Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Regulation of Positive Emotions: Emotion Regulation Strategies that Promote Resilience

  • Published:
Journal of Happiness Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The regulation of emotions is essential in everyday life. In this paper, we discuss the regulation of positive emotional experiences. Our discussion focuses on strategies aimed at maintaining and increasing experiences of positive emotions. We discuss the importance of these strategies for well-being, and suggest that cultivating positive emotions may be particularly useful for building resilience to stressful events. Then, we explore possible mechanisms that link positive emotions to coping for resilient people, with a focus on the automatic activation of positive emotions while coping. We conclude by discussing alternative models and proposing future directions in the work on positive emotion regulation and resilience.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bargh, J.A.: 1990, ‘Auto-motives: Preconscious determinants of social interaction’, in E.T. Higgins and R.M. Sorrentino (eds.), Handbook of Motivation and Cognition, Vol. 2 (Guilford Press, New York) pp. 93–130

  • Bargh J.A. (1994). The Four Horsemen of automaticity: Awareness, efficiency, intention, and control in social cognition. In: Wyer R.S. Jr., Srull T.K. (Eds), Handbook of Social Cognition. 2nd ed., Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum pp. 1–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Bargh J.A. (1997). The automaticity of everyday life In: Wyer R.S. (Ed.), Advances in Social Cognition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc

    Google Scholar 

  • Bargh J.A., Chartrand T.L. (1999). The unbearable automaticity of being American Psychologist 54: 462–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bargh J.A., Gollwitzer P.M. (1994). Environmental control of goal-directed action: Automatic and strategic contingencies between situations and behavior Nebraska Symposium 41: 71–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Bargh J.A., Gollwitzer P.M., Lee-Chai A., Bardollar K., Trotschel R. (2001). The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of beheavioral goals Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 81: 1004–1027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno G.A. (2001). Emotion self-regulation. In: Mayne T.J., Bonanno G.A. (Eds), Emotions: Current Issues and Future Directions. New York, NY: Guilford Press. (pp. 251–285)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno G.A. (2001). Emotion self-regulation. In: Mayne T.J., Bonanno G.A. (Eds), Emotions: Current Issues and Future Directions. New York, NY: Guilford Press. (pp. 251–285)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, G.A.: 2004, `Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events?', American Psychologist 59(1), pp. 20–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno G.A. (2005). Resilience in the face of potential trauma Current Directions in Psychological Science 14: 135–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block, J. and A.M. Kremen: 1996, `IQ and egoresiliency: Conceptual and empirical connections and separateness', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), pp. 349–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Block, J.H., and J. Block: 1980, ‘The role of ego-control and ego-resiliency in the origination of behavior’, in W.A. Collings (ed.), The Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology, Vol. 13 (Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ), pp. 39–101

  • Bryant F.B. (1989). A four-factor model of perceived control: Avoiding, coping, obtaining, and savoring Journal of Personality 57: 773–797

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant F.B. (2003). Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI): A scale for measuring beliefs about savouring Journal of Mental Health 12: 175–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carver C.S. (1998). Resilience and thriving: Issues, models and linkages Journal of Social Issues 54: 245–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaiken S., Trope Y. (1999). Dual-Process Theories in Social Psychology New York: Guilford Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Chesney, M.A., L.A. Darbes, K. Hoerster, J.M. Taylor, D. B. Chambers, and D. E. Anderson: 2005, `Positive emotions: Exploring the other hemisphere in behavioral medicine', International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 12(2), pp. 50–58

  • Conner T., Tugade M.M., Barrett L.F. (2004). Ecological momentary assessment. In: Anderson N. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Health and Behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage (pp. 291–292)

    Google Scholar 

  • Denham S.A. (1998). Emotional Development in Young Children New York, NY: Guildford Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekman P. (1989). The argument and evidence about universals in facial expressions of emotion. In: Manstead A., Wagner H. (Eds.) Handbook of Social Psychophysiology. Oxford, England: John Wiley & Sons (pp. 143–164)

    Google Scholar 

  • Emmons R.A., McCullough M.E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84: 377–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman S. (1997). Positive psychological states and coping with severe stress Social Science and Medicine 45: 1207–1221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman S., Moskowitz J.T. (2000). Positive affect and the other side of coping American Psychologist 55: 647–654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman S., Moskowitz J.T. (2003a). Coping: Pitfalls and promise” Annual Review of Psychology 55: 745–774

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman S., Moskowitz J.T. (2003b). Positive psychology from a coping perspective Psychological Inquiry 14: 121–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson B.L. (1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology: Special Issue: New Directions in Research on Emotion 2: 300–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B.L.: 2000, ‘Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention and Treatment, 3, Article 1. Available on the World Wide Web: http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html

  • Fredrickson B.L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions American Psychologist: Special Issue 56: 218–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson B.L., Branigan C. (2005). Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires Cognition and Emotion 19: 313–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson B.L., Levenson R.W. (1998). Positive emotions speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negative emotions Cognition and Emotion 12: 191–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson B.L., Mancuso R.A., Branigan C., Tugade M.M. (2000). The undoing effect of positive emotions Motivation and Emotion 24: 237–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson B.L., Tugade M.M., Waugh C.E., Larkin G. (2003). What good are positive emotions in crises?: A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84: 365–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross J.J. (1998). Antecedent- and response-focused emotion regulation: Divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74: 224–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross J.J. (1999). Emotion regulation: Past, present, future Cognition and Emotion 13: 551–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross J.J. (2001). Emotion regulation in adulthood: Timing is everything Current Directions in Psychological Science 10: 214–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross J.J., Munoz R.F. (1995). Emotion regulation and mental health Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 2: 151–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J.J., J.M. Richards and O.P. John: ‘Emotion regulation in everyday life’, in D.K. Snyder, J.A. Simpson and J.N. Hughes (eds.), Emotion Regulation in Families: Pathways to Dysfunction and Health (American Psychological Association, Washington DC) (in press)

  • Grossman P., Niemann L., Schmidt S., Walach H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits Journal of Psychosomatic Research 57: 35–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Handley I.M., Lassiter G.D., Nickell E.F., Herchenroeder L.M. (2004). Affect and automatic mood maintenance Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 40: 106–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isen A.M. (2000). Positive affect and decision making. In: Lewis M., Haviland-Jones J., (Eds.), Handbook of Emotion. 2nd ed., New York: Guilford, pp. 417–435

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen A.M., Daubman K.A. (1984). The influence of affect on categorization Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 47: 1206–1217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isen, A.M., K.A. Daubman, and G.P. Nowicki: 1987, `Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52(6), pp. 1122–1131

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen A.M., Diamond G.A. (1989). Affect and automaticity. In: Uleman J.S., Bargh J.A., (eds) Unintended Thought. New York: Guilford Press. (pp. 124–152)

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen, A.M., M.M. Johnson, E. Mertz, and G.F. Robinson: 1985, `The influence of positive affect on the unusualness of word associations', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48(6), pp. 1413–1426

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen A.M., Patrick R. (1983). The effect of positive feelings on risk taking: When the chips are down Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 31: 194–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen A.M., Simmonds S.F. (1978). The effect of feeling good on a helping task that is incompatible with good mood Social Psychology 41: 345–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwasaki Y., Mannell R.C. (2000). Hierarchical dimensions of leisure stress coping Leisure Sciences 22(3): 163–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwasaki Y., Mannell R.C. (2003). Leisure, stress, and coping: An evolving area of inquiry Leisure Sciences 25(2–3): 107–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness New York: Delta

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn J., Massion A.O., Kristeller J., Peterson L.G., Fletcher K.E., Pbert L., Lenderking W.R., Santorelli S.F. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders American Journal of Psychiatry 149: 936–943

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn B.E., Isen A.M. (1993). The influence of positive affect on variety seeking among safe, enjoyable products Journal of Consumer Research 20(2): 257–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langston C.A. (1994). Capitalizing on and coping with daily-life events: Expressive responses to positive events Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67: 1112–1125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus R.S. (1993). From psychological stress to the emotions: A history of changing outlooks Annual Review of Psychology 44: 1–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyubomrisky S., Sheldon K.M., Schkade D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change, Review of General Psychology Special Issue: Positive Psychology 19: 111–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin R.A., Lefcourt H.M. (1983) Sense of humor as a moderator of the relation between stressors and moods Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 45: 1313–1324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A.S.: 2001, `Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development', American Psychologist 56(3), pp. 227–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Masten A.S., Best K.M., Garmezy N. (1990). Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity Development and Psychopathology 2: 425–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meehan M., Durlak J., Bryant F.B. (1993). The relationship of social support to positive life events and subjective mental health in adolescents Journal of Community Psychology 21: 49–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller J.J., Fletcher K., Kabat-Zinn J. (1995). Three-year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders General Hospital Psychiatry 17: 192–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moskowitz J.T., Folkman S., Collette L., Vittinghoff E. (1996). Coping and mood during AIDS-related caregiving and bereavement Annals of Behavioral Medicine 18: 49–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nezu A.M., Nezu C.M., Blisset S.E. (1988). Sense of humor as a moderator of the relation between stressful events and psychological distress: A prospective analysis Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54: 520–525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norman, D.A. and T. Shallice: 1986, ‘Attention to action: Willed and automatic control of behavior’, in R.J. Davidson, G.E. Schwartz and D. Shapiro (eds.), Consciousness and Self Regulation: Advances in Research and Theory, Vol. 4 (Plenum, New York), pp. 1–18

  • Parrot W.G. (1993). Beyond hedonism: Motives for inhibiting good moods and maintaining bad moods. In: Wegener D.M., Pennebaker J.W. (Eds.) Handbook of Mental Control. Edgewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. (pp. 278–308)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruch, W.: 1993, ‘Exhilaration and humor’, chapter 42, in M. Lewis and J.M. Haviland (eds.), The Handbook of Emotions (Guilford Publications, New York, NY), pp. 605–616

  • Rutter, M.: 1987, `Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms', American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57(3), pp. 316–331

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R.M. and E.L. Deci: 2001, `On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being', Annual Review of Psychology, 52, pp. 141–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C.D. and B. Singer: 1998, `The role of purpose in life and personal growth in positive human health', (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers: Mahwah, NJ, US)

  • Ryff, C.D., and B. Singer: 2000, `Interpersonal flourishing: A positive health agenda for the new millennium. `Personality and Social Psychology Review', Special Issue: Personality and Social Psychology at the Interface, New Directions for Interdisciplinary Research 4(1), pp. 30–44

  • Shapiro S.L, Astin J.A., Bishop S.R., Cordova M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: Results from a randomized trial International Journal of Stress Management 12: 164–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro S.L., Schwartz G.E., Bonner G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and premedical students Journal of Behavioral Medicine 21: 581–599

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiffrin R.M., Dumais S.T. (1981). The development of automatism. In: Anderson J (Ed.), Cognitive Skills and Their Acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. (pp. 111–140)

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiffrin R.M., Schneider W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review 84: 127–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmack U., Diner E. (2003). Experience sampling methodology in happiness research Journal-of-Happiness-Studies 4: 79–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scollon C.N., Kim-Pietro C., Diener E. (2003). Experience sampling: Promises and pitfalls, strengths and weaknesses Journal of Happiness Studies 4: 5–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith J.C. (1990). Cognitive-Behavioral Relaxation Training: A New System of Strategies for Treatment and Assessment New York: Springer

    Google Scholar 

  • Surawy C., Roberts J., Silver A. (2005). The effect of mindfulness training on mood and measures of fatigue, activity, an quality of life in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome on a hospital waiting list: A series of exploratory studies Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy 33: 103–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tugade, M.M., T. Conner and L.F. Barrett. Assessment of mood. Chapter to appear in S. Ayers, A. Baum, C. McManus, S. Newman, K. Wallston, J.␣Weinman, and R. West (eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health, and Medicine, 2nd edition (in press)

  • Tugade M.M., Fredrickson B.L. (2002). Positive emotions and emotional intelligence. In: Feldman Barrett L., Salovey P. (Eds.). The Wisdom of Feelings. New York: Guilford. (pp. 319–340)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tugade M.M., Fredrickson B.L. (2004). Emotions: Positive emotions and health. In: Anderson N. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Health and Behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (pp. 306–310)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wegener D.T., Petty R.E. (1994). Mood-management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 66: 1034–1048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner E., Smith R. (1992). Overcoming the Odds: High-risk Children from Birth to Adulthood New York, NY: Cornell University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Winkielman P., Berridge K.C. (2004). Unconscious emotion Current Directions in Psychological Science 13: 120–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolin S.J., Wolin S. (1993). Bound and Determined: Growing Up Resilient in a Troubled Family New York: Villard

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, J. V., S.A. Heimpel and J.L. Michela: 2003, `Savoring versus dampening: Self-esteem differences in regulating positive affect', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(3), pp. 566–580

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12604, USA

    Michele M. Tugade

  2. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Barbara L. Fredrickson

Authors
  1. Michele M. Tugade
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Barbara L. Fredrickson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michele M. Tugade.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tugade, M.M., Fredrickson, B.L. Regulation of Positive Emotions: Emotion Regulation Strategies that Promote Resilience. J Happiness Stud 8, 311–333 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9015-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9015-4

Search

Navigation