Ersner-Hershfield, H., Carvel, D.S., & Isaacowitz, D.M. (2009). Motivation and Emotion, 33(4), 333-342.
Poignancy is a mixed emotional experience that occurs in the face of meaningful endings (Ersner-Hershfield et al. J Pers Soc Psychol 94(1):158–167, 2008). Despite documentation of the phenomenological component of poi- gnancy, no study to date has examined the relationship between such a state and information processing. We there- fore examined the link between poignancy and attentional patterns using an eyetracking paradigm. To induce poi- gnancy, experimental condition participants imagined being in a personally chosen meaningful location for a final time; control participants also imagined being in a meaningful location but with no ending. After, both groups were shown emotional images. Experimental condition participants looked more at positive images relative to negative images, whereas participants in the control condition did not display such a preference. Findings suggest that despite being a mixed emotional experience, poignancy may produce a subsequent positivity effect in information processing.