Looking at life through rose-colored glasses

Subtitle
Dispositional positive affect is related to the intensity of aesthetic experiences
Publication date
2022-05-01
Document type
Forschungsartikel
Author
Weigand, Rosalie
Organisational unit
DOI
URI
ISSN
Series or journal
The Journal of Positive Psychology
Periodical volume
18
Periodical issue
4
First page
517
Last page
530
Is referenced by
Peer-reviewed
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Part of the university bibliography
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Keyword
Positive affect
Dispositional affect
Aesthetic experience
Savoring
Aesthetic emotions
Beauty
Abstract
Individuals with a tendency to experience more positive affect have been shown to preferentially attend to positive stimuli. Anecdotal evidence even holds that individuals perceive more beauty when positive affect prevails. In two studies, we investigated the role of dispositional affect in predicting the frequency and intensity of aesthetic experiences. In Study 1, we examined experience sampling method (ESM) data on 99 students’ aesthetic experiences. In Study 2, we used an intensive ESM investigation over the course of two weeks to collect data on aesthetic emotions (N = 97), and then associated the ESM data with dispositional affect questionnaires. The results of both studies showed a positive association between dispositional positive affect and the intensity of aesthetic experiences. However, dispositional affect and the frequency of aesthetic experiences were found to be unrelated. These findings suggest that dispositional affect does not predict how much beauty we see, but rather how much we enjoy it.
Version
Published version
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