Mixed Emotional Experience Is Associated with and Precedes Improvements in Psychological Well-Being

2012/04/23 by Jonathan M. Adler, Hal E. Hershfield · 2 citations
Psychology · #Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction #Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions #Mental Health Research Topics #Psychological well-being #Psychology #Well-being #Clinical psychology #Psychotherapist

paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035633

openalex publication_date 2012/04/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The relationships between positive and negative emotional experience and physical and psychological well-being have been well-documented. The present study examines the prospective positive relationship between concurrent positive and negative emotional experience and psychological well-being in the context of psychotherapy. METHODS: 47 adults undergoing psychotherapy completed measures of psychological well-being and wrote private narratives that were coded by trained raters for emotional content. RESULTS: The specific concurrent experience of happiness and sadness was associated with improvements in psychological well-being above and beyond the impact of the passage of time, personality traits, or the independent effects of happiness and sadness. Changes in mixed emotional experience preceded improvements in well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Experiencing happiness alongside sadness in psychotherapy may be a harbinger of improvement in psychological well-being.

Citations

• An argument for basic emotions
• Poignancy: Mixed emotional experience in the face of meaningful endings.
• The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.
• On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being
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Cited by

• From surviving to thriving in the gig economy: A research agenda for individuals in the new world of work
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