POS EMO

What are positive emotions? What's thought to distinguish positive emotions from the traditional class of negative emotions—fear, sadness, anger—is that these are thought to help guide us towards and signal rewards or opportunities in the environment. These could be financial opportunities or incentives, they could be connecting with another person, they could be savoring an achievement; they're thought to signal things that are important to us and that are rewarding or meaningful. This can span a whole gamut of positive states, such as joy or enthusiasm, pride, gratitude, love, or awe. There's a huge multitude of these positive states. They're important for our health because they tell us about important opportunities in the environment, and they help us savor when we've accomplished or are currently experiencing one of these opportunities.