The kind of rush that a person gets from rapid-fire thinking may be transient, but “these little bursts of positive emotion add up,” says psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside. In addition, they suggest, thinking quickly may unleash the brain’s novelty-loving dopamine system, which is involved in sensations of pleasure and reward. This lay belief may lead us to instinctively infer that if we are thinking quickly we must be happy. In earlier research, they found that people generally believe fast thinking is a sign of a good mood. It is unclear why thought speed affects mood, but Pronin and her colleagues theorize that our own expectations may be part of the equation. (They further suggest that slow, varied thinking leads to the kind of calm, peaceful happiness associated with mindfulness meditation, whereas slow, repetitive thinking tends to sap energy and spur depressive thoughts.) And based on their own and others’ research, Pronin and a colleague propose in another recent article that although fast and varied thinking causes elation, fast but repetitive thoughts can instead trigger anxiety. For people with bipolar disorder, thoughts can race so quickly that the manic feeling becomes aversive. Pronin notes that rapid-fire thinking can sometimes have negative consequences. Activities that promote fast thinking, then, such as whipping through an easy crossword puzzle or brain-storming quickly about an idea, can boost energy and mood, says psychologist Emily Pronin, the study’s lead author. Results suggested that thinking fast made participants feel more elated, creative and, to a lesser degree, energetic and powerful. Other participants performed similar tasks at a relaxed speed. In six experiments, researchers at Princeton and Harvard universities made research participants think quickly by having them generate as many problem-solving ideas (even bad ones) as possible in 10 minutes, read a series of ideas on a computer screen at a brisk pace or watch an I Love Lucy video clip on fast-forward. A new study shows that accelerated thinking can improve your mood. Lousy day? Don’t try to think happy thoughts-just think fast.
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