Image: “Two populations of neurons for positive and negative emotions”; news.mit.educ
Most of the time we see ourselves as somewhere on the see-saw of positivity – either up or down, or in balance, before another jolt.
In the media this week are the results for happy, and less happy countries (from the 2024 IMF Happiness Report). You can guess where Afghanistan is since the Taliban introduced their brutal anti-women programme. Yes, at the bottom. Is it a surprise to see Scandinavian nations at the top? Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden are the top four (in order), with Israel number 5.
New Zealand has been bumped out of the top 10, by Australia. We are now 11th. Things don’t look good for our trend – since New Zealand’s young people (those under 30) are remarkably unhappy.
What’s behind these numbers? The IMF researchers found that a model explained “positive affect” and “negative affect” quite well (see more about these emotional states below). “Social support” boosted positive affect, while lack of that support bumped up negative affect. “Freedom to make life choices” and perceived “Generosity” boosted positive affect but didn’t make a lot of difference to negative affect. The reverse impacts were demonstrated for “Healthy life expectancy at birth” and “Perceptions of corruption” – which made a difference to negative affect, but not positive affect.
Neuropsychological researcher Jeffrey Gray showed that there are two systems deep in the brain. One is a “go” system – head towards that positive stuff. The other is a “stop” signal – the basis of fight, flight, or freeze. Like brake and accelerator, they generally work in synchrony, but at times it’s a matter of balancing the two. Cautious approach, or reluctant retreat. Well-being is the matrix of these two inclinations.
I have portrayed that in terms of the emotions on show in each cell of the 2 by 2 matrix of high and low Positive (“go”) and high and low Negative (“stop”) emotions.
I’m not sure that “frisson-esque” is a word – I mean that tingly feeling of excitement or fear that signals you are taking on something daring.
Smooth operation is when you’re both calm and happy – potentially you’re on-task and feeling in the flow.
Phlegmatic is an old description of an unexcited and steady approach – business as usual perhaps.
Wired is a serious emotional reaction with no positive buffering – too long in this agitated space and you risk burn-out.
These two, positive and negative, brain systems are the basis of the personality differences we see in our friends and ourselves. Positive, assertive and enthusiastic people are seen as “extraverted”. People prone to emotional reactions (think anxiety, depression or anger) we see as “nervous” and notice they are prone to withdrawal and emotional volatility.
This suggests that if we are feeling some “ill-being” we need to think – do we dial down the negativity, or accelerate our positivity?
As we saw above some social factors seem to make people feel worse (perceptions of corruption contribute to more negative affect) but have little impact on positive affect. The freedom to make life choices can lift positive affect but has little impact on negative affect.
Are there similar unique effects at the individual level? Waikato University psychologist Anna Sutton has done an illuminating meta-analysis of the relationship between “authenticity” and (positive) well-being (including 65 studies).
Depending on how you measure authenticity – the relation can be as high as 0.60. That level of relationship is a big deal in the research world – the implication is that if you increase your perception that you are acting authentically you are likely to experience more positive affect.
Here are some indicative “authenticity” items – are there any clues for you to take initiative on?
From The Authenticity Inventory (Goldman and Kernis, 2004):
· Measuring “awareness” – I am often confused about my feelings (reversed)
· “Unbiased processing” – I am very uncomfortable objectively considering my limitations and shortcomings (reversed)
· “Behavioural” – I’ve often used my silence or head-nodding to convey agreement with someone else’s statement or position even though I really disagree (reversed)
· “Relational orientation” – I want people with whom I am close to understand my strengths
How about reducing negative affect? A 2021 meta-analysis published in Nature by Joep van Agteren compared different approaches to reducing such negativity (including 419 randomized controlled trials). The standout (with the mentally ill, physically ill and the general population) was mindfulness (an effect size above .50 for the mentally ill and around .40 for the others).
At a personal level we might do well to consider working on both dimensions of our well-being. Being both happy and well. We still need to apply these approaches to the large numbers of unhappy young people.