Symposium Summary:
This symposium presents recent advancements in understanding the Positivity Resonance Theory of Collective Positive Affect (Fredrickson, 2016, Handbook of Emotions, 4th Edition). Integrating theory and evidence from relationship science, affective science, and developmental science, Fredrickson (2016) identifies moments of “positivity resonance” as occurring when two or more individuals show three key features across multiple emotion-response systems: (a) shared positive affect (experiential), (b) caring non-verbal synchrony (behavioral), and (c) biological synchrony (physiological). These moments of high-quality social connection have been found to predict a growing number of personal and interpersonal resources, from mental health to relationship satisfaction, independently from overall positive emotions and quantity of social interactions (Brown et al., in press; Chen et al., 2020; Major et al., 2018; Otero et al., 2019).
Four presentations, each delivered by current members of Fredrickson’s PEP Lab at UNC Chapel Hill, test hypotheses drawn from Positivity Resonance Theory. The first, by Jieni Zhou, presents results from a large 5-week behavioral intervention aimed at increasing positivity resonance, especially with weak social ties (e.g., strangers, acquaintances) in a community sample during 2019. The next three presentations share evidence on positivity resonance gathered in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second talk, by Taylor West, presents evidence that positivity resonance promotes public health, albeit indirectly, through its association with prosocial tendencies. The third talk, by Catherine Berman, discusses implications of Positivity Resonance Theory for vaccination behavior through its association with prosocial and other-oriented motivations, both at a trait-level and when experimentally manipulated through vaccination messaging. The final talk, by Michael Prinzing, provides evidence that trait resilience predicts flourishing mental health during the early months of COVID-19 through greater positivity resonance.
Taken together, these presentations test and support theory-driven hypotheses that positivity resonance, with its components of shared positive affect and synchrony, contribute to multiple levels of wellbeing; from the individual, to interpersonal relationships, and extending to community-level flourishing and public health.
Symposium Presentation 1 Proposal:
Title: The Goods in Everyday Love: Positivity Resonance Builds Prosociality
Presenter: Jieni Zhou
Abstract: The Positivity Resonance Theory of Collective Positive Affect (Fredrickson, 2016) identifies the emotion of love as a collective state, termed positive resonance, which is defined by the presence of three key features: shared positive affect, caring nonverbal synchrony, and biological synchrony. The current study examined whether a modest behavioral intervention focused on increasing social connectedness could raise study participants’ perceptions of day-to-day positivity resonance with corollary impact on their tendencies for prosociality and self-centeredness. Adults (N = 416, mean age = 33.8) were randomized to one of four study conditions: either of two variants of the social connectedness intervention: 1) Social Connectedness-General 2) Social Connectedness-Weak Ties; Or either of two control groups. Positivity resonance, prosociality and self-centeredness were measured nightly for 35 consecutive days. Multilevel models of nightly reports showed significant growth in positivity resonance for the two variants of the intervention and higher mean levels of prosociality for the Weak Ties group. In addition, significant dose-response relations were evident (both between-persons and within-persons) linking positivity resonance to both prosociality (CI 95% between = [.086, .311]; CI 95% within = [.266,.354]) and self-centeredness (CI 95% between = [-.415, -.069]; CI 95%within = [-.345, -.251]) with the within-persons effect for prosociality (but not self-centeredness) becoming significantly stronger for those randomized to either variant of the intervention, relative to either control group. Taken together, findings suggest that the affective quality of people’s day-to-day social encounters may have implications for community flourishing. Discussion centers on theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research.
Symposium Presentation 2 Proposal:
Title: The Affective Quality of Social Connections Contributes to Public Health Through Heightened Prosocial Tendencies
Presenter: Taylor N. West
Abstract: Although behaviors such as handwashing, mask wearing and social distancing are known to limit viral spread, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals in the United States did not adopt them. The Positivity Resonance Theory of Collective Positive Affect (Fredrickson, 2016) holds that shared pleasant states that include the key features of mutual care and a sense of oneness through behavioral synchrony, function to build prosocial tendencies (e.g., self-transcendent and other-oriented dispositions of felt unity, empathy, altruism and general positivity toward humanity). We tested the theory-driven hypothesis that prosocial tendencies are associated with high-quality social connections characterized by the affective state of positivity resonance, and in turn account for behaviors to slow the spread of COVID-19. We measured perceived positivity resonance at the level of social episodes either during (Study 1, N = 1059, April-May 2020) or before the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2, N = 227, March-November 2019). Across both studies, cross-sectionally and prospectively, results suggest that perceived positivity resonance had a positive indirect effect (cross sectional = 95% CI [.015, .049], prospective = 95% CI [.134, .508]) on self-reported hygienic behaviors (e.g., handwashing & mask-wearing), which was mediated by a latent measure of prosocial tendencies. Sensitivity analyses confirmed these mediation effects to be independent of competing predictors of prosocial tendencies (e.g., overall positive and negative affect, frequency of social interaction) and health behaviors (e.g., political orientation, high-risk status, illness symptoms). Effects for social distancing were mixed. Overall, findings are consistent with the view that positivity resonance builds self-transcendent prosocial tendencies that motivate behaviors to protect community health.
Symposium Presentation 3 Proposal:
Title: Vaccination: A Collective Health Behavior Impacted by Collective Positive Affective Processes
Presenter: Catherine J. Berman
Abstract: Although vaccination is typically framed as an individual health decision, the efficacy of vaccination depends on its widespread adoption by the herd, making vaccine uptake not just a personal health behavior but also a collective, prosocial one. According to the Positivity Resonance Theory of collective positive affect (Fredrickson, 2016; see also Brown & Fredrickson, 2021), shared moments of everyday positive affect that include a sense of oneness and synchrony (positivity resonance) also build other-oriented prosocial tendencies (dispositions of felt unity, empathy, altruism, and love of humanity) (West et al., in press; Zhou et al., under review). In a serial mediation model, we tested the hypothesis that perceived positivity resonance experienced with ordinary and everyday social connections prospectively builds prosocial tendencies, which in turn amplify other-oriented motivation for getting vaccinated and individuals’ intentions for getting a COVID-19 vaccine (but not a flu vaccine) and volunteering to participate in a COVID-19 vaccine trial. Moreover, we find that positivity resonance interacts with an experimentally manipulated COVID-19 vaccine message that emphasizes individual vs. community benefits of vaccination. We discuss theoretical and practical implications related to perceived positivity resonance, prosocial tendencies, and vaccination uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Symposium Presentation 4 Proposal:
Title: Staying ‘In Sync’ with Others During COVID-19: Perceived Positivity Resonance Mediates Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Links between Trait Resilience and Mental Health
Presenter: Michael Prinzing
Abstract: Past research shows that shared positive emotions involving caring and synchrony—termed “positivity resonance”—are associated with mental health (Major et al., 2018). We hypothesized that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, individual differences in trait resilience would be linked with better mental health in part because those higher in trait resilience experience more positivity resonance. We collected two samples during the spring and summer of 2020: a national sample of adults (N = 575, Mage = 36.69, SDage = 11.54; 50% male, 8% Asian, 14% Black or African American, 4% Hispanic or Latinx, 65% White or European American, 7% Other, mixed, or preferred not to say), and an undergraduate sample (N = 484, Mage = 20.45, SDage = 2.89; 31.2% male; 36% Asian, 3% Black or African American, 11% Hispanic or Latinx, 34% White or European American, 16% Other, mixed, or prefer not to say). Participants completed self-reports of trait resilience and mental health and used the Day Reconstruction Method to describe their social and emotional experiences. Structural equation models showed perceived positivity resonance to mediate the links between trait resilience and positive mental health outcomes (flourishing and meaning in life), both cross-sectionally and over the course of two months (indirect effects: cross-sectional = .098, longitudinal = .155, ps < .001). Subsequent analyses showed these mediating effects to be independent of overall positive emotion and social interaction quantity (amongst nationwide adults). These results indicate that high-quality social connection played a uniquely important role in maintaining mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.