Psychological research and literary attention to joy are not very extensive. In psychology, there is, in general, more research on negative emotions than on so-called positive emotions. Even among the latter, joy has not received much attention from researchers, who have focused more on the feeling of happiness.
Joy is that momentary emotion that is felt when, all of a sudden, we realize that all things are in their place. Joy is associated with surprise. We feel joy when an unexpected and pleasant event presents itself before us. Joy is found in small gestures, in a ray of sunshine on a gloomy day, or, quoting the philosopher Spinoza, “Joy is a joy accompanied by the idea of a past thing, which happened unexpectedly.”
From this point of view, joy is an emotion that happens. Due to this nature so linked to luck, attention has always been paid to happiness, which on the contrary is a feeling that we can more easily manipulate and build our happiness.
Yet, it is estimated that joy is the most felt emotion during the day.
In our evolution, joy has played an important role in signalling the approach to our goal and prepares our body to spend much more energy to reach the goal. This was an important function, in order to invest in social resources and increase the sense of community.
Contrary to sadness, which helps develop a critical attitude, joy prepares us to consider the opportunities we face.
We are used to associating joy with positive stimuli, which are morally acceptable or useful to the community to which we belong. Like all emotions, joy manifests itself as a result of an unconscious evaluation of the situation we are experiencing. It is not therefore certain that it is a positive or morally desirable event that triggers this feeling. Without disturbing extreme examples, such as the joy felt by the Nazi guards in annihilating the enemy, many of us will certainly have felt an emotion of Schadenfreude, or that subtle joy we feel in witnessing the misfortunes of others.
Doesn’t it seem that literature offers us many other ideas about joy, that it is better to try it than to study it?
Here are some reflection questions for you. Have you ever wondered about the things that bring you joy? Would you have ever said that it is the most felt emotion? Have you ever heard of Schadenfreude? Have you ever felt this way?
Bibliografia
Smith, T. W. (2017). Atlante delle emozioni umane: 156 emozioni che hai provato, che non sai di aver provato, che non proverai mai. Utet.
Patty Van Cappellen (2019): The emotion of joy: commentary on Johnson, The Journal of Positive Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2019.1685571
Dr Vanessa Pozzali 