This review provides an overview of the research on nonverbal expressions of positive emotions, organised into emotion families, that is, clusters sharing common characteristics. Epistemological positive emotions are found to have distinct, recognisable displays via vocal or facial cues, while the agency-approach positive emotions appear to be associated with recognisable visual, but not auditory, cues. Evidence is less strong for the prosocial emotions in any modality other than touch, and there is little support for distinct recognisable signals of the savouring (...) positive emotions. In closing, some limitations of extant work are noted and some proposals for future research are outlined. (shrink)

Contributions to this special section on positive emotions are summarized and integrated within a framework for organizing theory and research on particular emotions. Emotions are conceptualized as evolved strategies for coping with crises and opportunities, elicited by situational and appraisal antecedents–with phenomenological, physiological, expressive, behavioral, and emotivational goal components. Within this framework, theories are compared, inconsistencies and gaps in knowledge are identified, and issues in emotion theory are discussed.

This study used the Social Cognitive Theory and Broaden-and-Build Theory to propose and validate a chain mediation model. In total, 417 Chinese college students were studied to explore the effects of parent–child relationships on their academic performance. In addition, we investigated the chain-mediating roles of gratitude and psychological capital. The results showed that the parent–child relationship significantly and positively affected the academic performance of college students; gratitude partially mediated the parent–child relationship and the academic performance of college students; psychological capital (...) partially mediated the parent-child relationship and the academic performance of college students; and gratitude and psychological capital exerted a chain-mediating effect between parent–child relationships and the academic performance of college students. Based on the results of the study, we conclude that the parent–child relationship not only directly affects the academic performance of college students but also indirectly affects it through the chain mediation of gratitude and psychological capital. Moreover, we proposed reasonable suggestions on how colleges and universities can guide students to deal with parent-child relationships, strengthen gratitude education, and improve psychological capital. (shrink)

Arguably, emotion is always valenced—either pleasant or unpleasant—and dependent on the pleasure system. This system serves adaptive evolutionary functions; relying on separable wanting, liking, and learning neural mechanisms mediated by mesocorticolimbic networks driving pleasure cycles with appetitive, consummatory, and satiation phases. Liking is generated in a small set of discrete hedonic hotspots and coldspots, while wanting is linked to dopamine and to larger distributed brain networks. Breakdown of the pleasure system can lead to anhedonia and other features of affective disorders. (...) Eudaimonia and well-being are difficult to study empirically, yet whole-brain computational models could offer novel insights potentially linking eudaimonia to optimal metastability in the pleasure system. (shrink)

The relationships among character strengths (forgiveness and gratitude), happiness, and pro-social bystander behavior in bullying were analyzed. The sample includes 500 (early adolescents) and 500 (middle adolescents) of both genders, between 12 and 18 years old (M age = 14.70, SD = 1.58). Two structural equation models were calculated. Results of the first model indicated that forgiveness, gratitude, and happiness had a direct positive relation with pro-social bystander behavior. Furthermore, human strengths were indirectly related to prosocial behavior in bullying for (...) this effect in happiness. The second model showed that pro-social bystander behavior had a positive effect on human strengths and happiness. Multi-group analyses indicated that gender and stage of adolescence did not moderate the relations found in the model. Overall findings suggest a reciprocal relationship between character strengths, happiness, and pro-social bystander behavior. (shrink)

In this article we review the emerging literature on the self-transcendent emotions. We discuss how the self-transcendent emotions differ from other positive emotions and outline the defining features of this category. We then provide an analysis of three specific self-transcendent emotions—compassion, gratitude, and awe—detailing what has been learned about their expressive behavior, physiology, and likely evolutionary origins. We propose that these emotions emerged to help humans solve unique problems related to caretaking, cooperation, and group coordination in social interactions. In our (...) final section we offer predictions about the self-transcendent emotions that can guide future research. (shrink)