anticipation
The anticipation is an emotion that is characterized by the expectation of a future, positive event. It is ended when this event occurs. The anticipation precedes the joy both semantically and temporally .
If the expected event does not occur, the resulting emotional response is mostly disappointment .
Researchers at the University of California at Irvine have empirically shown that anticipation increases endorphin levels and reduces feelings of stress.
When expecting particularly great things in the near or distant future, the symptoms of those involved, looking forward to it, can go far beyond those described in the study, especially when two people are looking forward to each other.
A saying ( bon mot ) says 'anticipation is the best (or: most beautiful) joy'. In his work The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry illustrates the positive effects of anticipation as well as the negative effects of disappointment:
"It would have been better if you had come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If you come, for example, at four in the afternoon, I can start to be happy at three. The more time goes by, the happier I will feel. At four o'clock I'll be upset and alarmed; I will learn how dear is happiness. But if you come at some point, I can never know when my heart will be there ... There must be fixed customs. "
In one experimental study, it was shown that more than half of the participants would rather postpone a happy event for three days than experience it immediately. Participants were asked to imagine kissing their favorite movie star.
Web links
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- ^ Report on the investigation by UC Irvine on lifeline.de
- ↑ Dunn, Elizabeth, and Michael Norton. Happy money: The science of smarter spending. Simon and Schuster, 2013. p. 91.