Humans are inherently emotional beings. People are experiencing multiple various emotions every day. Throughout human history, many writers and poets attempted to describe them, even creating new words, meanings, and notions at times. However, for the emotion tracking experiment, I focused on six widely recognized basic emotions, including sadness, fear, disgust, anger, surprise, and happiness. Narrowing down the number of emotions is done not only for improved simplicity in tracking but for a greater potential for analysis. Considering the results of the experiment, the conclusions are consistent with the current research on the psychology of emotions and the general scientific recommendations for better emotional management.
Experiment’s Results
Tracking my emotion over the span of four days revealed some unexpected findings. Going into the experiment, I predicted to have conventionally more positive rather than negative records. However, looking at Table 1, it is clear that the ratio of negative emotional states to positive ones is 5/3, meaning that I had more negative emotional experiences. Another significant finding from the records is that negative emotions are less intense on average, compared to positive ones with the happiness on Day 3 being the most intense with a score of 4, according to Table 1. The second most intense emotion, however, is anger, usually conventionally typed as negative, which happened on Day 1 with the intensity of 3 out 4, as per Table 1. Overall, the experiment provided an interesting insight into my feelings.
Table 1: Records of emotional states through four days using six basic emotion metrics and 0-4 intensity rankings
Analysis of the Results
The results seemed surprising because I perceived my mood as mostly positive in the recent weeks, compared to the prior months. Having the pressure of keeping up with school work and personal issues during the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on my mental health and well-being. However, the recent weeks with some pandemic restrictions lifted and my work on reflection on my mental issues improved my condition significantly. Therefore, also considering a long-awaited reunion with my friend, I expected more positively skewed records. However, analyzing the data more, it becomes apparent that negative emotions are more fleeting and caused by relatively small irritations. Meanwhile, more intense positive emotions are linked with the deeper feelings of personal connection to a friend. Moreover, it can be assumed that the intensity also relates to the perceived depth of emotions. Thus, the assumption that I am happier than the numbers show can be made, meaning that my predictions are not wrong, but misguided.
Positive Thinking for more Positive Emotions
One possible explanation for my overall feeling of happiness is that the major surge of the positive emotions influenced my perception of my mental state and improved it. Millstein et al. (2020) through a study found that positive constructs and thinking focused on positive emotions encourage people to engage in physical activity. Exercising, in turn, leads to a reduction in anxiety symptoms and the generation of even more positive emotions, according to Millstein et al. (2020). Therefore, it is one of the pathways, through which positive emotions lead to more tangible benefits and overall happier life.
Negative and Positive Components
Another important factor to consider in the analysis is that there seems to be a growing consensus on the theory that all six basic emotions can be negative and positive. An et al. (2017) conducted a study to “assess each emotion at the cognitive and affective levels cross-culturally” (p. 140) and concluded that every basic emotion across Western and Eastern countries has both negative and positive elements with slight differences. For example, Easterners tend to see anger and sadness in a more positive light, compared to Westerners, who, on the other hand, experience happiness more intensely, according to An et al. (2017). This also can explain further how I feel happier overall, despite having conventionally more negative emotional states on the record in Table 1. In other words, I tend to view conventionally negative emotions more positively. This finding also has the potential for cultivating a more positive outlook on life.
Conclusion
The most interesting discovery is that this experiment is the possible source of mindfulness, healthy processing of feelings, and the cultivation of positive emotions. According to Smith et al. (2018), people with mental and physical health issues benefit from journaling, in particular, positive emotional writing. Smith et al. (2018) writes, “Participants in the positive emotional writing condition showed significantly greater reductions in (1) state anxiety and (2) both trait anxiety and perceived stress over the 4-week follow-up period, compared to the control group.” This corresponds to the findings in my case that framing and analyzing the emotions with the consideration of both inherent negativity and positivity and focusing on the positive feelings and events leads to better mental state outcomes.
References
An, S., Ji, L.-J., Marks, M., & Zhang, Z. (2017). Two Sides of Emotion: Exploring Positivity and Negativity in Six Basic Emotions across Cultures. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(610), p. 140-144.
Millstein, R. A., Huffman, J. C., Thorndike, A. N., Freedman, M., Scheu, C., Kim, S., Amonoo, H. L., Barclay, M., & Park, E. R. (2020). How Do Positive Psychological Constructs Affect Physical Activity Engagement Among Individuals at High Risk for Chronic Health Conditions? A Qualitative Study. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 17(10), 977–986.
Smith, M. A., Thompson, A., Hall, L. J., Allen, S. F., & Wetherell, M. A. (2018). The physical and psychological health benefits of positive emotional writing: Investigating the moderating role of Type D (distressed) personality. British Journal of Health Psychology, 23(4), 857–871.