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. 2012;7(4):e35633.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035633. Epub 2012 Apr 23.

Mixed emotional experience is associated with and precedes improvements in psychological well-being

Jonathan M Adler  1 , Hal E Hershfield
Affiliations

Mixed emotional experience is associated with and precedes improvements in psychological well-being

Jonathan M Adler et al. PLoS One. 2012.

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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