![]() If you'd like to read on further then without further ado let's look at this more scientifically. For defensive pessimists, positive psychology has a decidedly negative side. Norem has shown that when defensive pessimists are deprived of their pessimism by being forced to look on the bright side of life, their performance on tasks plummets. But it's also a healthy coping strategy that helps them prepare for adversity. For defensive pessimists, worrying about upcoming challenges is a way of life. If you knew someone in school who drove everyone nuts worrying about how he/she would do on exams and who ended up getting A pluses on all of her his/her exams, you probably knew a defensive pessimist. “One potent strike against the "positive psychology is for everyone" assumption derives from the clever work of Wellesley psychologist Julie Norem on defensive pessimism, summarized nicely in her book, The Positive Power of Negative Thinking. Perhaps these philosophical questions should be left alone, and not pushed into some arbitrary and subjective description of “positive or negative” in an attempt to justify negative is somehow “the dark side of the force” and positivity is the light (Star Wars, thank you for a lifetime of metaphors)?Īs published on Jby Scott Lilienfeldin The Skeptical Psychologist There's a good, if short, take on this at the The Happiness Coach from which I have borrowed the header graphic. This shows how a negative emotion can be part of a positive emotion and lead to a positive outcome.įurther exploration of what a positive emotion is and conversely how negative emotions can be used to achieve positive outcomes has much to offer, along with further study of complex emotions and their role in positive psychology. Clearly a positive complex emotion must consist primarily of one or more intense positive emotions, and thus a less intense negative emotion factor. If you accept there is such a thing as a complex emotion (comprised of two or more primary emotions), then a negative emotion can be a primary component of a complex emotion. It is after all the outcome that matters from a PPI (Positive Psychology Intervention) point of view. Negative emotions can lead to positive outcomes. ![]() Excitement - it is a complex emotion: Fear, and feeling excited. An alternative to tackling negative emotions, but encouraging positive ones. If you can expect that a positive emotion can incorporate negative components, then what happens if you tackle the negative component? Take "Awe" (positive). It might be interesting to try to discover whether a positive is a negative or a negative a positive. ![]() In terms of trying to label emotions as positive or negative, it is their vernacular use which is important rather than some philosophical notion of what might be a positive or a negative emotion. Thus a manifestation of grief at a death may also conceal relief that death finally occurred. One must distinguish between moral and psychological positive and negative emotions. Nevertheless they frequently consist of a number of components some of which may contradict others. They are devoid of value judgements and quite distinct from the terms good and bad. The terms positive and negative applied to emotions are descriptive and neutral.
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