Affect, Location and Relationships

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I'm reading a book (Authentic happniess by martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., a book i have to read for a class) which says that Americans value high positive affect more than do Europeans. I find this rather fascinating, and seeing as Aspies traditionally have lousy affect, I thought this would be a relevant poll.

For clarification, having positive affect would basically mean that you easily smile/laugh, and would also be related to (correlationally, not directly) to general extroversion and being "fun to be around." If you lack positive affect but are not generall disagreeable either, this still menas you do not have a positive affect.

Also, "relationship" here refers to a romantic relstionship (which you likely inferred).

Sorry this refers to only two places to live only, those were the only two mentioned in the book.

Last edited by Serissa on 09 Sep 2005, 1:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

i put that i have a positive affect, as i expect i do to most people. however, i've spent s many years "acting" that i'm not always sure what's second nature/habit and what's "me".

oh well - haven't got a partner, so does it really matter...

I voted that I live in the United States, lack a positive affect, and am not in a romantic relationship.

Being as self-critical as I am, even if I do have a positive effect (or is it affect?) on people, I probably wouldn't realize it or admit it if I realized so. And I'm not in any sort of relationship at the moment, either. Don't forsee it happening in the next several years...

I live in the US and I'm in a relationship.

I voted that I lack positive affect. I can smile and laugh easily, but social chitchat and small talk bore me to tears.

I don't have it, but I value it.

What's really cool is when someone is generally known to lack affect but you can pretty consistantly get them to smile/they consistantly register some larger degree of positive affect around you. ((I'm such a power-mad control freak to be glad I can do this, I admit it, but still.)) On a non-relationship note.I think some of my friends might feel that was about me; I almost hope so, because it's been since I've been around them that I've been hsowing more positive affect.

I lack positive effect more than I care to elaborate on. Some credible people I know believe that I'll have a relationship someday. I suspect so too.

I live in Europe and am in a relationship, but I don't know if I have a positive affect.

alexandra

I probably have a postive affect and don't know it. I should read posts before voting so I better undersatnd the question.

I chose the last option, live in Europe (well, UK), no affect and no relationship..

A couple of points though:

What age range is the question aimed at?
If somebody over 30 answers, should there be a supplementary clause about relationship history?

What did this learned PhD characterise as 'positive affect'?

Emetic emotionalism only really seems to count for much when younger, eg establishing the pecking order, assorted social statuses and the mating game.

Positive affect was defined as being exuberent, "bubbly" etc. The author cites an Anerican guy who couldn't get a girlfriend after having become a millionaire through sheer hard work (not the lottery or anything) so I'm assuming he was at least mid to late 20s. ((The guy DID get a girlfriend eventually- in Europe.))

And, I could only fit so many options into the poll!! !

Ah yes, the "Bubblies". It seems so false and artificial though, and most of the emphasis seems to be in drawing attention to themselves.

Everyone I have ever met who calls themselves a 'people person' actually seems to be a 'themselves person'..

I am not sure if such emetic flow of emtion constitutes a pathology in and of itself, though somebody I knew who was a 'Bubbly Vivacious Gregarious' type seemed to be somewhat Histrionic. She had an army of counsellors, therapists, doctors and so forth on hand, but she seemed entirely unable to differentiate between somebody being an acquaintance/classmate and a support functionary. She seemed to possess a remarkable aptitude for manouvering somebody into a support role and anyone who resisted was subsequently roundly castigated once they withdrew their 'amateur therapist' mode of operation.

She was eventually dubbed 'Salacious Crumb' and it is under this somewhat dubious soubriquet that she has made many appearances in my Wordpress Online Journal.

Ditto what fahreeq said, except I live in Europe (but am American by birth). I tend to laugh all the time, at almost everything and often out of context, because it is my way of easing tension. Acting silly and making my friends laugh has always been a big part of my personality, but I only ever become that way with people I know very well. With strangers or even acquaintances I hardly utter a word, and never act humorous out of fear they will misunderstand me or my intentions (because this has happened before).

This is so very true!