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The emotion of joy: commentary on Johnson

Publication ,  Journal Article
Van Cappellen, P
Published in: Journal of Positive Psychology
January 2, 2020

In this contribution, I push for a deeper understanding of the emotion of joy as compared to happiness and to other discrete positive emotions, by specifying its appraisals and functions. I suggest that joy connects us to our core identity, values, and priorities. It is the emotion that makes life worth living in the moment. I further discuss the distinction between an objective versus subjective account of instances of joy, a distinction I find important to bear in mind when dealing with morally problematic cases of joy. Finally, I discuss points of connection between the psychologies of joy and religion and suggest multiple lines of future research.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of Positive Psychology

DOI

EISSN

1743-9779

ISSN

1743-9760

Publication Date

January 2, 2020

Volume

15

Issue

1

Start / End Page

40 / 43

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 2004 Linguistics
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1503 Business and Management
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Van Cappellen, P. (2020). The emotion of joy: commentary on Johnson. Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(1), 40–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1685571
Van Cappellen, P. “The emotion of joy: commentary on Johnson.” Journal of Positive Psychology 15, no. 1 (January 2, 2020): 40–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1685571.
Van Cappellen P. The emotion of joy: commentary on Johnson. Journal of Positive Psychology. 2020 Jan 2;15(1):40–3.
Van Cappellen, P. “The emotion of joy: commentary on Johnson.” Journal of Positive Psychology, vol. 15, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 40–43. Scopus, doi:10.1080/17439760.2019.1685571.
Van Cappellen P. The emotion of joy: commentary on Johnson. Journal of Positive Psychology. 2020 Jan 2;15(1):40–43.

Published In

Journal of Positive Psychology

DOI

EISSN

1743-9779

ISSN

1743-9760

Publication Date

January 2, 2020

Volume

15

Issue

1

Start / End Page

40 / 43

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 2004 Linguistics
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1503 Business and Management