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The Undoing Effect of Positive Emotions

Motivation and Emotion volume 24, pages 237–258 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Positive emotions are hypothesized to undo the cardiovascular aftereffects of negative emotions. Study 1 tests this undoing effect. Participants (n = 170) experiencing anxiety-induced cardiovascular reactivity viewed a film that elicited (a) contentment, (b) amusement, (c) neutrality, or (d) sadness. Contentment-eliciting and amusing films produced faster cardiovascular recovery than neutral or sad films did. Participants in Study 2 (n = 185) viewed these same films following a neutral state. Results disconfirm the alternative explanation that the undoing effect reflects a simple replacement process. Findings are contextualized by Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (B. L. Fredrickson, 1998).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Women's Studies Program, and Research Center for Group Dynamics, University of Michigan, Michigan

    Barbara L. Fredrickson

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Michigan

    Roberta A. Mancuso, Christine Branigan & Michele M. Tugade

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  1. Barbara L. Fredrickson
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  2. Roberta A. Mancuso
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  4. Michele M. Tugade
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Fredrickson, B.L., Mancuso, R.A., Branigan, C. et al. The Undoing Effect of Positive Emotions. Motivation and Emotion 24, 237–258 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010796329158

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