In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.

http://www.elaborer.org/cours/A13/lectures/Fredrickson2001.pdf

The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.

Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. The authors suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence--crosssectional, longitudinal, and experimental--are documented to test their model. Relevant studies are described and their effect sizes combined meta-analytically. The results reveal that happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes, as well as behaviors paralleling success. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that positive affect--the hallmark of well-being--may be the cause of many of the desirable characteristics, resources, and successes correlated with happiness. Limitations, empirical issues, and important future research questions are discussed.

/pdf/the-benefits-of-frequent-positive-affect-does-happiness-lead-4k0h6bmoho.pdf

The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?

Part I. Experimental Studies: 2. Experiment in psychology 3. Experiments on perceiving III Experiments on imaging 4-8. Experiments on remembering: (a) The method of description (b) The method of repeated reproduction (c) The method of picture writing (d) The method of serial reproduction (e) The method of serial reproduction picture material 9. Perceiving, recognizing, remembering 10. A theory of remembering 11. Images and their functions 12. Meaning Part II. Remembering as a Study in Social Psychology: 13. Social psychology 14. Social psychology and the matter of recall 15. Social psychology and the manner of recall 16. Conventionalism 17. The notion of a collective unconscious 18. The basis of social recall 19. A summary and some conclusions.

Remembering. A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology, Cambridge (University Press) 1964.

Attachment--and loss.

Many people are exposed to loss or potentially traumatic events at some point in their lives, and yet they continue to have positive emotional experiences and show only minor and transient disruptions in their ability to function. Unfortunately, because much of psychology’s knowledge about how adults cope with loss or trauma has come from individuals who sought treatment or exhibited great distress, loss and trauma theorists have often viewed this type of resilience as either rare or pathological. The author challenges these assumptions by reviewing evidence that resilience represents a distinct trajectory from the process of recovery, that resilience in the face of loss or potential trauma is more common than is often believed, and that there are multiple and sometimes unexpected pathways to resilience. M ost people are exposed to at least one violent or life-threatening situation during the course of their lives (Ozer, Best, Lipsey, & Weiss, 2003). As people progress through the life cycle, they are also increasingly confronted with the deaths of close friends and relatives. Not everyone copes with these potentially disturbing events in the same way. Some people experience acute distress from which they are unable to recover. Others suffer less intensely and for a much shorter period of time. Some people seem to recover quickly but then begin to experience unexpected health problems or difficulties concentrating or enjoying life the way they used to. However, large numbers of people manage to endure the temporary upheaval of loss or potentially traumatic events remarkably well, with no apparent disruption in their ability to function at work or in close relationships, and seem to move on to new challenges with apparent ease. This article is devoted to the latter group and to the question of resilience in the face of loss or potentially traumatic events. The importance of protective psychological factors in the prevention of illness is now well established (Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, & Gruenewald, 2000). Moreover, developmental psychologists have shown that resilience is common among children growing up in disadvantaged conditions (e.g., Masten, 2001). Unfortunately, because most of the psychological knowledge base regarding the ways adults cope with loss or potential trauma has been derived from individuals who have experienced significant psychological problems or sought treatment, theorists working in this area have often underestimated and misunderstood resilience, viewing it either as a pathological state or as something seen only in rare and exceptionally healthy individuals. In this article, I challenge this view by reviewing evidence that resilience in the face of loss or potential trauma represents a distinct trajectory from that of recovery, that resilience is more common than often believed, and that there are multiple and sometimes unexpected pathways to resilience.

/pdf/loss-trauma-and-human-resilience-have-we-underestimated-the-2kd7sl9mfq.pdf

Loss, Trauma, and Human Resilience Have We Underestimated the Human Capacity to Thrive After Extremely Aversive Events?

Child psychotherapy has been an underdeveloped area of study. Existing studies have focused primarily on the efficacy of behavior modification and cognitive-behavioral techniques, whereas other approaches, such as psychodynamic play therapy, remain underinvestigated. This study applied single-case research methodology to clinical material derived from transcribed therapy sessions of a child referred for psychodynamic play therapy. Analyzing the data from actual clinical sessions allows for the study of the psychotherapeutic process, which, in this case, centered around the relationship between the therapist's interventions and the child's progress in expressing emotions.

Affective Scaffolding A Process Measure for Psychotherapy with Children

Erdelyi's unified theory includes the idea that traumatic memories can be unconsciously repressed so that they are enduringly inaccessible to deliberate recall. I argue here that clinical evidence for repressed memory is illusory, and illustrate this claim by examining previous studies of putative repressed memories and also recent research on nonverbal behaviors among survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0140525X06259119

The illusion of repressed memory.

Regulatory flexibility and its role in adaptation to aversive events throughout the lifespan.

Durante décadas, los investigadores han documentado grados destacados de entereza o capacidad de recuperación en niños expuestos precozmente a entornos adversos, como la pobreza o los malos tratos crónicos. Sin embargo, apenas disponemos de investigaciones que hayan examinado la capacidad de recuperación de niños o adultos expuestos a acontecimientos aislados y potencialmente traumáticos (APT). La importancia histórica de la disfunción psicológica y fisiológica después de los APT ha sugerido que dichos acontecimientos casi siempre producen un daño emocional perdurable. No obstante, la investigación reciente ha demostrado invariablemente que, a través de los diferentes tipos de APT, incluidos el duelo, una enfermedad grave y los ataques terroristas, más del 50% de los individuos manifiestan una capacidad de recuperación. Además, la investigación ha identificado una variación individual sustancial en la respuesta a los APT, incluidas cuatro trayectorias prototípicas y derivadas empíricamente: disfunción crónica, restablecimiento, entereza/capacidad de recuperación/resistencia y reacciones retardadas. Los factores que favorecen la capacidad de recuperación o entereza son heterogéneos e incluyen una diversidad de variables centradas en el individuo (p. ej., carácter, personalidad y estrategias de afrontamiento del niño), variables demográficas (sexo masculino, edad avanzada y mayores niveles de educación), y factores socio-contextuales (p. ej., relaciones de apoyo y recursos comunitarios). Sorprendentemente, algunos de los factores que favorecen la capacidad de recuperación frente a un APT pueden representar una inadaptación en otros contextos, mientras que otros factores representan una adaptación en términos más generales. Dadas las pruebas crecientes de que la capacidad de recuperación o entereza es habitual, el tratamiento psicoterapéutico debe reservarse para los individuos que en realidad lo necesiten. Los acontecimientos terribles son una realidad. Por mucho que nos empeñemos en lo contrario, nuestros amigos íntimos y seres queridos mueren, nuestros cuerpos se ven afectados por las enfermedades, se producen catástrofes naturales y guerras, y en ocasiones los individuos hacen cosas horribles, porque sí, a otras personas. Los estudios epidemiológicos indican que la mayoría de los adultos experimentan, como mínimo, un acontecimiento potencialmente traumático durante el curso de su vida. Los niños no son una excepción y también están expuestos habitualmente a dichos acontecimientos. Quizá, debido a la forma en que estos acontecimientos nos dan pavor, en general, se ha llegado a dar por sentado que casi siempre provocan un daño emocional persistente. Pero esto no suele ser verdad. En el presente artículo, usamos la expresión “potencialmente traumático” para destacar que existen diferencias individuales considerables e importantes en cómo los individuos responden a dichos acontecimientos. Dicho en pocas palabras, los acontecimientos que provocan aversión y que típicamente se salen de lo normal en la experiencia cotidiana son “potencialmente” traumáticos porque no todo el mundo los experimenta como tales. La investigación sobre APT ha revelado sistemáticamente una amplia variedad de reacciones; a excepción de un subgrupo relativamente limitado de individuos que experimentan un sufrimiento extremo, la mayor parte afronta bien dichos acontecimientos. En el presente artículo, revisaremos brevemente los antecedentes históricos sobre los traumas psicológicos y, acto seguido, consideraremos los estudios empíricos recientes, efectuados sobre las diferencias individuales en la respuesta a los APT. Consideramos los resultados más habituales o prototípicos que los individuos manifiestan, incluidas las reacciones crónicas y patológicas, pero también las reacciones relativamente saludables. Prestamos atención en particular a las pruebas crecientes de la capacidad humana para seguir adelante incluso después de los acontecimientos más difíciles y al concepto emergente de capacidad de recuperación o entereza psicológica. Por último, revisamos las pruebas disponibles sobre los factores que predicen qué individuos se restablecerán de un APT, sugerimos medios en los que estos datos pueden informar sobre el concepto de trauma más razonable desde un punto de vista empírico para la salud pública, y abordamos las implicaciones del estudio de la capacidad de recuperación o entereza para el tratamiento. ARTÍCULO ESPECIAL

George A. Bonanno

Papers

Affective Scaffolding A Process Measure for Psychotherapy with Children

The illusion of repressed memory.

Regulatory flexibility and its role in adaptation to aversive events throughout the lifespan.

La capacidad humana para seguir adelante frente a un posible trauma

The selective perception and recognition of single words from competing dichotic stimulus pairs