Daily variation in prioritizing positivity and well-being.

Prioritizing positivity is the tendency to use pleasant states (e.g., contentment, joy) as a key criterion to structure daily life.

The Psychometric Properties of the Prioritizing Positivity Scale.

The tendency to use pleasant states as a key criterion for how to structure daily life is called and has been measured with a 6-item scale. The Prioritizing Positivity Scale (PPS) is increasingly being used by researchers, but a comprehensive examination of its psychometric quality remains absent from the literature. Using three independent samples of adults (study 1:  = 176, study 2:  = 240, study 3:  = 226), we tested the scale's (1) factor structure, (2) reliability, (3) convergent and discriminant validity, and (4) measurement invariance.

Positive affective processes underlie positive health behaviour change.

Positive health behaviours such as physical activity can prevent or reverse many chronic conditions, yet a majority of people fall short of leading a healthy lifestyle. Recent discoveries in affective science point to promising approaches to circumvent barriers to lifestyle change. Here, we present a new theoretical framework that integrates scientific knowledge about positive affect with that on implicit processes.

Trait acceptance predicts fewer daily negative emotions through less stressor-related rumination.

People who are more accepting of their thoughts and feelings experience fewer negative emotions. Although several studies document the connection between acceptance and negative emotions, little, if any research, sheds light on how being receptive to one's internal experience results in less negativity in everyday life. In a daily diary study (N = 183), we found that people who were more accepting of their thoughts and feelings experienced fewer daily negative emotions, and this association was partly explained by less daily stressor-related rumination.

Prioritizing positivity: an effective approach to pursuing happiness?

A decade of research reveals the benefits of positive emotions for mental and physical health; however, recent empirical work suggests the explicit pursuit of happiness may backfire. The present study hypothesized that the pursuit of happiness is not inherently self-defeating; in particular, individuals who seek positivity, as exemplified by how they make decisions about how to organize their day-to-day lives, may be happier. This individual difference is labeled prioritizing positivity.

Beyond emotional benefits: physical activity and sedentary behaviour affect psychosocial resources through emotions.

Physical activity is known to improve emotional experiences, and positive emotions have been shown to lead to important life outcomes, including the development of psychosocial resources. In contrast, time spent sedentary may negatively impact emotional experiences and, consequently, erode psychosocial resources. Two studies tested whether activity independently influenced emotions and psychosocial resources, and whether activity indirectly influenced psychosocial resources through emotional experiences.

How positive emotions build physical health: perceived positive social connections account for the upward spiral between positive emotions and vagal tone.

The mechanisms underlying the association between positive emotions and physical health remain a mystery. We hypothesize that an upward-spiral dynamic continually reinforces the tie between positive emotions and physical health and that this spiral is mediated by people's perceptions of their positive social connections. We tested this overarching hypothesis in a longitudinal field experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group that self-generated positive emotions via loving-kindness meditation or to a waiting-list control group.

A Tuesday in the life of a flourisher: the role of positive emotional reactivity in optimal mental health.

Flourishing--a state of optimal mental health--has been linked to a host of benefits for the individual and society, including fewer workdays lost and the lowest incidence of chronic physical conditions. The aim of this paper was to investigate whether and how routine activities promote flourishing. The authors proposed that flourishers thrive because they capitalize on the processes featured in the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, specifically by experiencing greater positive emotional reactivity to pleasant events and building more resources over time.

A pilot study of loving-kindness meditation for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

This pilot study examined loving-kindness meditation (LKM) with 18 participants with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and significant negative symptoms. Findings indicate that the intervention was feasible and associated with decreased negative symptoms and increased positive emotions and psychological recovery.