#positiveemotion — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #positiveemotion, aggregated by home.social.
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DATE: August 6, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Cognitive abilities predict how well people manage their emotional responses
A recent study reveals that accumulated life knowledge helps adults manage their emotions across a variety of situations, while the ability to process new information quickly is primarily helpful for reducing negative feelings. Older adults exhibited more difficulty dampening negative emotions like disgust and sadness compared to younger adults, but they maintained the ability to boost positive emotions. The research was published in the journal Emotion.
As people age, their cognitive abilities undergo distinct changes. Some mental skills decline, while others remain stable or even improve. Researchers divide these mental abilities into two broad categories known as fluid cognition and crystallized cognition.
Fluid cognition refers to the brain’s ability to access, process, and manipulate information in real time. It encompasses processing speed, working memory, and the capacity to shift attention quickly. This type of mental agility tends to peak in early adulthood and slowly declines as people get older.
Crystallized cognition represents the knowledge and skills a person acquires over a lifetime. It includes vocabulary, reading comprehension, and an understanding of social situations. Unlike fluid cognition, crystallized cognition generally remains stable or continues to grow well into older adulthood.
Psychologists have sought to understand how these shifting cognitive resources affect emotion regulation. Emotion regulation is the process by which individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express these feelings. Successfully managing emotions is tied to overall psychological health and life satisfaction.
The research team, led by psychologist Claire M. Growney of Stanford University, alongside David A. Balota and Tammy English of Washington University in St. Louis, investigated how aging and cognitive abilities relate to emotion regulation. They wanted to see if older adults rely on their acquired knowledge to regulate emotions or if declines in fluid cognition make certain emotional situations harder to manage.
Prior research often focused on how people reduce negative feelings. This study expanded that focus to include how people amplify or maintain positive feelings. The researchers aimed to identify the conditions under which age-related advantages or vulnerabilities in emotional management emerge.
To explore these questions, the research team recruited 286 adults ranging in age from 25 to 85. The participants lived in the St. Louis, Missouri, area and represented a diverse cross-section of socioeconomic backgrounds. None of the participants exhibited signs of cognitive impairment or dementia.
The participants first completed a standard battery of tests to assess their cognitive abilities. They engaged in tasks that measured their processing speed, cognitive flexibility, and memory to establish a fluid cognition score. They also completed reading and vocabulary tests to establish a crystallized cognition score.
Next, the participants took part in a laboratory emotion regulation task. They sat alone at a computer while a camera recorded their facial expressions. They watched a series of short film clips validated by previous research to elicit specific emotional responses.
During the first phase of the task, participants watched clips meant to induce disgust, sadness, amusement, and contentment. They were instructed to react naturally and not try to change how they felt. This phase established a baseline for how strongly each person normally reacted to the emotional content.
In the second phase, participants watched a new set of clips eliciting the same four emotions. This time, they received explicit instructions to regulate their feelings. For the sadness and disgust videos, they were told to use any strategy they wanted to make themselves feel less negative.
For the amusement and contentment videos, the instructions shifted. Participants were asked to manage their emotions so that they felt more positive, keeping the good feelings going. After each video, the participants rated the intensity of the specific emotion they experienced on a numerical scale.
In addition to self-reported emotional experience, the researchers used artificial intelligence software to analyze the participants’ facial expressions. The automated program scanned the video recordings and scored the presence and intensity of specific emotions on participants’ faces. This provided a secondary, behavioral measure of how successfully the participants regulated their emotions.
The results revealed distinct patterns in how cognitive abilities relate to emotional management. Participants who scored higher on the crystallized cognition tests were more successful at regulating their emotions across the board. This advantage appeared regardless of whether they were trying to reduce negative emotions or enhance positive ones.
The benefits of crystallized cognition were visible in both the participants’ self-reported feelings and their computer-analyzed facial expressions. The researchers suggest that a vast repository of life experience and vocabulary gives people a wider range of strategies to manage their feelings. People with high crystallized cognition might be better at labeling their emotions and selecting the right mental tool for a given situation.
Fluid cognition, on the other hand, was only associated with success in specific scenarios. Participants with higher fluid cognitive abilities were better at reducing their negative emotional experiences when watching the disgust and sadness clips. This type of fast, flexible thinking was not associated with the ability to boost positive emotions like amusement and contentment.
Dampening negative emotions might require more mental effort than enjoying positive ones. Decreasing sadness or disgust often requires a person to quickly shift their attention away from distressing information or rapidly reframe the meaning of a situation. These mental maneuvers rely heavily on the working memory and processing speed captured by fluid cognition tests.
The study also uncovered nuanced associations between age and emotion regulation. Older age was associated with less success in decreasing the experience of sadness and disgust. This pattern was consistent for both internal feelings and outward facial expressions.
The researchers note that negative, high-arousal emotions like disgust might pose specific physiological challenges for older adults. Alternatively, older adults might find it harder to detach from social loss themes present in sad videos due to shifting emotional priorities. As people age, they often become more prosocial and empathetic, which might make it harder to turn off feelings of sadness when witnessing others in distress.
Despite these difficulties with negative content, older adults were just as successful as younger adults at maintaining or amplifying positive emotions. Enhancing positive feelings often involves savoring a moment or elaborating on pleasant thoughts. This approach aligns well with the motivational goals of older adults, who tend to prioritize emotional well-being and positive experiences.
The researchers also tested whether possessing high cognitive abilities could offset the age-related difficulties in managing negative emotions. The statistical analysis showed no interaction between age and cognitive test performance. The benefits of crystallized cognition and the challenges associated with older age operated independently of each other.
While the study provides a detailed look at emotion regulation, the research has limitations. The study was cross-sectional, meaning it measured different people of different ages at a single point in time. This design prevents researchers from tracking how an individual’s emotion regulation skills might change as they grow older.
The laboratory setting also presents specific constraints. Participants were required to watch intensely emotional film clips, which might not reflect the emotional situations they encounter in daily life. In the real world, people often regulate their emotions by choosing which situations to enter or avoid entirely, an option not available during the computer task.
The use of artificial intelligence to code facial expressions is another factor to consider. Automated coding offers an objective measure of facial movements, but outward expressions do not always perfectly align with internal feelings. Some individuals might naturally express less emotion on their faces, especially when sitting alone in a room without an audience.
Future studies might explore a wider variety of emotions, such as fear or joy, to see if the patterns hold true. Researchers are also interested in examining how people select specific emotional strategies in their daily lives compared to what they do in a controlled laboratory environment. Understanding how life experience contributes to everyday emotional wellness remains an active area of psychological research.
The study, “Fluid and Crystallized Cognitive Abilities Differentially Predict Successful Regulation of Positive versus Negative Emotion,” was authored by Claire M. Growney, David A. Balota, and Tammy English.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #CognitiveAging #CrystallizedCognition #FluidCognition #EmotionRegulation #PositiveEmotion #NegativeEmotion #AgingAndEmotion #StanfordResearch #PsychologyStudy #CognitiveAbilities
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DATE: August 6, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Cognitive abilities predict how well people manage their emotional responses
A recent study reveals that accumulated life knowledge helps adults manage their emotions across a variety of situations, while the ability to process new information quickly is primarily helpful for reducing negative feelings. Older adults exhibited more difficulty dampening negative emotions like disgust and sadness compared to younger adults, but they maintained the ability to boost positive emotions. The research was published in the journal Emotion.
As people age, their cognitive abilities undergo distinct changes. Some mental skills decline, while others remain stable or even improve. Researchers divide these mental abilities into two broad categories known as fluid cognition and crystallized cognition.
Fluid cognition refers to the brain’s ability to access, process, and manipulate information in real time. It encompasses processing speed, working memory, and the capacity to shift attention quickly. This type of mental agility tends to peak in early adulthood and slowly declines as people get older.
Crystallized cognition represents the knowledge and skills a person acquires over a lifetime. It includes vocabulary, reading comprehension, and an understanding of social situations. Unlike fluid cognition, crystallized cognition generally remains stable or continues to grow well into older adulthood.
Psychologists have sought to understand how these shifting cognitive resources affect emotion regulation. Emotion regulation is the process by which individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express these feelings. Successfully managing emotions is tied to overall psychological health and life satisfaction.
The research team, led by psychologist Claire M. Growney of Stanford University, alongside David A. Balota and Tammy English of Washington University in St. Louis, investigated how aging and cognitive abilities relate to emotion regulation. They wanted to see if older adults rely on their acquired knowledge to regulate emotions or if declines in fluid cognition make certain emotional situations harder to manage.
Prior research often focused on how people reduce negative feelings. This study expanded that focus to include how people amplify or maintain positive feelings. The researchers aimed to identify the conditions under which age-related advantages or vulnerabilities in emotional management emerge.
To explore these questions, the research team recruited 286 adults ranging in age from 25 to 85. The participants lived in the St. Louis, Missouri, area and represented a diverse cross-section of socioeconomic backgrounds. None of the participants exhibited signs of cognitive impairment or dementia.
The participants first completed a standard battery of tests to assess their cognitive abilities. They engaged in tasks that measured their processing speed, cognitive flexibility, and memory to establish a fluid cognition score. They also completed reading and vocabulary tests to establish a crystallized cognition score.
Next, the participants took part in a laboratory emotion regulation task. They sat alone at a computer while a camera recorded their facial expressions. They watched a series of short film clips validated by previous research to elicit specific emotional responses.
During the first phase of the task, participants watched clips meant to induce disgust, sadness, amusement, and contentment. They were instructed to react naturally and not try to change how they felt. This phase established a baseline for how strongly each person normally reacted to the emotional content.
In the second phase, participants watched a new set of clips eliciting the same four emotions. This time, they received explicit instructions to regulate their feelings. For the sadness and disgust videos, they were told to use any strategy they wanted to make themselves feel less negative.
For the amusement and contentment videos, the instructions shifted. Participants were asked to manage their emotions so that they felt more positive, keeping the good feelings going. After each video, the participants rated the intensity of the specific emotion they experienced on a numerical scale.
In addition to self-reported emotional experience, the researchers used artificial intelligence software to analyze the participants’ facial expressions. The automated program scanned the video recordings and scored the presence and intensity of specific emotions on participants’ faces. This provided a secondary, behavioral measure of how successfully the participants regulated their emotions.
The results revealed distinct patterns in how cognitive abilities relate to emotional management. Participants who scored higher on the crystallized cognition tests were more successful at regulating their emotions across the board. This advantage appeared regardless of whether they were trying to reduce negative emotions or enhance positive ones.
The benefits of crystallized cognition were visible in both the participants’ self-reported feelings and their computer-analyzed facial expressions. The researchers suggest that a vast repository of life experience and vocabulary gives people a wider range of strategies to manage their feelings. People with high crystallized cognition might be better at labeling their emotions and selecting the right mental tool for a given situation.
Fluid cognition, on the other hand, was only associated with success in specific scenarios. Participants with higher fluid cognitive abilities were better at reducing their negative emotional experiences when watching the disgust and sadness clips. This type of fast, flexible thinking was not associated with the ability to boost positive emotions like amusement and contentment.
Dampening negative emotions might require more mental effort than enjoying positive ones. Decreasing sadness or disgust often requires a person to quickly shift their attention away from distressing information or rapidly reframe the meaning of a situation. These mental maneuvers rely heavily on the working memory and processing speed captured by fluid cognition tests.
The study also uncovered nuanced associations between age and emotion regulation. Older age was associated with less success in decreasing the experience of sadness and disgust. This pattern was consistent for both internal feelings and outward facial expressions.
The researchers note that negative, high-arousal emotions like disgust might pose specific physiological challenges for older adults. Alternatively, older adults might find it harder to detach from social loss themes present in sad videos due to shifting emotional priorities. As people age, they often become more prosocial and empathetic, which might make it harder to turn off feelings of sadness when witnessing others in distress.
Despite these difficulties with negative content, older adults were just as successful as younger adults at maintaining or amplifying positive emotions. Enhancing positive feelings often involves savoring a moment or elaborating on pleasant thoughts. This approach aligns well with the motivational goals of older adults, who tend to prioritize emotional well-being and positive experiences.
The researchers also tested whether possessing high cognitive abilities could offset the age-related difficulties in managing negative emotions. The statistical analysis showed no interaction between age and cognitive test performance. The benefits of crystallized cognition and the challenges associated with older age operated independently of each other.
While the study provides a detailed look at emotion regulation, the research has limitations. The study was cross-sectional, meaning it measured different people of different ages at a single point in time. This design prevents researchers from tracking how an individual’s emotion regulation skills might change as they grow older.
The laboratory setting also presents specific constraints. Participants were required to watch intensely emotional film clips, which might not reflect the emotional situations they encounter in daily life. In the real world, people often regulate their emotions by choosing which situations to enter or avoid entirely, an option not available during the computer task.
The use of artificial intelligence to code facial expressions is another factor to consider. Automated coding offers an objective measure of facial movements, but outward expressions do not always perfectly align with internal feelings. Some individuals might naturally express less emotion on their faces, especially when sitting alone in a room without an audience.
Future studies might explore a wider variety of emotions, such as fear or joy, to see if the patterns hold true. Researchers are also interested in examining how people select specific emotional strategies in their daily lives compared to what they do in a controlled laboratory environment. Understanding how life experience contributes to everyday emotional wellness remains an active area of psychological research.
The study, “Fluid and Crystallized Cognitive Abilities Differentially Predict Successful Regulation of Positive versus Negative Emotion,” was authored by Claire M. Growney, David A. Balota, and Tammy English.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #CognitiveAging #CrystallizedCognition #FluidCognition #EmotionRegulation #PositiveEmotion #NegativeEmotion #AgingAndEmotion #StanfordResearch #PsychologyStudy #CognitiveAbilities
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DATE: July 15, 2026 at 11:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Linking bipolar disorder vulnerability to cannabis habits in college
Many young adults use cannabis, but its relationship with mood disorders characterized by intense positive emotions has remained poorly understood. A recent study of college students found that a higher risk for bipolar spectrum disorders is tied to more cannabis-related disruptions in daily life, while experiencing higher levels of natural positive emotions is associated with less frequent cannabis use. These results were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Bipolar spectrum disorders are mental health conditions defined by intense vacillations in mood. People with these disorders experience periods of mania or hypomania, which are states characterized by abnormally elevated mood, increased energy, and a higher propensity for risk-taking. They also typically experience periods of depression, marked by deep sadness and a loss of interest in regular activities.
While happiness is generally considered a purely positive state of mind, people with bipolar tendencies sometimes have difficulty managing how they experience good feelings. They might experience positive emotions with an overwhelming intensity. They might also show a heightened excitement when anticipating rewards, or place an unusually high value on the pursuit of happiness itself.
Cannabis is the most widely consumed illicit drug in the world, and its use has grown rapidly over the past decade. Cannabis contains psychoactive compounds, most notably THC, that directly affect human mood and cognition. Because the drug interacts with the brain’s reward centers, mental health experts are increasingly interested in how its widespread use shapes psychological functioning.
Research frequently links cannabis use to mood issues centered around negative emotions, such as severe depression and chronic anxiety. Past investigations tend to focus heavily on these negative emotional outcomes. Very little research has examined how cannabis use connects to psychiatric conditions defined by intense disruptions in positive emotional systems.
Luiza Rosa and June Gruber, psychology researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, designed an investigation to explore this blind spot. They led a multi-community team of researchers to understand how a vulnerability to bipolar spectrum disorders might relate to different patterns of cannabis use. They also wanted to look at specific ways that emerging adults process positive emotions, exploring whether these psychological mechanisms alter how young people consume cannabis.
Investigating this age group is a logical step for mental health researchers. Emerging adulthood, which stretches from late adolescence to the mid-twenties, is a unique developmental period. Young adults in this phase typically experience higher emotional reactivity and an increased appetite for physical and social risks.
During this developmental window, individuals also gain greater personal autonomy and easier access to substances like cannabis. This makes the late teen and early adult years a peak period for the onset of both substance use issues and mood disorders.
To conduct the investigation, the researchers recruited 968 college students from nine different universities across North America. To be included in the analysis, all participants had to report having consumed cannabis at least once in their lives. The research team focused their attention entirely on individuals with some level of prior exposure to the drug.
Through a series of online questionnaires, the team asked the university students about their specific cannabis habits. The questions focused on how many days they used the drug over the past three months. The surveys also asked whether this consumption interfered with their school, work, or home life, and how difficult the students thought it would be to completely stop using it.
In addition to gathering data on substance use, the researchers administered clinical screening tools. These measures evaluated each student’s underlying risk for bipolar spectrum disorders, assessing personality traits connected to hypomania. The surveys also measured any current, active symptoms of mania and depression the students were experiencing at the time of the mental health screening.
To capture a detailed picture of the students’ emotional lives, the questionnaires measured three distinct psychological traits related to how people feel good. The first trait was positive emotion experience, which tracks how frequently and intensely a person felt positive states like joy or amusement over the past week.
The second psychological trait analyzed was reward responsiveness. This measures consecutive excitement, tracking the biological and psychological rush people feel when they obtain something they want. Examples include achieving a goal, getting a compliment, or acquiring a physical item they desire.
The third trait was positive emotion valuation. This represents a more abstract cognitive tendency where a person constantly monitors their own happiness. People who score high in this area place an immense priority on feeling cheerful, often believing that there is something inherently wrong with them if they do not feel happy at all times.
When compiling and analyzing the survey responses, Rosa and Gruber’s team found that a higher risk for bipolar spectrum disorders was linked to greater cannabis-related interference in daily life. This means that students harboring more bipolar-like traits reported more disruptions in their personal and professional responsibilities directly due to their cannabis use.
These same students did not report using cannabis more frequently than their peers. They also did not report having a harder time stopping their use of the drug. The statistical connection appeared specifically in how much the substance impaired their daily functioning.
When researchers adjusted their mathematical models to account for current, active mood symptoms, the direct association between bipolar risk traits and daily life interference faded. Looking closely at the updated data, current symptoms of depression were tied to higher levels of cannabis interference. However, this specific link was partially explained by co-occurring alcohol use, suggesting that drinking habits also play a large role in how mood symptoms disrupt a person’s life.
The team also found robust relationships between cannabis habits and the ways people process positive emotions naturally. Students who reported higher levels of recent positive emotion experience tended to use cannabis less often. They also experienced fewer disruptions to their lives and reported less difficulty stopping their use entirely.
In this context, naturally experiencing high levels of positive emotion served as a protective factor against severe cannabis habits. Placing an exceptionally high value on happiness produced a very different outcome. Students who scored higher on positive emotion valuation tended to use cannabis more frequently, and they also reported that it would be harder for them to stop using the drug.
The surveys revealed that students who were highly concerned with achieving happiness might use cannabis as a tool to artificially regulate their mood. These individuals might rely heavily on the drug to achieve a specific positive emotional state. This dynamic makes it harder for them to consider giving up the substance despite its potential side effects on memory or motivation.
The research team noted a few limitations to their work. Because the investigation relied on a cross-sectional survey, which only takes a snapshot of a single moment in time, the results cannot establish a chain of cause and effect. It is not known whether initial cannabis use exacerbates bipolar mood symptoms, or if pre-existing mood patterns prompt people to use cannabis in specific, problematic ways.
The students in this sample also reported relatively low levels of cannabis use overall. Most participants used the substance less than once a month. The researchers noted that gathering data from a population with much heavier, habitual usage patterns might yield different scientific insights.
Moving forward, behavioral scientists hope to track young adults over longer periods. Following individuals consistently throughout their entire college experience could help reveal how escalating cannabis use interacts with shifting emotional traits and mood symptoms as young people enter adulthood.
The study, “The highs and lows: Cannabis use and positive valence bipolar mood and emotion processes in emerging adults,” was authored by Luiza Rosa, Gerald Young, Stevi G. Ibonie, Joelle LeMoult, Iris B. Mauss, Lauren B. Alloy, Jessica L. Borelli, Sarah R. Holley, Ellen Jopling, Daniel P. Moriarity, Robin Nusslock, Gregory Strauss, Cynthia M. Villanueva, Lauren M. Weinstock, L. Cinnamon Bidwell, and June Gruber.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #BipolarSpectrum #CannabisUse #CollegeHealth #PositiveEmotion #RewardSensitivity #MoodDisorders #EmergingAdulthood #MentalHealthResearch #CannabisAndMood #UniversityStudy
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DATE: July 15, 2026 at 11:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Linking bipolar disorder vulnerability to cannabis habits in college
Many young adults use cannabis, but its relationship with mood disorders characterized by intense positive emotions has remained poorly understood. A recent study of college students found that a higher risk for bipolar spectrum disorders is tied to more cannabis-related disruptions in daily life, while experiencing higher levels of natural positive emotions is associated with less frequent cannabis use. These results were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Bipolar spectrum disorders are mental health conditions defined by intense vacillations in mood. People with these disorders experience periods of mania or hypomania, which are states characterized by abnormally elevated mood, increased energy, and a higher propensity for risk-taking. They also typically experience periods of depression, marked by deep sadness and a loss of interest in regular activities.
While happiness is generally considered a purely positive state of mind, people with bipolar tendencies sometimes have difficulty managing how they experience good feelings. They might experience positive emotions with an overwhelming intensity. They might also show a heightened excitement when anticipating rewards, or place an unusually high value on the pursuit of happiness itself.
Cannabis is the most widely consumed illicit drug in the world, and its use has grown rapidly over the past decade. Cannabis contains psychoactive compounds, most notably THC, that directly affect human mood and cognition. Because the drug interacts with the brain’s reward centers, mental health experts are increasingly interested in how its widespread use shapes psychological functioning.
Research frequently links cannabis use to mood issues centered around negative emotions, such as severe depression and chronic anxiety. Past investigations tend to focus heavily on these negative emotional outcomes. Very little research has examined how cannabis use connects to psychiatric conditions defined by intense disruptions in positive emotional systems.
Luiza Rosa and June Gruber, psychology researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, designed an investigation to explore this blind spot. They led a multi-community team of researchers to understand how a vulnerability to bipolar spectrum disorders might relate to different patterns of cannabis use. They also wanted to look at specific ways that emerging adults process positive emotions, exploring whether these psychological mechanisms alter how young people consume cannabis.
Investigating this age group is a logical step for mental health researchers. Emerging adulthood, which stretches from late adolescence to the mid-twenties, is a unique developmental period. Young adults in this phase typically experience higher emotional reactivity and an increased appetite for physical and social risks.
During this developmental window, individuals also gain greater personal autonomy and easier access to substances like cannabis. This makes the late teen and early adult years a peak period for the onset of both substance use issues and mood disorders.
To conduct the investigation, the researchers recruited 968 college students from nine different universities across North America. To be included in the analysis, all participants had to report having consumed cannabis at least once in their lives. The research team focused their attention entirely on individuals with some level of prior exposure to the drug.
Through a series of online questionnaires, the team asked the university students about their specific cannabis habits. The questions focused on how many days they used the drug over the past three months. The surveys also asked whether this consumption interfered with their school, work, or home life, and how difficult the students thought it would be to completely stop using it.
In addition to gathering data on substance use, the researchers administered clinical screening tools. These measures evaluated each student’s underlying risk for bipolar spectrum disorders, assessing personality traits connected to hypomania. The surveys also measured any current, active symptoms of mania and depression the students were experiencing at the time of the mental health screening.
To capture a detailed picture of the students’ emotional lives, the questionnaires measured three distinct psychological traits related to how people feel good. The first trait was positive emotion experience, which tracks how frequently and intensely a person felt positive states like joy or amusement over the past week.
The second psychological trait analyzed was reward responsiveness. This measures consecutive excitement, tracking the biological and psychological rush people feel when they obtain something they want. Examples include achieving a goal, getting a compliment, or acquiring a physical item they desire.
The third trait was positive emotion valuation. This represents a more abstract cognitive tendency where a person constantly monitors their own happiness. People who score high in this area place an immense priority on feeling cheerful, often believing that there is something inherently wrong with them if they do not feel happy at all times.
When compiling and analyzing the survey responses, Rosa and Gruber’s team found that a higher risk for bipolar spectrum disorders was linked to greater cannabis-related interference in daily life. This means that students harboring more bipolar-like traits reported more disruptions in their personal and professional responsibilities directly due to their cannabis use.
These same students did not report using cannabis more frequently than their peers. They also did not report having a harder time stopping their use of the drug. The statistical connection appeared specifically in how much the substance impaired their daily functioning.
When researchers adjusted their mathematical models to account for current, active mood symptoms, the direct association between bipolar risk traits and daily life interference faded. Looking closely at the updated data, current symptoms of depression were tied to higher levels of cannabis interference. However, this specific link was partially explained by co-occurring alcohol use, suggesting that drinking habits also play a large role in how mood symptoms disrupt a person’s life.
The team also found robust relationships between cannabis habits and the ways people process positive emotions naturally. Students who reported higher levels of recent positive emotion experience tended to use cannabis less often. They also experienced fewer disruptions to their lives and reported less difficulty stopping their use entirely.
In this context, naturally experiencing high levels of positive emotion served as a protective factor against severe cannabis habits. Placing an exceptionally high value on happiness produced a very different outcome. Students who scored higher on positive emotion valuation tended to use cannabis more frequently, and they also reported that it would be harder for them to stop using the drug.
The surveys revealed that students who were highly concerned with achieving happiness might use cannabis as a tool to artificially regulate their mood. These individuals might rely heavily on the drug to achieve a specific positive emotional state. This dynamic makes it harder for them to consider giving up the substance despite its potential side effects on memory or motivation.
The research team noted a few limitations to their work. Because the investigation relied on a cross-sectional survey, which only takes a snapshot of a single moment in time, the results cannot establish a chain of cause and effect. It is not known whether initial cannabis use exacerbates bipolar mood symptoms, or if pre-existing mood patterns prompt people to use cannabis in specific, problematic ways.
The students in this sample also reported relatively low levels of cannabis use overall. Most participants used the substance less than once a month. The researchers noted that gathering data from a population with much heavier, habitual usage patterns might yield different scientific insights.
Moving forward, behavioral scientists hope to track young adults over longer periods. Following individuals consistently throughout their entire college experience could help reveal how escalating cannabis use interacts with shifting emotional traits and mood symptoms as young people enter adulthood.
The study, “The highs and lows: Cannabis use and positive valence bipolar mood and emotion processes in emerging adults,” was authored by Luiza Rosa, Gerald Young, Stevi G. Ibonie, Joelle LeMoult, Iris B. Mauss, Lauren B. Alloy, Jessica L. Borelli, Sarah R. Holley, Ellen Jopling, Daniel P. Moriarity, Robin Nusslock, Gregory Strauss, Cynthia M. Villanueva, Lauren M. Weinstock, L. Cinnamon Bidwell, and June Gruber.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #BipolarSpectrum #CannabisUse #CollegeHealth #PositiveEmotion #RewardSensitivity #MoodDisorders #EmergingAdulthood #MentalHealthResearch #CannabisAndMood #UniversityStudy
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Can tracking acts of kindness actually increase happiness? New podcast episode breaks down the science behind kindness as a measurable habit—not just a feeling. https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v6KSVg3VOtkz59hRymAZI?si=SdHV5h9ISqy4XjJu2X_N6Q
#ScienceOfHappiness #BehaviorDesign #PositiveEmotion #GrowthPodcast #HumanMind #Emberhart #connections #Happiness -
Can tracking acts of kindness actually increase happiness? New podcast episode breaks down the science behind kindness as a measurable habit—not just a feeling. https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v6KSVg3VOtkz59hRymAZI?si=SdHV5h9ISqy4XjJu2X_N6Q
#ScienceOfHappiness #BehaviorDesign #PositiveEmotion #GrowthPodcast #HumanMind #Emberhart #connections #Happiness -
The audio recording of last week's meditation class about floor time is now available. Enjoy!
#MeditationClass #FloorTime #Mindfulness #Wellness #InnerPeace #PositiveEmotion #Heart #HeartShape #VeroWellness #TMGcommunity https://vero.co/seb_tmg/pQdN-W8G99zBTtQ6TxN1bvkg