis of contemporary perspectives on flourishing, we underscore the diversity in conceptualizations of flourishing and the implications of this diversity for flourishing theorists. Our review reveals significant disparities in perspectives regarding the significance of positive emotion in the pursuit of a good life. Furthermore, we delineate the theoretical distinctions between objective-list approaches and functional approaches to flourishing, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations. Theoretical dissensus persists regarding whether positive emotion is a necessary constituent of the good life, thus prompting a critical examination of the justification for its inclusion in flourishing models. Finally, we emphasize the need for greater theoretical clarity in defining wellbeing to inform both research endeavors and societal discourse. We suggest that an adequate appreciation of variation in the development and maintenance of flourishing requires admitting for more complex relationships between the construct and both positive and negative emotionality, while embracing the cultural and individual variety that are unavoidable in accurate models of human life.
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Vaccaro AG, Wu H, Iyer R, Shakthivel S, Christie NC, Damasio A, Kaplan J. Neural patterns associated with mixed valence feelings differ in consistency and predictability throughout the brain. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae122. [PMID: 38566509 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Mixed feelings, the simultaneous presence of feelings with positive and negative valence, remain an understudied topic. They pose a specific set of challenges due to individual variation, and their investigation requires analtyic approaches focusing on individually self-reported states. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan 27 subjects watching an animated short film chosen to induce bittersweet mixed feelings. The same subjects labeled when they had experienced positive, negative, and mixed feelings. Using hidden-Markov models, we found that various brain regions could predict the onsets of new feeling states as determined by self-report. The ability of the models to identify these transitions suggests that these states may exhibit unique and consistent neural signatures. We next used the subjects' self-reports to evaluate the spatiotemporal consistency of neural patterns for positive, negative, and mixed states. The insula had unique and consistent neural signatures for univalent states, but not for mixed valence states. The anterior cingulate and ventral medial prefrontal cortex had consistent neural signatures for both univalent and mixed states. This study is the first to demonstrate that subjectively reported changes in feelings induced by naturalistic stimuli can be predicted from fMRI and the first to show direct evidence for a neurally consistent representation of mixed feelings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony G Vaccaro
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
| | - Helen Wu
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
| | - Rishab Iyer
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
| | - Shruti Shakthivel
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
| | - Nina C Christie
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
| | - Antonio Damasio
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
| | - Jonas Kaplan
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
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Wielgopolan A, Imbir KK. Affective norms for emotional ambiguity in valence, origin, and activation spaces. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:1141-1156. [PMID: 35581434 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01865-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We introduce the first tool to measure the emotional ambiguity on three bivariate spaces: valence (dimensions of positivity and negativity); origin (automaticity and reflectiveness); and activation (subjective significance and arousal). Our database consists of 2650 word stimuli, assessed by 1380 participants in total with the usage of Self-Assessment Manikin scales for each dimension. We show that the ambiguity of valence, origin, and activation may be successfully perceived and reported in a behavioral procedure. The study has allowed us to compute characteristics of each word for every emotional dimension, thus providing the category of intensity of ambiguity (low, moderate, or high). We also studied the curvilinear relationships between the dimensions. Possible usage, specifics, and limitations of our database are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrianna Wielgopolan
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, 5/7 Stawki St., 00-183, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Kamil K Imbir
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, 5/7 Stawki St., 00-183, Warsaw, Poland
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Lomas T, VanderWeele TJ. Toward an Expanded Taxonomy of Happiness: A Conceptual Analysis of 16 Distinct Forms of Mental Wellbeing. JOURNAL OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1177/00221678231155512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Recent decades have seen a surge of scientific interest in happiness. However, its theoretical conceptualization is a work in progress. Much of the literature focuses on two main forms: hedonic (encompassing life satisfaction and positive affect) and eudaimonic (encompassing phenomena such as character development and meaning in life). However, this binary has been critiqued as being incomplete, in part because it reflects a Western-centric perspective that overlooks forms emphasized in non-Western cultures. As a result, scholars have begun to highlight other forms besides hedonia and eudaimonia. This article surveys the literature to identify 16 potential forms in total, classified according to whether they primarily pertain to feelings (hedonic, contented, mature, chaironic, and vital), thought (evaluative, meaningful, intellective, aesthetic, and absorbed) or action (eudaimonic, masterful, accomplished, harmonic, nirvanic, and relational). This article thus offers a more expansive, albeit still just provisional, taxonomy of this vital and still-evolving topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Lomas
- Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Vaccaro AG, Kaplan JT, Damasio A. Bittersweet: The Neuroscience of Ambivalent Affect. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2020; 15:1187-1199. [PMID: 32758063 DOI: 10.1177/1745691620927708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Ambivalent affective states, such as bittersweetness, nostalgia, and longing, which are felt as having both positive and negative aspects, are an important component of human experience but have received little attention. The most influential theoretical frameworks in affective neuroscience focus largely on univalenced states. As a result, it is not known whether ambivalent affect corresponds to a simultaneously positive and negative valenced state or whether it results from a rapid vacillation between positive and negative states. Here we hypothesize that ambivalent affect involves both mechanisms, that is, rapid vacillation and simultaneity of positive and negative affect, albeit at different neurobiological levels. Rapidly vacillating univalent emotions could give rise to an ambivalent feeling, a mechanism that depends on brainstem nuclei that facilitate rapid action programs of emotional behavior while inhibiting opposing behaviors. This reciprocal inhibition prevents organisms from simultaneously implementing responses to conflicting emotions but also allows for rapid switching between emotions triggered by counterfactual thinking and rapid reappraisal of situations. We propose that as these transitions occur and respective interoceptive information reaches the insular cortex, further processing of this "emotional moment" would allow separate emotional events to be experienced as one "mixed" and integrated feeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony G Vaccaro
- Brain and Creativity Institute, Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California
| | - Jonas T Kaplan
- Brain and Creativity Institute, Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California
| | - Antonio Damasio
- Brain and Creativity Institute, Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California
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Lomas T. Etymologies of well-being: Exploring the non-English roots of English words used in positive psychology. THE JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2019.1615107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tim Lomas
- School of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK
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The Elements of Eco-Connection: A Cross-Cultural Lexical Enquiry. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16245120. [PMID: 31847426 PMCID: PMC6950391 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16245120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The environment is widely recognised to be in peril, with clear signs of a climate crisis. This situation has many dimensions and factors, but key among them are the often-destructive ways in which humans interact with the natural world. Numerous cultures-particularly more industrialised and/or Western ones-have developed predatory and disconnected modes of interaction. In such modes, nature tends to be constructed as a resource to be exploited (rather than, say, a commonwealth to be protected). However, many people-especially, but not only, in less 'developed' nations-have cultivated less destructive modes of relationship. These bonds may be broadly encompassed under the rubric of 'eco-connection'. In the interests of exploring these latter modes, an enquiry was conducted into adaptive forms of engagement with nature across the world's cultures. The enquiry focused on untranslatable words, i.e., which lack an exact translation in another language (in this case, English). Through a quasi-systematic search of academic and grey literature, together with additional data collection, over 150 relevant terms were located. An adapted form of grounded theory identified three main dimensions of eco-connection: sacrality, bonding, and appreciation. Such analyses have the potential to promote greater wellbeing literacy with respect to our relationship with nature, both within academia and beyond in the wider culture. This includes enriching the nomological network in psychology, and more broadly building a nature-related vocabulary that is more sustainable and harmonious. In doing so, there may also be benefits to public health, in that developing such literacy could possibly influence people's engagement with nature itself, leading to more adaptive forms of relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Lomas
- School of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK
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Abstract
Mainstream psychology can be regarded as largely Western-centric, with its concepts and priorities biased towards Western ways of thinking and understanding. Consequently, the field would benefit from greater cross-cultural awareness and engagement. To that end, this article offers one means of engagement, the study of “untranslatable” words (i.e., terms without an exact equivalent in another language, in our case English). A key function of language is that it offers a “map” that allows us to understand and navigate the world. In that respect, such words point to cultural variation in the maps we use, and even to variation in the actual territory mapped. The paper concludes with suggestions for why and how psychology could benefit from engaging with such words.
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Lomas T. The quiet virtues of sadness: A selective theoretical and interpretative appreciation of its potential contribution to wellbeing. NEW IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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