From Awe to Z: A Taxonomy of Distinct Positive Emotions

Positive emotions have important functions related to intra- and interindividual flourishing and well-being. At the turn of the century the interest in distinct positive emotions and their importance has skyrocketed due to the positive psychology movement. Since then, researchers have explored positive emotions beyond the category of happiness and research programs revolving around concepts such as awe or gratitude have been established. Navigating the field of positive emotions has become complicated though as many different taxonomies or conceptualizations of distinct positive emotions have been suggested. In the current project we review the theoretical and empirical literature on distinct positive emotions, investigating how many positive emotions can be distinguished, to what degree they overlap, and what higher order dimensions or categories can account for them. Focusing on 1,463 journal articles published across the last two decades, we identified 13,827 instances theorizing, mentioning, or measuring positive emotions and 170 different concepts employed. Narrowing down this list, 63 experts in emotion research rated the 48 most frequently investigated concepts regarding their conceptual similarity. Based on these results, we propose an integrative taxonomy of 28 positive emotions, forming six different superordinate categories or families that are based on the two dimensions of arousal and sociality. We identify challenges associated with research on positive emotions and provide suggestions on how to move the field forward from a theoretical and methodological perspective.