Abstracts of 2001 Award Winners' Papers:

Being Joyful: An Empirical, Phenomenological Study

Brent Dean Robbins
Duquesne University

This study of joy attempts to correct and examine two fundamental biases in the psychological literature on emotion. First, the majority of studies have favored the investigation of negative emotions to the neglect of positive emotions. Secondly, given that general theories of emotion are largely based upon research of negative emotions, theories of emotion have generally tended to favor an instrumental view of emotions as an adaptive means to an end. Through a unique qualitative approach, protocol analysis is used to analyze a diverse collection of data, including verbal and written protocols, drawings, and role-play sessions. The results support the hypothesis that joy is a state of fulfillment that is not experienced by the participants as an instrumental means to an end.