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Positive affect facilitates social problem solving
Author(s) -
Nelson Donna Webster,
Sim Erin K.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/jasp.12254
Subject(s) - psychology , optimism , affect (linguistics) , social psychology , interpersonal communication , mood , interpersonal relationship , interpersonal interaction , negative mood , social desirability , developmental psychology , communication
We conducted two experiments to test the impact of positive affect on social problem solving. In E xperiment 1, participants induced to experience a positive (vs. neutral) affective state generated a greater number of relevant steps to solve fictitious interpersonal problems as well as more effective solutions to the problems. In E xperiment 2, participants induced to experience a positive (vs. negative) affective state generated more functional solutions to their own social problems. The positive mood effects observed in E xperiment 2 were moderated by dispositional optimism. Our findings have practical implications, as the extent to which individuals are able to generate effective solutions to social problems has far‐reaching consequences with respect to personal adjustment and social functioning.