Positive Emotion
Experiencing positive emotions such as happiness, cheerfulness, optimism, and hope are essential to one’s wellbeing (Seligman et al., 2009). Positive emotions boost learning, attention, and can help change one’s mindset (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005; Chesney et al., 2005; Bolte et al., 2003). Experiencing positive emotions in early adolescence can prolong one’s life expectancy by an average of 9 years (Danner et al., 2001). Positive emotions can boost productivity and creativity, strengthen resilience, and promote healthy relationships and social support (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005). Dr. Peggy Kern has said, “emotions provide feedback as to what is working and what is not working; by tuning into our emotions, we can better navigate the opportunities and challenges that life brings” (Kern, 2022, p. 6). Understanding our emotions is the first step in improving our wellbeing, providing us with the ability to “anticipate, initiate, prolong and build positive emotional experiences and accept and develop healthy responses to negative emotions” (Norrish et al., 2013, p.152). The activities in this section are designed to provide your students with the opportunity to recognize positive emotions with ease, cope with negative emotions, and to have more positive experiences.
References:
Bolte, A., Goschke, T., & Kuhl, J. (2003). Emotion and intuition: Effects of positive and negative mood on implicit judgments of semantic coherence. Psychological Science, 14(5), 416–421. https://edtechbooks.org/-TeIo
Chesney, M.A., Darbes, L.A., Hoerster, K., Yaylor, J.M., Chamber, D.B., & Anderson, D.E. (2005). Positive emotions: Exploring the other hemisphere in behavioural medicine. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 12(2), 50–58. https://edtechbooks.org/-ERTK
Danner, D.D., Snowden, D.A. & Friesen, W.V. (2001). Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the nun study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(5), 804-813.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Branigan, C. (2005). Positive Emotions Broaden the Scope of Attention and Thought-Action Repertoires. Cognition & Emotion, 19, 313-332. https://edtechbooks.org/-jJJB
Kern, M. L. (2022). PERMAH: A useful model for focusing on wellbeing in schools. In K. A. Allen, M. Furlong, S. Suldo & D. Vella-Brodrick. (Eds.), The handbook of positive psychology in schools (3rd ed.). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003013778
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. A., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855. https://edtechbooks.org/-TubP
Norrish, J. M., Williams, P.,O’Connor, M., & Robinson, J. (2013). An applied framework for positive education. International Journal of Wellbeing, 3(2), 147-161. https://edtechbooks.org/-SNRc
Seligman, M., Ernst, R., Gillham,J., Reivich,K. & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293-311. https://edtechbooks.org/-uQbh
The Three Good Things activity gets students thinking positively by reflecting on good things that happen to them. For this activity, students are encouraged to write down three positive things that have happened to them every day for a week. These c…
One way to increase your students’ optimistic outlook is by having them “count their blessings.” This gratitude based activity has students list 5 things they are grateful for, on a daily or weekly basis. This simple activity only t…
The “best possible self” intervention invites students to imagine themselves at a time in the future, when 'they have achieved everything desired, after working hard towards it” (Carrillo et al., 2019, p.2). Students are encouraged …
As educators, it can be helpful to understand humor and its benefits to maximize its effect in our lives. The Benign Violation Theory categorizes humor as something that is simultaneously harmless, but a violation of our beliefs or expectations. This…
This activity is based on the “Three Good Things” activity, but instead targets students’ sense of humor. This intervention exemplifies the well-known phrase “laughter is the best medicine.” Instead of writing abou…
One argument for the decline in mental, emotional, and social wellbeing among children and adolescents is reduced time spent outdoors. One study found that, in the UK, 37% of children spent fewer than 30 minutes playing outside, and 43% spent more th…
Setting up houseplants in your classroom can improve students' sense of comfort and safety. Intervention Guide: Grade Level: All Materials: Houseplants, pots, potting soil Duration: Set-up and care time Implementation: …
Bibliotherapy helps students to develop positive emotions, a sense of belonging, and resilience by relating their story to that of characters who are going through similar challenges. Students can see how the characters overcome difficult situations …
CC BY-NC: This work is released under a CC BY-NC license, which means that you are free to do with it as you please as long as you (1) properly attribute it and (2) do not use it for commercial gain.
End-of-Chapter Survey
: How would you rate the overall quality of this chapter?- Very Low Quality
- Low Quality
- Moderate Quality
- High Quality
- Very High Quality
Like this? Endorse it!