Positive Thinking and the Broadening Effect
January 28th, 2008 by aaks
Positive emotions broaden one’s thinking.
Given the opposite environment - one in which negative emotions emerge - this makes perfect sense. What do people express when they are in a funk or depressed? They say they can’t think of anything else; their thought processes narrow. Many people in that situation even say even their vision narrows - the “looking through a narrow tunnel” syndrome.
Now, researchers have confirmed that the opposite occurs when positive emotions exist. They say that people who experience positive emotions “show a style of broad-minded coping in which they step back from the current problems and consider them from multiple angles.”
Obviously, that approach comes in handy during a stressful situation. People in a positive state are more likely to reappraise the situation in a positive light and be more goal-directed. They are also more likely to infuse ordinary events with positive meaning, which in turns help them survive or thrive despite adversity.
The research is part of an effort to better understand the dynamics at play related to happiness and unhappiness. Called the “broaden-and-build” theory, researchers say that a happier person expands their resources and then builds on those new opportunities to generate even more satisfaction. It’s an important insight for it demonstrates how important it can be for a person to get out of a negative state and work towards a more satisfying and enriching life. Counselors and therapists have begun using this approach in a movement called “positive psychology” and are showing effective results.
Norman Vincent Peale got it right - the power of positive thinking rests in its ability to broaden, not narrow, our thoughts, perceptions and actions. If you want to change your actions, change your emotions first.
Gene Pinder is the assistant director of an executive master’s program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the author of The Psychology of Satisfaction and Happiness, a blog focusing on the current science and research of well-being. A journalist and marketer by training, Gene is also an artist of original oils and acrylic paintings.
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