PhD defence Li Chen

Keywords: Hostility, Compassion, Joy, Benefit-finding

"Prosocial and Positive Strategies as Antidotes to Hostility: Sunlight Nourishes, Rain Deepens"

This thesis investigated whether prosocial and positive psychological strategies — specifically joy, compassion and benefit-finding — can prevent or transform hostility. Using multiple experimental methods, ranging from online studies to laboratory settings, the research examined whether brief joy or compassion exercises could buffer against anger or aggression following provocation, and whether these strategies could transform existing feelings of hostility. The findings reveal a nuanced picture: brief joy and compassion exercises did not prevent anger following provocation. However, joy reliably improved positive mood, and both compassion and benefit-finding successfully reduced anger and aggression when people reflected on previous anger-inducing experiences. Additionally, the research distinguished between self-compassion and compassion toward others, revealing important differences in their emotional effects. Overall, the thesis concludes that both benefit-finding and compassion-based strategies can help reduce hostility, but joy and compassion strategies’ effectiveness still need further investigation, considerig timing, context, and the emotional demands of the situation.

Click here for the live stream.