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. 2005 May 1;19(3):313-332.
doi: 10.1080/02699930441000238.

Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires

Barbara L Fredrickson  1 , Christine Branigan
Affiliations

Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires

Barbara L Fredrickson et al. Cogn Emot. .

Abstract

The broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001) hypothesises that positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires. Two experiments with 104 college students tested these hypotheses. In each, participants viewed a film that elicited (a) amusement, (b) contentment, (c) neutrality, (d) anger, or (e) anxiety. Scope of attention was assessed using a global-local visual processing task (Experiment 1) and thought-action repertoires were assessed using a Twenty Statements Test (Experiment 2). Compared to a neutral state, positive emotions broadened the scope of attention in Experiment 1 and thought-action repertoires in Experiment 2. In Experiment 2, negative emotions, relative to a neutral state, narrowed thought-action repertoires. Implications for promoting emotional well-being and physical health are discussed.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example global-local items used in Experiment 1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Global bias by emotion condition.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Thought-action repertoire size by emotion condition.
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