Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions

Barbara Fredrickson developed the broaden-and-build theory to explain how positive emotions increase life satisfaction (see Figure 23). This theory includes four steps: 1) experience of positive emotion 2) broadening of thoughts and behaviors 3) building personal resources and 4) transforming the self by increasing health, well-being, and survival.

According to this theory, experiencing any positive emotion should immediately and temporarily “broaden” attention, cognitive, and behavioral responses. This is in comparison to negative emotions which narrow our attention and behaviors to the threat in our environment so that we can behave in such a way as to avoid or reduce the threat. In general, Fredrickson means that positive emotions help us to become more aware of our surroundings and to take in more of our external environment. In addition, she states that during this broadening period our possible behaviors are “flexible” (Fredrickson & Cohn, 200, p. 782). By flexible, she means that there are many possible approach behaviors we could exhibit for a positive emotion. Again, in comparison to negative emotions which typically result in one behavior – attack, avoidance, etc. Table 25 displays some examples of the cognitive and behavioral responses for specific positive emotions.

Over a long period of time as we continue to experience positive emotions that broaden our attention/thoughts/behaviors, this process will lead us to build personal resources. These personal resources, in turn, have a direct impact on improved health, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. So, Fredrickson views broadening and building as adaptive processes that improve survival and well-being.

Evidence for the Broaden Hypothesis

The broaden hypothesis states: “Positive emotions broaden the scopes of attention, cognition, and action, widening the array of percepts, thoughts, and actions presently in mind” (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005 p. 315)

 

The narrow hypothesis states that negative emotions narrow attention to focus on the threat in the environment.

 

Studies have confirmed the broaden hypothesis by demonstrating that positive emotions cause greater awareness of the visual field and by showing that positive emotions cause people to process information at a more global (vs. detailed) level.

 

Fredrickson and Branigan (2005) tested the broaden hypothesis in two experiments.  In experiment 1, participants were randomly assigned to watch one of five watched film clips to elicit an emotion.  Two clips elicited a positive emotion (amusement, contentment/serenity), two clips a negative emotion (anger/disgust, anxiety/fear), and one clip a neutral state.  After watching their assigned film clip, participants completed the visual processing task.  After completing the experimental tasks, participants reported their subjective feelings.

 

In the Experiment 1 visual processing task, participants were shown a standard image and two possible response options – A or B (see Figure 24).  In the example below, the standard image is three square elements that together make up a triangle.  Participants were asked if the standard image was more similar to the A or B figure.  The A figure represented broadened attention because globally the standard image shows a triangle.  The B answer represented narrowed attention because the narrow/smaller details in the standard image are squares.  For each participant, the number of times they selected the broadened answer was summed.  Higher scores, therefore, indicate greater broadened processing.

Statistical analyses (Figure 25) revealed that the amusement clip resulted in greater broadened processing compared to the neutral clip and the contentment/serenity clip trended toward more broadening than the neutral clip (p = .064). Interestingly, the data did not support the belief that negative emotions result in narrowing of attention as the neutral condition did not result in more broadening than the fear/anxiety and anger/disgust clips.

In Experiment 2, the same participants were randomly assigned to one of the remaining four clips they had not viewed.  After participants viewed their assigned clip, they provided one or two words to describe their emotion and then completed the Twenty Statemen Test (TST; Kuhn & McPartland, 1954).  In the Twenty Statements Test, participants were instructed to imagine being in the film clip and respond to twenty statements that started with “I would like to .”  Higher scores indicated more broadened behaviors.  Experiment 2 ended with participants again self-reporting their subjective feelings.

 

Similar to Experiment 1, Figure 26 shows that the amusement clip resulted in greater broadened behaviors than the neutral clip and the contentment/serenity clip approached significance (p = .109). When both positive (amusement, contentment) clips were added together, they showed more broadening than the neutral clip and the two negative emotion clips added together.  Fredrickson and Branigan (2005) stated that findings support the broadening and narrow hypotheses.  But, only the anger/disgust clip showed greater narrowing than the neutral clip.  The fear/anxiety clip was not different from the neutral clip.

The researchers also coded the participants responses to the Twenty Statements Test and then analyzed differences in answers for the positive, negative, and neutral film clip conditions. Compared to the neutral condition, participants who watched positive film clips exhibited a greater desire for the following approach behaviors:

 

 

Compared to the neutral condition, participants who watched negative film clips exhibited the following desires:

 

Fredrickson and Cohn (2008) cite additional work that provides examples of broadening thoughts and behaviors. Below, Table 26 lists these examples with the citations.

Evidence for the Build Hypothesis

The build hypothesis states “…temporary and transient experiences of  positive emotions, by encouraging a broadened range of actions, over time build enduring personal resources” (Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008 p. 785)

 

To test the build hypothesis, Fredrickson and colleagues (2008) developed a meditation intervention to demonstrate how positive emotions over time can build personal resources, and in turn, impact life satisfaction.  Participants were randomly assigned to a meditation intervention or a control group.   For the meditation group, participants were trained in the Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM), which broadens mindsets using the positive emotions of love and compassion. For an example of LKM, visit Fredrickson’s Positivity Resonance page. This page includes examples of other meditations she has developed.  In LKM, participants started by expressing love and compassion toward the self, then expanded to close others, acquaintances, and strangers.  Participants were instructed to practice LKM at least five days per week for eight weeks.  Including the baseline period, the study lasted for a total of 9 weeks.

 

The second independent variable was time.  First, baseline measures were completed followed by 8 weeks of experimental meditation or control sessions.

 

At each time period, several dependent variables were measured.  During the 9-week study, participants completed self-report measures of 9 positive emotions: amusement, awe, contentment, joy, gratitude, hope, interest, love, and pride, and 8 negative emotions: anger, shame, contempt, disgust, embarrassment, guilt, sadness, and fear.  Using various self-report measures, participants reported on their personal resources.  18 personal resources were divided into four categories – cognitive, psychological, social, and physical.  See Tables 27 through 30 for the measures of personal resources.  Two outcome measures – depression and satisfaction with life – represented the outcome variables.

The first important analysis used time and experimental group as the independent variable predicting the amount of the 9 positive emotions averaged together (Figure 27).  Time was a significant predictor of positive emotions for the LKM group, but not the control group. As exhibited in Figure 27, positive emotions increased over time for the LKM group but did not change over time for the control group.  Note that week 3 is the first week LKM participants showed greater positive emotions than control participants.  This suggests the effect of meditation on positive emotions does not happen immediately.

This same analysis was conducted for the average of the negative emotions.  Surprisingly, time and experimental group did not impact negative emotions.  Said another way, engaging in LKM did not change the amount of negative emotions people reported.  So, LKM increased positive emotions, but did not decrease negative emotions!

Interestingly, further analysis showed that LKM did not significantly increase any specific positive emotion.  Instead, LKM increased positive emotion experiences as a group (Figure 28).

The next analysis evaluated two casual linkages by comparing self-reports as week 8 to self-reports at baseline (Figure 29):

1. Change in Positive Emotions Causing a Change in Personal Resources
2. Change in Personal Resources Causing a Change in Satisfaction with Life

The above two casual linkages were significant for 9 personal resources: mindfulness, pathways thinking, savoring the future, environment mastery, self-acceptance, purpose in life, social support received, positive relationships with others, and illness symptoms.

As shown below in Figure 30, the remaining 6 personal resources did increase life satisfaction, but these personal resources were not influenced by the increase in the experience of positive emotions.

Further analysis showed that although LKM increased positive emotions, an increase in positive emotions did not directly increase the outcome of life satisfaction (as displayed in Figure 31 with the red X). Why is this important? This means positive emotions alone do not cause an increase in life satisfaction. For positive emotions to impact life satisfaction, the positive emotions must first increase personal resources. Another way to view this finding in that personal resources are mediators between positive emotions and life satisfaction.

Similar analyses were conducted with depression as the outcome (instead of life satisfaction).  The broaden and build model was supported, although a few differences exist.  The first difference was that significance was not found for the personal resources social support received (displayed with red X’s in Figure 33).  The second difference was an increase in positive emotions directly caused a decrease in depression.  This means positive emotions reduce depression directly AND indirectly by changing personal resources. In line with the above findings for life satisfaction, experimental group did not directly impact change in personal resources or change in depression.

Figure 34 graphically displays the broaden-and-build theory based on the study we just reviewed. Make a note that broadening thoughts/behaviors and buidling personal resources are both mediators of the relationship between increasing positive emotions and increasing satisfaction/reducing depression.

Fredrickson (2013) has theorized that broadened thoughts/actions and personal resources that occur for each unique positive emotion (shown in Table 32). The positive emotions are listed in the order of most frequently experienced to rarely experienced. This table shows that Fredrickson (2013) views all positive emotions as causing approach behaviors or expanding thoughts. Remember, that earlier we did discuss how some positive emotions might narrow our thinking or result in avoidance behavior.