Positive affect, negative affect, and social interaction.

Abstract

Two studies explored the relations of positive and negative affect (PA and NA) to social interaction. In Study 1, unacquainted dyads were surreptitiously videotaped as they participated in a 6-min interaction. Participants then evaluated the quality of the interaction. Independent observers also rated the videotaped interactions. Trait PA was positively related to both participant and observer evaluations of interaction quality. In Study 2, undergraduates kept diaries of their social interactions for 1 week. PA was again related to interaction quality. Both PA and NA were positively related to the number of interactions in which participants engaged, and the amount of time spent engaged in social contact, although different types of social encounters produced these relations. Psychologists have long been interested in individual differ-ences in people's self-described emotional experience. Research has revealed that some people report experiencing greater amounts of positive emotions than do others and are typically referred to as high-positive-affect (or high-PA) individuals. Peo-ple who are high in positive affect are, for example, consistently more likely to describe themselves as enthusiastic, confident,

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