Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions

The image is a diagram depicting the upward spiral effect of positive emotions. It consists of several interconnected shapes and arrows. At the bottom left, there is a box labeled “Positive emotions.” An arrow points right to a triangle labeled “Broadening” with the text “Novel thoughts, activities, relationships.” Another arrow curves from the triangle to a rectangular box labeled “Building enduring personal resources (e.g., social support, resilience, skills, and knowledge).” A further arrow curves up to a top-right box labeled “Enhanced health, survival, fulfillment.” Finally, an arrow curves from this top box back to the initial “Positive emotions” box, illustrating a cyclical process. To the left, a curved arrow has the text “Produces more experiences of positive emotions, creating an upward spiral.”

The image depicts a visual processing task. At the top center, there is a “Standard Image” consisting of three black squares arranged in a pyramid shape, with two squares at the bottom and one centered above them. Below, two options labeled A and B are presented. Option A, labeled “Broadened Answer,” features three black triangles arranged to form the shape of an upright triangle. Option B, labeled “Narrow Answer,” contains four black squares arranged in a 2×2 grid. Text below the standard image asks, “Is A or B more similar to the standard image?”

The image is a bar graph displaying the broaden attention scores for five different emotions. The x-axis represents the broaden attention scores ranging from 0 to 8. The y-axis lists the emotions as follows from top to bottom: Amusement, Contentment/Serenity, Fear/Anxiety, Neutral, and Anger/Disgust. Each emotion has a corresponding horizontal blue bar indicating its score on the broaden attention scale. Amusement has a score of approximately 7.5; Contentment/Serenity has a score of approximately 6; Fear/Anxiety has a score of approximately 5; Neutral has a score of approximately 4; Anger/Disgust has a score of approximately 3. At the bottom of the graph is an explanatory note stating “Higher scores indicate greater broadening.”

The image is a horizontal bar graph that illustrates how different emotional states correlate with broadened behaviors. The x-axis is labeled “Broadened Behaviors” and ranges from 0 to 20. The y-axis lists five emotional states: Amusement, Contentment/Serenity, Neutral, Fear/Anxiety, and Anger/Disgust. Each emotional state has a corresponding blue bar indicating its score on the broadened behaviors scale:

• Amusement has a score of approximately 18.
• Contentment/Serenity has a score of approximately 16.
• Neutral has a score of approximately 14.
• Fear/Anxiety has a score of approximately 12.
• Anger/Disgust has a score of approximately 10.

A caption below the x-axis reads: “Higher scores indicate greater broadening.”

The image is a line graph showing the change in positive emotions over time, tracked from baseline through week 8. The y-axis represents “Positive Emotions” with values ranging from 2.4 to 3, while the x-axis represents “Time” with intervals labeled as Baseline, Week 1 through Week 8. Two lines are plotted: a dotted line with diamond markers representing the control group, and a solid line with square markers representing the meditation group. The meditation group shows a notable increase in positive emotions starting from a lower baseline, peaking at week 7, and then slightly declining in week 8. The control group remains relatively stable with minor fluctuations. A legend in the upper right corner identifies the lines.

The image is a flow diagram consisting of three olive-green rectangles connected by arrows. The first rectangle on the left is labeled “Loving Kindness Meditation.” An arrow points to the middle rectangle labeled with various positive emotions: “Love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope, pride, interest, amusement, awe.” Another arrow leads to the third rectangle labeled “or ↓ 9 Personal Resources” with a list of items, followed by an arrow pointing to the final rectangle, labeled “Life Satisfaction.” The background of the image is white.

The image is a flowchart consisting of four taupe rectangles connected by arrows, illustrating a process. From left to right, the first rectangle labeled “Loving Kindness Meditation” is followed by a rightward arrow pointing to the second rectangle, which lists emotions: “↑ Love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope, pride, interest, amusement, awe.” This rectangle is intersected by a red “X,” which connects to a third rectangle labeled “6 Personal Resources” listing: “Agency Thinking, Savoring the Past, Savoring the Present, Optimism, Personal Growth, Autonomy.” An arrow continues from this rectangle to the fourth one, labeled “↑ Life Satisfaction.”

The image is a flowchart consisting of four taupe rectangles connected by arrows, illustrating a process. From left to right, the first rectangle labeled “Loving Kindness Meditation” is followed by a rightward arrow pointing to the second rectangle, which lists emotions: “↑ Love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope, pride, interest, amusement, awe.” This rectangle is intersected by a red “X,” which connects to a third rectangle labeled “6 Personal Resources” listing: “Agency Thinking, Savoring the Past, Savoring the Present, Optimism, Personal Growth, Autonomy.” An arrow continues from this rectangle to the fourth one, labeled “↑ Life Satisfaction.”

The image is a flowchart consisting of four rectangular sections, each with an arrow indicating progression. The sections, in a muted olive color, are sequentially connected by gray arrows. The first section, “Loving Kindness Meditation,” leads to the second, “↑ Love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope, pride, interest, amusement, awe.” This is followed by the third, “↑ or ↓ 9 Personal Resources,” which lists several resources with upward and downward indicators. Finally, the fourth section states “↑ Life Satisfaction.” Underneath the main flow, green and black curved arrows connect the “Loving Kindness Meditation” box to the “Life Satisfaction” box, bypassing the intermediate steps. Red X marks overlay the intermediate connections, focusing attention on the direct connection.

The image is a flowchart with four beige, rectangular boxes arranged in a horizontal line. The sequence indicates a progression of concepts. The first box on the left is labeled “Loving Kindness Meditation,” followed by the second box labeled “↑ Love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope, pride, interest, amusement, awe.” An arrow points from the first to the second box, showing a movement to positive emotions. The third box is labeled “↑ or ↓ 9 Personal Resources” and includes a list of personal resources with arrows indicating increase (↑) or decrease (↓), such as “Mindfulness” and “Environmental Mastery. “Social Support Received” is crossed out. The fourth box, labeled “↓ Depression,” concludes the sequence with an arrow from the third box. Curved arrows beneath the boxes, colored green, blue, and black, indicate alternative paths, with red Xs marking paths not continued onto the next stages.

The image is a flowchart illustrating the benefits of Loving Kindness Meditation on emotions and personal resources. It starts with a rectangular box on the left containing the text “Loving Kindness Meditation elicits positive emotions,” followed by an arrow pointing to the next box to the right. This box contains bullet points listing positive emotions: “Love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope pride, interest, amusement, awe.” Below it, another box states “Positive emotion broadens people’s attention and thinking.” An arrow points to the next box to the right, which reads “Broadens feelings of warmth and caring toward self and others.” Another arrow points downward to a box housing the text, “Over time, builds personal resources linked to well-being,” and another arrow points rightward to the final box, saying “Cognitive, psychological, social, physical.” Below it, a separate box states “↑ Life Satisfaction, ↓ Depression.”