The influence of positive affect on the unusualness of word associations.
Abstract
A pilot study and two experiments investigated the influence of positive affect, induced in three differing ways, on the uniqueness of word associations. Persons in the positive-affect conditions gave more unusual first-associates to neutral words, according to the Palermo & Jenkins (1964) norms, than did subjects in the control conditions. In Study 3, where word type (positive, neutral, negative) was a second factor along with affect, in a between-subjects design, associates to positive words were also more unusual and diverse than were those to other words. These results were related to those of studies suggesting that positive affect may facilitate creative problem solving and to other work suggesting an impact of positive feelings on cognitive organization.
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Moderately positive emotions enhance cognitive flexibility and intuitive reasoning.
“For instance, moderately positive emotions have been shown to enhance cognitive flexibility and intuitive reasoning.”
From The Groupfeel syndrome: a theory of a counterproductive group emotion (2026) · cites this paper as Isen et al., 1985
Individuals in a positive mood generate more creative associations between words.
“Individuals in a positive mood generate more creative associations between words (Isen et al., 1985)”
From The Groupfeel syndrome: a theory of a counterproductive group emotion (2026) · cites this paper as Isen et al., 1985
People experiencing positive emotions show broadened, flexible, creative, integrative, open, and efficient patterns of thought.
“people experiencing positive emotions show patterns of thought that are significantly broadened and diverse (Isen, Johnson, Mertz, & Robinson, 1985), flexible (Isen & Daubman, 1984), creative (Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987), integrative (Isen, Rosenzweig, & Young, 1991), open to information (Estrada, Isen, & Young, 1997), and efficient (Isen & Means, 1983;Isen et al., 1991).”
From The Undoing Effect of Positive Emotions (2000) · cites this paper as Isen et al., 1985
On the RAT, people are more likely to solve unusual word associations when in a positive, compared with negative or neutral, mood.
“For example, on the remote associates task (RAT; ref. 20), a test of creative problem solving, people are more likely to solve unusual word associations when they are in a positive, compared with negative or neutral, mood (16, 18, 19, 21).”
From Positive affect increases the breadth of attentional selection (2007) · cites this paper as [19]
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- Authors
- Isen, A. M., Johnson, M. M. S., Mertz, E., & Robinson, G. F.
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1985-06
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1413-1426
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W2082335079
- Cited by
- 808
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 45 · 2014: 54 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 43
- FWCI
- 9.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (37452)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Keywords
- positive affect, word association, affect induction, word types, creative problem solving, cognitive organization
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Cognition, Creativity, Humans, Semantics, Set, Psychology, Word Association Tests
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