Positive Affect

Definition

Positive affect is the pleasant state that can be induced by small things that happen in everyday life. It is one of the most exciting topics currently under investigation in the psychological research literature. The findings suggest that there is the potential for a large impact of positive affect on social behavior and interpersonal processes, as well as on thinking, problem solving, and decision making. In addition, the topic has been studied in naturalistic ways and in a diverse range of realistic settings, and results of these studies suggest that positive affect may be important in many contexts of everyday life, from classrooms to boardrooms to physicians' offices. The field itself is still young enough that there remain some controversies about how to understand what ...