The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.
Abstract
Negative emotions are reliably associated with poorer health (e.g., Kiecolt-Glaser, McGuire, Robles, & Glaser, 2002), but only recently has research begun to acknowledge the important role of positive emotions for our physical health (Fredrickson, 2003). We examine the link between dispositional positive affect and one potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health-proinflammatory cytokines, specifically levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). We hypothesized that greater trait positive affect would be associated with lower levels of IL-6 in a healthy sample. We found support for this hypothesis across two studies. We also explored the relationship between discrete positive emotions and IL-6 levels, finding that awe, measured in two different ways, was the strongest predictor of lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines. These effects held when controlling for relevant personality and health variables. This work suggests a potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health through proinflammatory cytokines.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“our selection of inflammatory markers included cytokines known to be sensitive in humans to negative and positive affect ( Anisman & Merali, 2003; Stellar et al., 2015)”
From Stage 2 Registered Report: Refinement of tickling protocols to improve positive animal welfare in laboratory rats (2025) · cites this paper as Stellar et al., 2015
Citations
Cites
Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 · Cited by 32,433
(1999) · Cited by 7,995
The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success?
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803 · Cited by 7,143
A Meta-Analysis of Cytokines in Major Depression
Dowlati, Y., Herrmann, N., Swardfager, W., Liu, H., Sham, L., Reim, E. K., & Lanctôt, K. L. (2010) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.09.033 · Cited by 4,729
Inflammation, stress, and diabetes
Wellen, K. E., & Hotamisligil, G. S. (2005) · Journal of Clinical Investigation · doi:10.1172/jci25102 · Cited by 4,143
Thompson, E. R. (2007) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022106297301 · Cited by 2,399
Does positive affect influence health?
Pressman, S. D., & Cohen, S. (2005) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.925 · Cited by 2,087
Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion
Keltner, D. J., & Haidt, J. (2003) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699930302297 · Cited by 2,059
Self-citationEmotions, morbidity, and mortality: new perspectives from psychoneuroimmunology.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., McGuire, L., Robles, T. F., & Glaser, R. (2002) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135217 · Cited by 1,176
Maier, S. F., & Watkins, L. R. (1998) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.105.1.83 · Cited by 1,130
The Value of Positive Emotions
Fredrickson, B. (2003) · American Scientist · doi:10.1511/2003.4.330 · Cited by 1,006
Inflammatory Markers and Onset of Cardiovascular Events: Results From the Health ABC Study
Cesari, M., Penninx, B. W. J. H., Newman, A. B., Kritchevsky, S. B., Nicklas, B. J., Sutton-Tyrrell, K., Rubin, S. M., Ding, J., Simonsick, E. M., Harris, T. B., et al. (2003) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/01.cir.0000097109.90783.fc · Cited by 978
Shiota, M. N., Keltner, D. J., & John, O. P. (2006) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760500510833 · Cited by 918
Self-citationStress, Positive Emotion, and Coping
Folkman, S., & Moskowitz, J. T. (2000) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00073 · Cited by 643
Close relationships, inflammation, and health
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Gouin, J.-P., & Hantsoo, L. (2010) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.09.003 · Cited by 480
Neural sensitivity to social rejection is associated with inflammatory responses to social stress
Slavich, G. M., Way, B. M., Eisenberger, N. I., & Taylor, S. E. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1009164107 · Cited by 418
O’Donovan, A., Hughes, B. M., Slavich, G. M., Lynch, L., Cronin, M.-T., O’Farrelly, C., & Malone, K. M. (2010) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2010.03.003 · Cited by 296 · cited 1×
“Clinical depression and anxiety are associated with higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines (Dowlati et al., 2010; O’Donovan et al., 2010), as is greater self-reported trait negative affect (Denollet, Vrints, & Conraads, 2008).”
BackgroundSteptoe, A., O’Donnell, K., Badrick, E., Meena Kumari, B., & Marmot, M. G. (2007) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwm252 · Cited by 257
Immunological effects of induced shame and guilt
Dickerson, S. S., Kemeny, M. E., Aziz, N., Kim, K. H., & Fahey, J. L. (2004) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000097338.75454.29 · Cited by 245
Khaodhiar, L., Ling, P., Blackburn, G. L., & Bistrian, B. R. (2004) · Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · doi:10.1177/0148607104028006410 · Cited by 243
Anger and fear responses to stress have different biological profiles
Moons, W. G., Eisenberger, N. I., & Taylor, S. E. (2010) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2009.08.009 · Cited by 211
Dispositional optimism and stress-induced changes in immunity and negative mood
Brydon, L., Walker, C., Wawrzyniak, A. J., Chart, H., & Steptoe, A. (2009) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2009.02.018 · Cited by 165
Sjögren, E., Leanderson, P., Kristenson, M., & Ernerudh, J. (2006) · Brain, behavior, and immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2005.08.001 · Cited by 137
Current understanding of the bi-directional relationship of major depression with inflammation
Messay, B., Lim, A., & Marsland, A. L. (2012) · Biology of Mood & Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1186/2045-5380-2-4 · Cited by 83
Janicki‐Deverts, D., Cohen, S., Doyle, W. J., Turner, R. B., & Treanor, J. J. (2006) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2006.09.002 · Cited by 66
Denollet, J., Vrints, C. J., & Conraads, V. M. (2008) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2007.10.015 · Cited by 58
Modification of cytokine secretion following mild emotional stimuli
Mittwoch, T., Shalit, F., Srendi, B., & Yehuda, S. (1995) · Neuroreport · doi:10.1097/00001756-199503270-00021 · Cited by 55
John‐Henderson, N. A., Rheinschmidt, M. L., Mendoza‐Denton, R., & Francis, D. D. (2013) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550613494226 · Cited by 45
Self-citationDanesh, H. B. (1977) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.134.10.1109 · Cited by 41
The social environment and IL-6 in rats and humans
Saxton, K. B., John‐Henderson, N. A., Reid, M., & Francis, D. D. (2011) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2011.05.010 · Cited by 39
Self-citation
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Handbook of Religion and Health
Koenig, H. G., VanderWeele, T. J., & Peteet, J. R. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190088859.001.0001 · Cited by 1,159
Kuo, M. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01093 · Cited by 798
Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A. M., Piff, P. K., Cordaro, D., Anderson, C. L., Bai, Y., Maruskin, L. A., & Keltner, D. (2017) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073916684557 · Cited by 696
Self-citationIf, Why, and When Subjective Well‐Being Influences Health, and Future Needed Research
Diener, E., Pressman, S. D., Hunter, J. F., & Delgadillo‐Chase, D. (2017) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.12090 · Cited by 816
Steptoe, A. (2019) · Annual Review of Public Health · doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-044150 · Cited by 474
Metadata
- Authors
- Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. M., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Venue
- Emotion
- Published
- 2015
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 129-133
- ISSN
- 1528-3542 (ISSN-L)
- 1931-1516
- OpenAlex
- W2125381870
- Cited by
- 307
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 5
- FWCI
- 37.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Emotion (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- John Templeton Foundation (95524 and 88210)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- positive affect, positive emotions, interleukin-6, inflammatory cytokines, inflammation, awe, emotions and health, trait positive affect
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Affect, Emotions, Female, Health Status, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Personality, Predictive Value of Tests, Biomarkers, Interleukin-6, Cytokines, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
