The conceptual structure of positive emotions in Japanese university and graduate students

Abstract

This study examined the semantic organization of positive emotions among university and graduate students in Japan. A total of 100 participants individually sorted 132 positive-emotion words into categories using flash cards. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the sorted terms yielded a comprehensive map of the concept. We found, at the highest level of abstraction, two large distinctions: “other-oriented positive emotions” and “self-oriented positive emotions.” The former included (a) aijo (love), (b) kantan (wonder), and (c) ikei/sonkei (awe/respect), while the latter included (d) nagomi/yorokobi (peacefulness/joy), (e) ikigomi (enthusiasm), and (f) hokori (pride) at the basic level. Further, these basic categories contained 11 subordinate categories. These findings suggest that in semantic organization, positive emotions are generally classified according to the self–other dimension and that 11 subordinate categories have different features.