The right hemisphere can deal with both positive and negative emotions, where as the left tends to be over-optimistic
The right hemisphere is more in tune with sadness, and less with anger, than the left hemisphere; and that what we call positive emotions rely on both. While the right hemisphere is associated with positive affect in many cases, and may even be the principle source of pleasurable experience, it is in general the left hemisphere that tends to take a more optimistic view of the self and the future. In fact there is evidence that it may take an unwarrantedly optimistic view.
Once again the right hemisphere’s range is more inclusive (it can deal with either), and the left hemisphere’s more partial. It is believed that the emotions which are related to bonding and empathy, whether ‘positive’ or ‘negative’, are preferentially treated by the right hemisphere, as one would expect: such stimuli capture right hemisphere attention. By the same token, those to do with competition, rivalry and individual self-belief, positive or negative, would be preferentially treated by the left hemisphere.
References
- Mcgilchrist, Iain. (2010). The Master and His Emissary Chapter 2 What Do the Hemispheres Do (127). London, UK: Yale University Press.
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Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Neuropsychology Status:☀️