Gallery Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

Exploring Behavioral Indicators of Positivity Resonance Between Strangers (#199)

Alexandra M Gray 1 , Taylor N West 1 , Barbara L Fredrickson 1
  1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NORTH CAROLINA, United States

Background

Positivity Resonance Theory of Collective Positive Affect (i.e. positivity resonance) is characterized by shared positive affect, mutual care and concern, and biological and behavioral synchrony and is associated with both individual and interpersonal markers of wellbeing (Fredrickson, 2016). Thus far, Behavioral Indicators of Positivity Resonance (BIPR), has only been used to assess behavioral positivity resonance in long-term married couples, which found BIPR to be predictive of marital satisfaction (Otero et al., 2019). The aim of the present study is to investigate the validity of BIPR in coding observations of positivity resonance with distal others, particularly stranger interactions.

Hypotheses/Research Questions

We hypothesize that BIPR can be applied to moments of positivity resonance between strangers and correlated with self-reported and experimental observer reports of positivity resonance. Additional psycho-social correlates of BIPR will also be explored.

Sample Characteristics and Sample Size

Participants (N = 349; Mage = 34, SDage =11.27) were primarily female (81%) and White (65.9%).

Design

Using data from a larger 7-week study, we assessed an average of nightly self-reports of positivity resonance with acquaintances and strangers and a behaviorally coded 5-minute video of the interaction between a confederate and each participant (i.e. strangers) under the direction of BIPR coding.

Results

BIPR with strangers was not correlated with aggregated past self-reported positivity resonance with strangers, r(347) = -0.01, p = .85. However, BIPR with strangers correlated with the experimental observer’s rating of positivity resonance between the strangers in the interaction, r(347) = 0.20, p <.001.

Scientific Contribution

This study is the first to test the efficacy of BIPR coding with distal others. Findings suggest additional research is necessary to understand the differences between BIPR with strangers and BIPR with married couples. Modifications to the BIPR coding system informed by subsequent research should be applied to additional samples of strangers interactions.

  1. Fredrickson, B. L. (2016). Love: Positivity resonance as a fresh, evidence-based perspective on an age-old topic. In L. F. Barrett, M. Lewis, & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of Emotions (pp. 847-858). Guilford Press.
  2. Otero, M. C., Wells, J. L., Chen, K. H., Brown, C. L., Connelly, D. E., Levenson, R. W., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2019). Behavioral indices of positivity resonance associated with long-term marital satisfaction. Emotion. Advance online publication. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/emo0000634
  • Keywords: Positive emotions, Relationships