Barbara L. Fredrickson : What Are the Top 10 Positive Emotions?

bar bara fredrckson

What Are the Top 10 Positive Emotions?

An emotion is a feeling or attitude towards a situation or particular circumstances. In more simple words, you can say that an emotion is a response towards a situation or an object like judgment. For example, when we see our favorite meal, we usually express joy, which is an emotion. Emotions are of two types, Positive emotions, and Negative emotions. Positive emotions are happy emotions such as joy and Amusement. Negative emotions are angry or sad emotions such as sadness or fading of color. Laughing is a positive emotion while weeping or crying is a negative emotion. In the article, we will only discuss the positive emotions.

The Top 10 Positive Emotions

According to Barbara Frederickson the following are the 10 positive emotions:

1.     Joy:

Joy is a well-known positive emotion. It is a sense of happiness and elation. Joy is a sudden happy expression due to something good happening. The person under Joy emotion experiences a sudden spike in the mood. Sometimes exhilaration is also counted as a joy emotion.

2.     Gratitude:

Gratitude is the feeling or an emotion of thankfulness. Gratitude is actually an expression when someone helps you or someone give you something required. It is about something specific or all-encompassing. The Gratitude emotion often involves humility and sometimes even reverence. So, if you are saying Thank You to someone, you are actually expressing the Gratitude emotion.

3.     Serenity:

Serenity is a state of calmness. When you feel calm and peaceful, you are actually showing Serenity emotion. In the state, you will feel everything ok around you. Serenity comes in your life and mood when everything is going well around your life according to you. Serenity is a totally opposite emotion to the restlessness.

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4.     Interest:

Interest is the state of feeling curiosity of fascination in something or someone. Serenity is eager to learn about or related to someone or something. For example, if you are watching the news very attentively, you are showing interest in emotion towards the news. When you take interest in something, this something is actually capturing your attention.

5.     Hope:

Hope is an optimistic feeling about the future and upcoming events of life. Hope is actually a positive expectation from the future. Hope is also an anticipation about a positive future. For example, if you are thinking that you will become a successful businessman in the future, it is an example of Hope emotion.

6.     Amusement:

Amusement is the second meaning of pleasure and enjoyment. Amusement is the state of mind enjoyment when you see your favorite thing or enjoyable event. Amusement often accompanied a light smile and smiling eyes. For example, if you love animals, you will feel amusement on the visit to the zoo.

7.     Inspiration:

Inspiration is the state of feeling uplifted and motivated after seeing someone or something related to your desires or goals. For example, if you want to become a businessman, you will feel motivated and inspired after meeting a successful businessman. The feeling of engagement is also counted as Inspiration emotion.

8.     Awe:

Awe is the feeling of amazement and wonder. It is the state of your mind when you see something spectacular more than your expectations. It is an emotion that is evoked when you see something breathtaking and sparking. Awe is a sense of overwhelming appreciation.

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9.     Pride:

Pride is the state or feeling of pleasure of oneself in a life-achievement or acquiring a very rare skill. Pride is also associated with personal attributes. For example, if you have completed graduation and you are happy with it, it is actually a state of pride.

10.   Love:

Love is the strongest positive emotion. It is a deep or a very strong feeling of affection for someone or something. Love is an emotion of sacrificing your needs for that person or that thing which you love. The love is associated with the peoples, animals, and even with different things.

Barbara L. Fredrickson Career

If you wanted to learn about love emotion, Barbara Frederickson is the best author for this purpose. She was a psychologist by profession and studied different positive emotions particularly about love. The study of positive emotions (Like joy, pride, and inspiration) by Barbara L. Fredrickson was based on social science and supported by research studies and data.

She was a philosophy doctorate (Ph.D.) in psychology and earned her undergraduate degree from Carleton College. Her Ph.D. degree was from Stanford University.

Fredrickson’s work was based on the study of positive emotions such as Love and Pride. She had started her study in 1998. Her main contribution to emotion study was her theory about positive emotion. This theory is known as Broaden and Build Theory. We will discuss this theory in brief in the next section.

Barbara L. Fredrickson Broaden and Build Theory

Barbara L. Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory has successfully explained the “Point” of positive emotions. According to this theory, “The emotion is actually a source of opening and broadening our mind. The emotion is the best source of development and building our brain essential elements such as skills, knowledge, and abilities”. The development of relationships is also associated with the emotions according to this theory.

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According to this theory, the effects of positive emotions are very sharp in comparison with the effects of negative emotions.  Some negative emotions have also very sharp effects but in dangerous situations. For example, if you are seeing a thing which fears you and you are also in a dangerous situation, the effect of this negative emotion will be very sharp.

The main idea of this theory is as follows.

“Positive emotions broaden our mind and thinking horizon so we can learn the essential skills, judgments, and knowledge”.

Barbara L. Fredrickson Book

She is the author of : Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive

Barbara Fredrickson: Positive Emotions Transform Us

Barbara Fredrickson Quotes

Positive emotions change who we are in the future. Barbara Fredrickson

Positivity doesn’t just change the contents of your mind…It widens the span of possibilities that you see. Barbara Fredrickson

We all know negativity; it looms large and is easy to spot. Negativity pervades your self-talk and your judgments. It bleeds into your exchanges with your kids and your colleagues, eroding goodwill between you. Barbara Fredrickson

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