23.05.2012The power of feelings: Positive Emotions as protective factors of our health

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Margraf, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

The idea is old, but is it also up to date? The importance of positive emotions as protective factors of our health is emphasized from the Bible to the Dalai Lama. However, these statements are mostly very general and are usually not checked scientifically. At first, the talk will outline current research of positive emotions, their development and their importance for health. New epidemiological results show that the development of health and disease is caused by various mechanisms. In this process positive factors are of major importance, in particular for remission. In the second part of the talk the factors being identified until now will be described and the “Broaden and Build”-theory will be discussed as an explanation, before giving practical advice for daily life.