Clarifying the relation between neuroticism and positive emotions

Little focus has been placed on clarifying the relation between neuroticism and positive emotions, even as numerous studies have consistently documented that neuroticism is more strongly related to negative than positive emotions while the converse holds true for extraversion. The present results show that the strength and direction of the neuroticism–positive emotion association depend on circumstances, and the relation is not necessarily always weak and non-significant. Neuroticism was inversely associated with positive emotions in an unpleasant situation, although it showed no relation with positive emotions in a pleasant situation. This suggests that high-neuroticism individuals are capable of feeling as much positive emotions as low-neuroticism individuals under certain, but not all, circumstances. This research has implications for how high-neuroticism individuals’ well-being can be enhanced via increasing their positive emotions instead of focusing on decreasing their negative emotions.