A Perfect 10 - The Power of Positive Affect

af⋅fect/v. əˈfɛkt; n. ˈæfɛkt/  n. af-ekt: feeling or emotion. Synonyms:  influence, sway

All of us will find that developing, nurturing and protecting a positive affect will have a profound impact on the quality of our lives and our ability to harness our imaginative intelligence - whether you are in the entertainment, sunscreen or ceiling fan business, or if you work in the arts, education, or medicine….or if your searching for the next act in your life.

From a leadership perspective, cultivating a positive outlook and influence will be one of the most valuable mindsets and management behaviors we have in dealing with the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world. The research from the scientific community shows substantial evidence that even a mild positive affect has far reaching effects on the quality of our thinking, problem solving and decision making ability.

At a neurochemical level,  positive affect increases dopamine levels that improve cognitive flexibility. It also increases oxytocin levels that enhance feelings of acceptance and social bonding.

People in whom positive affect has been induced (wouldn’t you just love to be one of those lab subjects) were able to:

1. Increase thinking flexibility
2. Problem solving with greater creativity
3. Make decisions more efficiently and thoroughly
4. Cope better with adverse events
5. Decrease their level of  defensiveness
6. Think more abstractly and in multiple ways.
7. Engage in greater elaboration and flexibility reasoning
8. Increases focus and attention
9. Demonstrate more mental elasticity shifting between global ( broad)  and local focus ( narrow)
10. Access a richer range of their cognitive context-i.e. their more unusual and innovative thoughts.
    

In the Age of Ideas we need to see growth as a creative process, not an accounting practice. Positive affect needs to be added to the innovation tool kit.

My enthusiasm for this topic has been greatly inspired, informed and influenced by two “mad dogs” that I have had the pleasure of conversing with. For those who have read Mad Dogs Dreamers and Sages: Growth in the Age of Ideas, you know that the commendation of mad dog is the highest accolade, honor and gratitude possible.   Their scientific research tremendously informs our thinking here. They are Alice M. Isen, Professor of Psychology at Cornell University and Professor Paul Thagard, Professor of Philosophy, Psychology, and Computer Science University of Waterloo. Paul has written a new book, Hot Thought-Mechanisms and Applications of Emotional Cognition that I highly recommend.