ABSTRACT
The objective of the present chapter is to encourage research on the benefits of what is called “negative affect” for mobilizing human cognition and learning. If one starts from the premise that all affect can be adaptive for human learning (for a review see Immordino-Yang, 2016), then we must consider (1) the reappraisal of so-called ugly and/or bad emotions in an era of positive thinking and extreme sensitivity, (2) productive outcomes in the presence of these ugly and/or bad emotions, and (3) the tension of measuring students’ experiences of ugly and/or bad emotions in light of incentives to hide such appraisals. Although there is extensive study of ugly and/or bad emotions, and their association with maladaptive ways of thinking and responding (Smith & Alloy, 2008), there is also need to recognize the cognitive benefits of such emotions when they are regulated and channeled for productive outcomes (Dąbrowski, 1964; Forgas, 2013).
