Motivation and emotion/Book/2025/Broaden-and-build theory and motivation

Broaden-and-build theory and motivation:
How do positive emotions broaden thinking?

Overview

Figure 1. A smiley face symbolising positive emotions, which trigger the broaden-and-build cycle by broadening attention, fostering creativity, and encouraging exploration. Positive states such as joy, gratitude, and love serve as catalysts for motivation and growth. Scenario Imagine a first-year university student named Priya who joins a mindfulness group on campus to manage stress. Over several weeks, she notices she is calmer during exams, more willing to try new activities, and more confident in connecting with classmates. She even experiments with creative study strategies and begins setting bigger goals. This everyday example illustrates the Broaden-and-Build Theory — the idea that positive emotions can trigger upward spirals of growth and motivation (see Figure 1).

Negative emotions narrow focus to immediate threats, helping survival in the short term but restricting flexibility and problem-solving. By contrast, positive emotions broaden attention and thought–action repertoires, supporting creativity, persistence, and adaptive responses (Fredrickson, 2001). Without positive emotions, individuals may become trapped in cycles of stress, avoidance, and reduced motivation, limiting their capacity to achieve goals.

The Broaden-and-Build Theory, developed by Barbara Fredrickson (1998, 2001), explains how emotions such as joy, gratitude, and love temporarily expand an individual’s scope of thinking and behaviour, and over time build enduring resources. These resources include resilience, social support, knowledge, and physical health, which collectively enhance motivation. Research shows that cultivating positive emotions through activities like gratitude journaling, loving-kindness meditation, and prosocial behaviour can create upward spirals of well-being and success (Fredrickson et al., 2008; Cohn & Fredrickson, 2010).

Focus questions How do positive emotions broaden attention, thinking, and behaviour? In what ways do broadened states build lasting motivational resources? What is the “undoing effect” and how does it support resilience and motivation? How can the Broaden-and-Build Theory be applied in education, workplaces, and health?

How do positive emotions broaden attention, thinking, and behaviour?

Positive emotions create a temporary mindset that encourages openness, flexibility, and exploration. Rather than narrowing focus onto a single task or threat, positive states allow individuals to step back, notice new possibilities, and explore alternatives. This broadened awareness is one of the central mechanisms of the Broaden-and-Build Theory, providing the conditions under which motivation and creativity can flourish. By expanding cognitive and behavioural repertoires, positive emotions not only make people feel good in the moment but also set the stage for longer-term growth and achievement.

Scenario: A student listens to upbeat music before studying and notices a wider range of ideas when brainstorming. She explores more sources, makes novel connections, and selects a more creative essay topic. This shows how positive affect can temporarily broaden attentional scope and thought–action repertoires, setting up conditions for motivation to rise.

Broadening attentional scope

One of the most robust findings in this area is that positive emotions widen attentional scope. Fredrickson and Branigan (2005) showed that individuals experiencing joy or contentment attend to a broader range of visual stimuli compared to those in neutral or negative states. This widening is not limited to perception but extends to thought processes, allowing individuals to integrate a wider variety of information. For motivation, this means that instead of being “tunnelled” into a single strategy, people experiencing positive emotions are more likely to explore multiple pathways to achieve their goals. This flexibility makes them better equipped to adapt when obstacles arise, enhancing persistence and resilience.

Enhancing creativity and problem-solving

Positive affect has also been strongly linked with improved creativity and problem-solving. Isen (2000) argued that when people feel positive, they become more open to making unusual connections, which can spark creative insights. For example, a student in a positive mood may generate more innovative ideas for a project, or an employee may discover a novel solution to a workplace challenge. The broadened mindset allows access to more diverse information in memory, increasing the likelihood of combining ideas in unique ways. Importantly, this creativity is not simply “feel-good fluff”; it translates into tangible outcomes that support long-term motivation, such as higher engagement with tasks and greater confidence in one’s abilities.

Openness to new experiences

Another way positive emotions broaden thinking is by increasing openness to new experiences. Instead of sticking to familiar routines, individuals experiencing emotions such as joy or interest are more inclined to take risks, try new strategies, and seek out opportunities for growth (Fredrickson, 2001). This exploratory behaviour is highly relevant to motivation because it fosters a proactive approach to challenges. For example, rather than avoiding a difficult assignment, a student feeling positive might approach it as an opportunity to learn new skills. Over time, this pattern of openness builds confidence and competence, reinforcing motivation through positive feedback loops.

Empirical evidence of broadening

Experimental research provides strong evidence for the broadening effect. Rowe, Hirsh, and Anderson (2007) conducted a study where participants induced into a positive mood were more likely to detect peripheral visual stimuli than those in neutral or negative moods. This finding illustrates that positivity literally widens what people can see and process, which in turn shapes how they think and behave. By expanding both perception and cognition, positive emotions prepare individuals to engage more effectively with their environment, laying the groundwork for future success.Positive emotions such as joy, interest, and love expand attentional scope, encouraging flexible thinking and novel ideas (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005; see Figure 1).

Summary

Overall, positive emotions broaden attention, thinking, and behaviour by encouraging flexibility, creativity, and openness. This broadened mindset increases the number of potential pathways to goals, supports innovative problem-solving, and motivates individuals to explore and persist. Far from being merely pleasant states, emotions like joy, interest, and love function as powerful drivers of motivation, enabling people to navigate challenges with greater adaptability and resourcefulness.

In what ways do broadened states build lasting motivational resources?

While positive emotions are often thought of as fleeting states, the Broaden-and-Build Theory emphasises their long-term impact. By encouraging exploration, connection, and growth, positive emotions help individuals develop enduring resources that sustain motivation well beyond the moment of emotional experience. These resources can be social, cognitive, psychological, or physical, and together they form the foundation for resilience and goal pursuit across life domains.

Building social resources

One of the clearest pathways by which positive emotions build resources is through social connection. Joy, gratitude, and love naturally encourage individuals to interact with others, strengthening existing bonds and fostering new ones. Over time, these social ties create networks of support that can be drawn upon in times of stress or when pursuing long-term goals. For example, someone who regularly expresses gratitude to peers is more likely to be seen as approachable and trustworthy, which may open doors for collaboration and support. Research by Cohn and Fredrickson (2010) found that individuals who reported more frequent positive emotions over several weeks also showed stronger social connections, which in turn predicted greater life satisfaction. Social capital is a vital motivational resource because it provides encouragement, accountability, and access to opportunities.

Developing cognitive resources

Positive emotions also enhance cognitive flexibility and problem-solving, which accumulate into valuable mental skills. By broadening attention, emotions like interest and contentment expose individuals to diverse experiences and knowledge, gradually increasing cognitive complexity. For instance, a student who approaches learning with curiosity may experiment with new study strategies, leading to a more diverse toolkit of skills to apply in future challenges. Fredrickson (2001) argued that this ongoing process creates an “upward spiral,” where positive emotions lead to cognitive growth, which then makes it easier to experience future positive emotions. Over time, the individual is better equipped to handle complexity, persist in the face of setbacks, and remain motivated to achieve goals.

Strengthening psychological resources

Beyond cognition, positive emotions build enduring psychological strengths such as resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy. Tugade and Fredrickson (2004) demonstrated that individuals who habitually experience positive emotions recover more quickly from stress and develop greater psychological resilience. This resilience allows them to maintain motivation even in difficult circumstances. Similarly, self-efficacy—belief in one’s ability to succeed—is reinforced when individuals approach challenges with a positive mindset and succeed through exploratory behaviour. Each small success increases confidence, which fuels motivation for larger goals. Optimism, another psychological resource, helps individuals maintain a future-oriented outlook, focusing on possibilities rather than obstacles. Together, these psychological resources serve as motivational fuel, sustaining effort when challenges arise.

Promoting physical resources

Positive emotions also encourage behaviours that support long-term physical health. People who feel hopeful or inspired are more likely to engage in health-promoting activities such as regular exercise, healthy eating, or mindfulness practice (Fredrickson et al., 2008). These behaviours build physical stamina and energy, which are critical resources for maintaining motivation over time. For instance, a person who develops a routine of jogging not only experiences the immediate benefits of endorphins but also builds endurance and strength that support persistence in other life domains. Physical well-being creates a foundation upon which motivational processes can operate effectively.

Summary

Table 1. Examples of resources built by positive emotions and their motivational impact

Type of resource	Examples	Long-term impact on motivation
Social	Friendships, support networks	Greater persistence, cooperation, and access to opportunities
Cognitive	Creative thinking, flexible problem-solving	Innovative approaches to challenges and diverse goal strategies
Psychological	Resilience, optimism, self-efficacy	Confidence to face setbacks and determination to continue pursuing goals
Physical	Exercise, sleep routines, mindfulness	Energy, focus, and stamina for sustained effort

Broadened states do not end when the emotion fades; they accumulate into lasting resources that sustain motivation. Social connections provide encouragement and accountability, cognitive flexibility supports adaptive problem-solving, psychological strengths build resilience and confidence, and physical health behaviours ensure stamina. Together, these resources create an upward spiral of well-being and motivation, showing that positive emotions are not fleeting luxuries but investments in long-term growth and achievement.

What is the "undoing effect" and how does it support resilience and motivation?

The undoing effect refers to the ability of positive emotions to help the body recover more quickly from the physiological effects of negative emotions. Stress and fear often trigger cardiovascular activation, muscle tension, and narrowed focus that prepare the body for immediate survival but deplete energy over time. Positive emotions, in contrast, can reverse these physiological responses, returning the body to baseline more rapidly. This faster recovery does more than restore equilibrium—it frees mental and physical resources, enabling individuals to think clearly, regulate behaviour, and sustain motivation even after setbacks.

Scenario: After receiving critical feedback on an assignment, a student feels anxious and overwhelmed. Normally, she might ruminate and avoid her work for days. Instead, she takes a short break to watch a humorous video and feels a genuine moment of amusement. Her heart rate slows, muscle tension eases, and she is able to re-engage with her work constructively. This illustrates the undoing effect in action: positive emotions counteracting stress and restoring the capacity to stay motivated.

Physiological recovery

Fredrickson and Levenson (1998) provided some of the earliest evidence for the undoing effect. In their study, participants induced into fear showed elevated cardiovascular activity. Those who were then exposed to joy-inducing stimuli, such as humorous or pleasant clips, returned to baseline cardiovascular levels more quickly than those who viewed neutral or sad stimuli. This demonstrates that positive emotions actively undo the lingering effects of stress. Physiological recovery is essential for motivation because it prevents energy depletion and supports the ability to persist in tasks over the long term.

Supporting mental clarity

Stress and negative emotions often narrow focus, leading to tunnel vision and reduced cognitive flexibility. By helping the body recover from stress arousal, positive emotions restore the mental clarity needed for adaptive decision-making. Tugade and Fredrickson (2004) found that individuals high in resilience experienced more frequent positive emotions during stress, which allowed them to maintain broader thinking and effective coping. This mental clarity translates into motivation by making goals feel more achievable. Instead of being paralysed by stress, individuals can think through options and take proactive steps forward.

Building resilience through repeated recovery

The undoing effect does not only matter in the moment; repeated experiences of stress recovery strengthen resilience over time. Each time individuals use positive emotions to recover from stress, they reinforce the ability to “bounce back” faster in the future. This cumulative resilience supports long-term motivation by preventing burnout and fostering confidence in one’s capacity to cope. For example, an athlete who uses positive rituals—such as celebrating small wins or practising gratitude—after tough training sessions develops a psychological buffer that sustains motivation across a demanding season.

Applications of the undoing effect

The undoing effect has important implications for everyday life. In education, brief positive activities such as classroom humour, gratitude exercises, or encouraging peer interactions can help students recover from academic stress and remain motivated. In workplaces, leaders who foster positive climates—through recognition, empathy, or light-hearted interactions—help employees regulate stress and maintain productivity. In health contexts, interventions such as loving-kindness meditation or engaging in enjoyable physical activities can reduce stress recovery times, supporting adherence to long-term health goals. By embedding positivity into routines, individuals and organisations can build systems that harness the undoing effect for sustained motivation and resilience.

Summary

Overall, the undoing effect highlights how positive emotions serve as a natural antidote to the harmful consequences of stress. By promoting faster physiological recovery, supporting mental clarity, and reinforcing resilience through repeated use, positive emotions ensure that individuals can remain engaged and motivated even in the face of challenges. This phenomenon underscores the Broaden-and-Build Theory’s claim that positivity is not a luxury but a vital resource that sustains motivation and well-being across time.

How can the Broaden-and-Build Theory be applied in education, workplaces, and health?

The value of the Broaden-and-Build Theory lies not only in explaining how positive emotions work but also in its practical applications. By intentionally cultivating positivity, individuals and organisations can strengthen motivation, resilience, and long-term performance. Applications are particularly evident in education, workplaces, and health, where stress and disengagement can undermine well-being and achievement. Interventions informed by this theory demonstrate that small, intentional acts that generate positive emotions can create upward spirals of growth and motivation.

Education

Academic environments are often high-pressure contexts where students face stress, performance anxiety, and fear of failure. In these situations, negative emotions can narrow focus and reduce problem-solving capacity. By contrast, fostering positive emotions in education can broaden students’ engagement and build enduring motivational resources.

Research by Howells (2014) highlights the role of gratitude in schools, showing that students who practised gratitude journaling demonstrated greater engagement and persistence. Such interventions encourage students to view challenges as opportunities rather than threats. Similarly, incorporating humour into lessons has been shown to reduce test anxiety and increase openness to learning. Collaborative learning activities that emphasise peer connection also foster positive emotions, strengthening both social capital and motivation.

For teachers, creating positive classroom climates involves recognising effort, celebrating small successes, and encouraging curiosity. These practices stimulate joy and interest, which broaden thinking and motivate exploration. Over time, the resources built—confidence, resilience, and supportive peer networks—equip students to tackle increasingly complex tasks. For example, a student who once avoided speaking in class may, through supportive experiences, build confidence and later volunteer to lead group projects, demonstrating how positive emotion spirals reinforce academic motivation.

Workplaces

Workplaces are another domain where the Broaden-and-Build Theory has strong relevance. Employees often experience stress from deadlines, workload, or interpersonal conflict. If unchecked, these pressures can narrow focus, reduce creativity, and lead to burnout. By contrast, workplaces that cultivate positive emotions through intentional practices can boost motivation, productivity, and resilience.

One strategy involves implementing recognition programs that celebrate achievements both big and small. Recognition fosters pride and gratitude, which broaden employees’ sense of purpose and commitment. Strengths-based leadership—where managers focus on identifying and cultivating individual talents—has also been shown to increase job satisfaction and performance. Positive emotions generated in this process encourage employees to take initiative, innovate, and persist with challenging projects.

Team-building activities that emphasise cooperation and mutual support generate feelings of belonging, which build social capital. Over time, this translates into motivation to contribute to collective goals. A workplace that promotes humour, empathy, and appreciation fosters resilience in times of stress, ensuring that motivation is sustained even during organisational challenges. Empirical studies show that employees in positive work environments report greater engagement, lower turnover, and higher creativity (Avey, Wernsing, & Luthans, 2008).

Health

Health behaviours and outcomes are strongly influenced by emotional states. Stress and negative emotions can narrow focus and contribute to unhealthy coping behaviours such as overeating, smoking, or avoidance of exercise. In contrast, interventions that elicit positive emotions can broaden health-related choices and build lasting physical and psychological resources.

Fredrickson et al. (2008) demonstrated that practising loving-kindness meditation increases daily experiences of positive emotion, which in turn build resources such as mindfulness, social support, and resilience. These resources predict improved health behaviours, such as regular exercise and healthier eating patterns. Positive emotions also reduce physiological stress responses, allowing for quicker recovery after illness or exertion.

Practical health applications include integrating enjoyable activities into daily routines, such as group exercise classes, hobbies, or community volunteering. These experiences not only elicit joy and interest but also build habits that contribute to long-term well-being. In clinical contexts, cultivating hope and optimism through therapeutic approaches can motivate adherence to treatment plans. For example, a patient undergoing rehabilitation who feels hopeful is more likely to persist with difficult exercises, building physical resources that accelerate recovery.

Cross-domain benefits

Although education, workplaces, and health are distinct domains, the mechanisms by which positive emotions operate are consistent. Each context demonstrates how cultivating joy, gratitude, love, or interest broadens thought–action repertoires and builds lasting resources. These upward spirals benefit not only the individual but also the wider community. A motivated student contributes to group learning, an engaged employee drives team performance, and a healthier individual reduces strain on healthcare systems. Thus, the Broaden-and-Build Theory provides a unifying framework for promoting resilience and motivation across diverse life domains.

Summary

Applications of the Broaden-and-Build Theory show that positive emotions are more than transient experiences—they are practical tools for building motivational systems. In education, they foster engagement and persistence; in workplaces, they encourage innovation and resilience; and in health, they promote sustainable behaviours and recovery. Across these domains, positive emotions initiate upward spirals of growth that not only benefit individuals but also contribute to stronger communities and organisations. By recognising and intentionally cultivating positivity, educators, leaders, and health practitioners can harness the motivational power of emotions to support long-term success and well-being.

Quiz

1

Which statement best summarises the Broaden-and-Build Theory?

	Positive emotions broaden thought–action repertoires and build lasting resources that support motivation.
	Positive emotions only create short-term pleasure and no long-term impact.
	Negative emotions are always more adaptive than positive ones.
	Motivation operates independently of emotional states.

2

True or False: The "undoing effect" describes how positive emotions counteract the physiological effects of stress.

	True
	False

3

Which of the following is an example of a lasting resource built by positive emotions?

	A fleeting smile at a joke
	Strong social connections that provide support during challenges
	A narrowed attentional focus during fear
	Short-term adrenaline response to stress

Conclusion

The Broaden-and-Build Theory offers a clear explanation for how positive emotions support motivation and well-being. The evidence demonstrates that emotions such as joy, gratitude, love, and interest expand attentional scope, foster creativity, and increase openness to new experiences (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005).

Over time, these broadened states accumulate into lasting resources across social, cognitive, psychological, and physical domains. Stronger relationships, more flexible problem-solving skills, resilience, optimism, and healthy behaviours all serve as motivational fuel that sustains long-term achievement (Cohn & Fredrickson, 2010; Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). The “undoing effect” further illustrates that positive emotions play a vital role in counteracting stress, restoring clarity, and enabling persistence (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998).

Practical applications confirm the theory’s relevance across life domains. In education, gratitude and curiosity foster student engagement and persistence. In workplaces, recognition and strengths-based leadership stimulate innovation and resilience. In health, interventions such as loving-kindness meditation strengthen emotional well-being and promote sustainable behaviours (Fredrickson et al., 2008). Across these contexts, positive emotions generate upward spirals of growth that benefit both individuals and communities.

In conclusion, positive emotions are not fleeting luxuries but essential mechanisms for resilience and motivation. They broaden thought–action repertoires, build enduring resources, undo the effects of stress, and sustain long-term achievement. The key take-home message is that intentionally cultivating positivity in daily life can create lasting upward spirals of motivation, resilience, and well-being.

See also

• Motivation and emotion/Book/2021/Light triad (Book chapter, 2021)
• wikipedia:Broaden-and-build theory (Wikipedia)
• wikipedia:Positive psychology (Wikipedia)
• wikipedia:Resilience (psychology) (Wikipedia)

References

Avey, J. B., Wernsing, T. S., & Luthans, F. (2008). Can positive employees help positive organizational change? Impact of psychological capital and emotions on relevant attitudes and behaviors. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(1), 48–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886307311470

Cohn, M. A., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2010). In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of sustained positive behaviour change. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(5), 355–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2010.508883

Fredrickson, B. L. (1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 300–319. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.300

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218

Fredrickson, B. L., & Branigan, C. (2005). Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought–action repertoires. Cognition and Emotion, 19(3), 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930441000238

Fredrickson, B. L., & Levenson, R. W. (1998). Positive emotions speed recovery from cardiovascular sequelae of negative emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 12(2), 191–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/026999398379718

Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1045–1062. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013262

Howells, K. (2014). An exploration of the role of gratitude in enhancing teacher–student relationships. Teaching and Teacher Education, 42, 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.04.004

Isen, A. M. (2000). Positive affect and decision making. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed., pp. 417–435). Guilford Press.

Rowe, G., Hirsh, J. B., & Anderson, A. K. (2007). Positive affect increases the breadth of attentional selection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(1), 383–388. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0605198104

Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 320–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.320

External links

• Broaden-and-build theory explained (PositivePsychology.com)
• The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (National Institutes of Health)
• Barbara Fredrickson: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (TED)