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Key points
- Although people talk as if they are opposites, happiness and sadness are not mutually exclusive emotions.
- It is possible to be happy while experiencing sadness and vice versa.
- The neurotransmitter dopamine is often associated with positive affect, but also plays a role in negative affect.
Family Feud Host: “Top five answers are on the board, here's the question: Name two words that are opposites.”
Family 1: “Happy and sad!”
Family Feud Host: “Show me happy and sad”….*ding-ding-ding* “Number 1 answer on the board.”
This is not the place to explore the other four antonym answers—sorry—but be sure to look for my upcoming writing on "why Steve Harvey looks for sexual innuendo in every answer").
Are Happy and Sad Emotional Opposites?
Common antonyms include up-down, good-bad, big-small, black-white, rich-poor, Michigan-Ohio State, win-lose, and hot-cold. Why does "happy vs. sad" come to mind so quickly for many of us? Are they truly antonyms?
Happiness and sadness are two emotions often conceptualized as being opposite ends on the same continuum. Some believe that happiness is simply the absence of sadness, and sadness is the absence of happiness. However, recent research suggests that happiness and sadness are separate, independent emotions that can coexist in a person's emotional experience.
Not Mutually Exclusive
Psychologists at Purdue University found that happiness and sadness are not mutually exclusive emotions. Participants in this study reported experiencing both happiness and sadness at the same time, and the researchers found that these emotions were not necessarily inversely related. This suggests that happiness and sadness can coexist, and that one does not necessarily have to be absent for the other to be present.
In another study, researchers in England found that people who reported higher levels of happiness also reported higher levels of sadness. This suggests that happiness and sadness are not mutually exclusive, but rather that they can coexist within a person's emotional experience.
Positivity and Negativity in the Brain
The role of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward and motivation, plays a key role in positive and negative affect. Dopamine is often associated with positive affect, as it is released in response to pleasurable stimuli and reinforces behaviors associated with reward. However, recent research suggests that dopamine also plays a role in negative affect. Studies have shown that dopamine is also released in response to negative stimuli, such as stress, and that it can contribute to feelings of sadness and depression.
In the end, happiness and sadness are not mutually exclusive emotions. They can coexist and one does not necessarily have to be absent for the other to be present. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward and motivation, plays a key role in positive and negative affect, it is involved in both positive and negative emotions.
Happiness and sadness are complex and multi-dimensional emotions that are influenced by a variety of factors, including genetics, environment, and personal experiences. It is important to acknowledge that both happiness and sadness are a part of the human experience and that it is normal to experience a range of emotions throughout one's life.
© Kevin Bennett, Ph.D., 2023 All Rights Reserved.
References
Berrios R, Totterdell P, Kellett S. (2015). Eliciting mixed emotions: a meta-analysis comparing models, types, and measures. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 428. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00428.
Tay, L., & Kuykendall, L. (2017). Why Self-Reports of Happiness and Sadness May Not Necessarily Contradict Bipolarity: A Psychometric Review and Proposal. Emotion Review, 9(2), 146–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073916637656
Juárez Olguín, H., Calderón Guzmán, D., Hernández García, E., & Barragán Mejía, G. (2016). The Role of Dopamine and Its Dysfunction as a Consequence of Oxidative Stress. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2016, 9730467. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9730467
