Appraising joy

ABSTRACT

In this paper I respond to Johnson’s review by proposing a theory for the appraisal structure of joy. After presenting the appraisal approach to emotion, I describe two contrasting approaches to joy: joy as the fundamental positive affect that arises from a very broad-based construal (a response to something appraised as good), or joy as a discrete emotion with its own unique appraisal story. I argue for the second approach, and propose that joy is a response to a situation appraised as bringing one in closer connection/union with someone or something important. I present evidence for viewing joy as a discrete emotion and conclude by describing research that speaks to the appraisal structure of joy, while acknowledging and recommending the need for further research. Preliminary evidence supports the idea that joy is a discrete positive emotion that may be important to human flourishing.

KEYWORDS:

• Joy
• positive emotion
• positive psychology
• appraisal
• gratitude

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the John Templeton Foundation [61093].