APPLYING THE BROADEN-AND-BUILD MODEL OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS TO SOCIAL PROBLEM SOLVING: DOES FEELING GOOD (VS. FEELING BAD) INFLUENCE PROBLEM ORIENTATION, PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS, OR BOTH?

The present study sought to determine if positive mood plays a role in broadening and building key components of social problem solving, namely, problem orientation and problem-solving skills, respectively, in a sample of 205 college students. Results from regression analyses indicated that positive affect at baseline predicted both positive and negative problem orientation 2 months later, even after controlling for concurrent affect. In contrast, positive affect at baseline did not predict problem-solving skills. Interestingly, results from these analyses also indicated that negative affect at baseline predicted one dimension of problem orientation, namely, positive problem orientation, and two dimensions of problem-solving skills, namely, rational problem solving and impulsive/carelessness style. On the one hand, the present findings offer support for the notion that positive affect, relative to negative affect, is strongly involved in problem orientation. On the other hand, however, they support the notion that negative affect, compared to positive affect, is strongly involved in problem-solving skills. Some implications of the present findings for cultivating effective problem-solving ability are discussed.