Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Oct;60(7):678-86.
doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.60.7.678.

Positive affect and the complex dynamics of human flourishing

Barbara L Fredrickson  1 , Marcial F Losada
Affiliations

Positive affect and the complex dynamics of human flourishing

Barbara L Fredrickson et al. Am Psychol. 2005 Oct.

Erratum in

  • Am Psychol. 2013 Dec;68(9):822

Abstract

Extending B. L. Fredrickson's (1998) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and M. Losada's (1999) nonlinear dynamics model of team performance, the authors predict that a ratio of positive to negative affect at or above 2.9 will characterize individuals in flourishing mental health. Participants (N=188) completed an initial survey to identify flourishing mental health and then provided daily reports of experienced positive and negative emotions over 28 days. Results showed that the mean ratio of positive to negative affect was above 2.9 for individuals classified as flourishing and below that threshold for those not flourishing. Together with other evidence, these findings suggest that a set of general mathematical principles may describe the relations between positive affect and human flourishing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Complex Dynamics of Three Types of Business Teams Note. The dynamical structures, as represented by trajectories in phase space, generated by Losada’s (1999) model to describe high-performance (dark gray), medium-performance (light gray), and low-performance (white) teams. The vertical axis represents emotional space. The formula connecting P/N to emotional space is P/N = (E − i)b−1, where E is emotional space, i is the initial value of positivity/negativity (equal to 16), and b−1 is the Lorenz inverse constant (equal to 0.375). P/N = 1 when E = 18.66 (Losada & Heaphy, 2004). Values above and below 18.66 indicate predominance of positivity and negativity, respectively. The horizontal axis represents degrees of inquiry versus advocacy: The left represents asking questions, and the right represents advocating one’s own viewpoint.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of Too Much Positivity Note. The dynamical structure produced by running Losada’s (1999) model with P/N = 100. As in Figure 1, the vertical axis represents emotional space, and the horizontal axis represents degrees of inquiry versus advocacy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Baumeister RF, Bratslavsky E, Finkenauer C, Vohs KD. Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology. 2001;5:323–370.
    1. Bolte A, Goschkey T, Kuhl J. Emotion and intuition: Effects of positive and negative mood on implicit judgments of semantic coherence. Psychological Science. 2003;14:416–421. - PubMed
    1. Cacioppo JT, Gardner WL, Berntson GG. The affect system has parallel and integrative processing components: Form follows function. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1999;76:839–855.
    1. Cohen S, Doyle WJ, Turner RB, Alper CM, Skoner DP. Emotional style and susceptibility to the common cold. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2003;65:652–657. - PubMed
    1. Danner DD, Snowdon DA, Friesen WV. Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the Nun Study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2001;80:804–813. - PubMed

Publication types