Appraisals and Positive Irrational Beliefs in Dysfunctional Positive Feelings: Appraisal Vulnerabilities for Positive Emotion Disturbance

Abstract Positive emotion disturbance (PED) - high-arousal, high-intensity dysfunctional positive emotions - is thought to play a key role in bipolar disorder (BD). Yet its underlying cognitive processes remain poorly understood. In two samples, we explore whether rigid and extreme positive appraisals such as positive irrational beliefs (PIBs) function as emotion-specific appraisals associated with dysfunctional positive emotions beyond domain-general appraisals. In Study 1 ( N = 120), we demonstrate that domain-general appraisals significantly predict functional positive feelings (FPF) such as happiness and joy, while PIBs selectively predict high-arousal dysfunctional positive feelings (DPF), such as ecstasy and exaltation. Study 2 ( N = 83) replicated these findings, revealing that PIBs were primarily linked to high-arousal positive states with appraisals showing stronger associations with FPF. The pattern of associations is consistent with a dissociation between cognitive processes that may underlie adaptive versus maladaptive positive emotional experiences: domain-general appraisals were related to functional positive emotions, while PIBs were more strongly related to high-arousal, dysfunctional positive states. Further longitudinal and clinical studies may test whether differentiated cognitive targets— appraisal flexibility for adaptive positive affect and belief rigidity for dysregulated positive affect—are clinically relevant for BD.