Picking up good vibrations: Uncovering the content of distinct positive emotion subjective experience

Inquiry into positive emotions such as awe, compassion, gratitude, and pride has increased rapidly in recent years. Yet, the distinct subjective content of each positive emotion remains unknown, leaving unclear what people feel, think, and do when they experience these states, and whether regularly studied positive emotions are experientially distinct from other positive emotions. Furthermore, there are currently no validated measurement tools with which to assess the majority of positive emotions. The present research aimed to address these limitations. In Study 1 (N = 150) participants generated over 1,000 subjective elements (i.e., thoughts, feelings, and action tendencies) characterizing 18 regularly studied positive emotions. In Studies 2-3 (N = 3,334) participants were induced to experience each of these emotions through the Relived Emotion Task, and then reported whether the previously uncovered subjective elements characterized their feelings. Using factor analyses, we examined which elements cohered together in response to each emotion and which emotions were associated with distinctive content compared with conceptually similar emotions. Results revealed distinctive subjective content associated with 15 positive emotions, as well as 4 positive emotions often treated as distinct that were not associated with distinct subjective content. Using these results, we developed reliable self-report scales for assessing each emotion and provided initial validation for these scales. These findings lay the groundwork for future empirical efforts aimed at understanding the similarities and differences among positive emotions, and for the construction of a taxonomy of subjectively experienced positive emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).