The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions
At the crux of her theory, Fredrickson (1998) argues that while negative emotions narrow thought-action repertoires, positive emotions broaden these repertoires, enabling us to draw on a wide array of possible cognitions and behaviors in response to emotional stimuli.
Through this lens, positive emotions leave us free to be creative, playful, curious, and experimental, and from these behaviors flow opportunities to gain new physical, social, and intellectual resources.
For example, the emotion of joy in children facilitates play. Consequently, play develops critical skills and competencies, such as social-affective skills during social play, physical skills during rough-and-tumble play, and cognitive skills during play with objects (Boulton & Smith, 1992; Dolhinow & Bishop, 1970).
Likewise, the positive emotion of interest reliably leads to the acquisition of new knowledge, and the emotion of love helps us develop social resources.
What becomes apparent when considering these examples is that having one’s thought-action repertoires broadened via the experience of positive emotions ultimately aids individuals in building a range of personal resources, hence the name broaden-and-build (Fredrickson, 1998). These resources may subsequently serve us long after the emotions that led to their acquisition have passed.
For clarity, resources in this context are anything that allows an actor to enact a schema (Feldman, 2004). That is, resources are anything that can be put to use to accomplish something. Examples of resources include new physical capabilities, social networks, or intellectual abilities.
For instance, our physical strength becomes a resource when we use it to move a heavy object blocking our path. Likewise, social connections can serve as resources when difficult events prompt us to seek emotional support.
According to the Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions, we are most likely to acquire these resources while experiencing positive emotions. To draw again on the above examples, we will probably be more motivated to get out of bed and do a muscle-strengthening workout when feeling positively energized.
Likewise, we are more likely to make an enduring friend or social connection when we are initially upbeat and happy upon first meeting a person.
Considering these propositions together, we can now answer the question posed in Fredrickson’s (1998) article: What good are positive emotions?
Positive emotions broaden our thought-action repertoires, thereby helping us to build resources that may serve us later down the line.
Empirical Support for Broaden-and-Build Theory
Following Fredrickson’s development of the Broaden-and-Build Theory, many studies emerged across several sub-disciplines of psychology, serving to test the theory’s key propositions.
These studies also provide initial evidence for some of the practical benefits of experiencing positive emotions (see Fredrickson, 2004 for a review).
Broadening thought and attention
First, experimental findings have repeatedly demonstrated that those experiencing positive emotions exhibit thought patterns consistent with those put forward by the Broaden-and-Build Theory.
Namely, people tend to think more unusually, flexibly, and creatively, while also being more open-minded (see Isen, 2000 for a review).
Findings have also shown that positive emotions facilitate an expanded locus of attention (Basso, Schefft, Ris, & Dember, 1996; Derryberry & Tucker, 1994). Likewise, those experiencing positive emotions appear to be better able to focus on a big picture as opposed to small details compared to those primed to experience negative or neutral emotions (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005).
Undoing negative emotions
According to the theory, negative emotions narrow thought-action repertoires, while positive emotions broaden this same repertoire. This means that positive emotions should ‘undo’ the lingering effects of negative emotions by facilitating this broadening process.
To test this proposition, Fredrickson and colleagues designed an experiment where participants were required to prepare a speech in just one minute and told that their speech would be recorded and presented to their peers. This time pressure induced cardiovascular symptoms of anxiety, such as elevated heart rate and increased blood pressure, which were measured.
Following the preparation of the speech, participants were randomly assigned to view films that elicited the emotions of either joy, contentment, or sadness. One ‘neutral’ film also served as a baseline condition.
Across three different experiments, those who viewed the films eliciting the positive emotions exhibited quicker cardiovascular recovery (i.e., lowered heart rate, blood pressure) than those in the negative and baseline conditions, thereby supporting this ‘undoing’ hypothesis (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998; Fredrickson, Mancuso, Branigan, & Tugade, 2000).
Fueling psychological resilience and wellbeing
Maintaining a positive outlook and experiencing positive emotions during times of stress has been shown to protect wellbeing (Folkman, 1997). We often refer those who intuitively understand this to as resilient.
Those who are resilient inherently experience more positive emotions. Such people tend to be more optimistic and energetic, and these positive emotions facilitate upward cycles that help combat adversity through effective coping (Fredrickson, 2004).
Hypothesizing that this ability to ‘bounce back’ using positive emotions may manifest physiologically, Fredrickson conducted another experiment using the same speech-preparation task as before (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). In the experiment, participants reported their psychological resilience using a self-report scale.
The findings revealed that higher levels of resilience positively predicted participants’ reports of positive emotions during the stressful speech-preparation task; resilient participants were more likely to report experiencing happiness and interest alongside their anxiety. These participants also experienced quicker cardiovascular recovery, which was accounted for by their experience of positive emotions (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004).
Extending upon the above findings, evidence has shown that positive emotions may not only indicate the presence of resilience but serve to build it as an enduring resource that aids in long-term coping (Fredrickson, 2004). Likewise, it is believed that the effects of positive emotions may compound over time, fueling the psychological state of flourishing (Fredrickson & Losada, 2005).
Guarding physical health
There is evidence that positive emotions may not only facilitate desirable psychological states but also protect our physical health through their broadening-and-building effects.
For instance, those who regularly experienced positive emotions with their parents when they were children, as well as with their partners as adults, were significantly less likely than others to experience unpleasant physical symptoms, be diagnosed with chronic conditions, or report poor overall health (Ryff, Singer, Wing, & Love, 2001).
Likewise, one longitudinal study of Hispanic Americans found that those reporting higher positive affect were significantly less likely to have become disabled or died in a two-year follow-up (Ostir, Markides, Black, & Goodwin, 2000).
Overall, it’s clear positive emotions play a fundamental role in the life of a happy, resilient, and healthy person.
For a useful summary of these and other findings on Broaden-and-Build Theory, take a look at this talk by Barbara Fredrickson herself, who discusses the importance of positive emotions for strengthening our awareness of happenings around us and tuning into others’ needs.
What our readers think
Insightful article, thanks very much. I agree and my understanding of this theory is growing. I imagine the potential if we get to apply and integrate more of the learnings.