Mejía Shannon T, Hooker Karen
University of Michigan.
Oregon State University.
Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2017 Jun;15:46-50. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.05.015. Epub 2017 May 30.
Development in adulthood occurs through the process of setting and working toward goals. Emotions link experiences to goals and action, and as such are integral to goal setting, evaluation of goal progress, and goal pursuit. When viewed in the context of goals, the simultaneous experience of positive and negative or "mixed" emotions coheres with the complexity of goal pursuit within the context of competing demands in daily life. Mixed emotions may be experienced as uncertainty in which goal to prioritize, ambiguity in whether an event served or impeded goal progress, or poignancy in a bittersweet moment of recognizing the losses that accompany gains. Mixed emotions therefore represent a problem that must be resolved-through either prioritization of conflicting goals, down-playing negative affective response, or goal disengagement-before goal pursuit can continue. Because mixed emotions must be resolved before they can be translated to action, the experience of mixed emotions may evoke a new awareness of priorities and available options that leads to better goal outcomes. Over time, openness to mixed emotions could result in outcomes such as better health and self-actualization.
成年期的发展是通过设定目标并朝着目标努力的过程来实现的。情绪将经历与目标及行动联系起来，因此对于目标设定、目标进展评估和目标追求而言不可或缺。从目标的角度来看，积极情绪与消极情绪同时出现或“混合”情绪的体验，与日常生活中相互竞争的需求背景下目标追求的复杂性相一致。混合情绪可能表现为在确定优先目标时的不确定性、在判断一个事件是促进还是阻碍了目标进展时的模糊性，或者在认识到得失相伴的苦乐参半时刻的辛酸感。因此，混合情绪代表了一个必须解决的问题——要么通过对相互冲突的目标进行优先级排序、淡化负面情感反应，要么脱离目标——之后目标追求才能继续。由于混合情绪必须在转化为行动之前得到解决，混合情绪的体验可能会引发对优先级和可用选项的新认识，从而带来更好的目标结果。随着时间的推移，对混合情绪持开放态度可能会带来诸如更健康和自我实现等结果。
