In this research, we showed that solitude generally has a deactivation effect on people’s affective experiences, decreasing both positive and negative high-arousal affects. In Study 1, we found that the deactivation effect occurred when people were alone, but not when they were with another person. Study 2 showed that this deactivation effect did not depend on whether or not the person was engaged in an activity such as reading when alone. In Study 3, high-arousal positive affect did not drop in a solitude condition in which participants specifically engaged in positive thinking or when they actively chose what to think about. Finally, in Study 4, we found that solitude could lead to relaxation and reduced stress when individuals actively chose to be alone. This research thus shed light on solitude effects in the past literature, and on people’s experiences when alone and the different factors that moderate these effects.

References

Aron, A., Melinat, E., Aron, E. N., Vallone, R. D., Bator, R. J. ( 1997 ). The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: A procedure and some preliminary findings . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 363 - 377 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Averill, J. R., Sundararajan, L. ( 2014 ). Experiences of solitude: Issues of assessment, theory, and culture . In Coplan, R. J., Bowker, J. C. (Eds.), The handbook of solitude: Psychological perspectives on social isolation, social withdrawal, and being alone (pp. 90 - 108 ). Malden, MA : John Wiley .

Google Scholar

Carstensen, L. L., Pasupathi, M., Mayr, U., Nesselroade, J. R. ( 2000 ). Emotional experience in everyday life across the adult life span . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 644 - 655 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Chua, S. N., Koestner, R. ( 2008 ). A self-determination theory perspective on the role of autonomy in solitary behavior . The Journal of Social Psychology, 148, 645 - 647 . doi:10.3200/SOCP.148.5.645-648

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., Mermelstein, R. ( 1983 ). A global measure of perceived stress . Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 385 - 396 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Coplan, R. J., Bowker, J. ( 2014 ). All alone: Multiple perspectives on the study of solitude . In Coplan, R. J., Bowker, J. C. (Eds.), The handbook of solitude: Psychological perspectives on social isolation, social withdrawal, and being alone (pp. 3 - 13 ). Malden, MA : John Wiley .

Google Scholar

Coplan, R. J., Rose-Krasnor, L., Weeks, M., Kingsbury, A., Kingsbury, M., Bullock, A. ( 2013 ). Alone is a crowd: Social motivations, social withdrawal, and socioemotional functioning in later childhood . Developmental Psychology, 49, 861 - 875 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., Griffin, S. ( 1985 ). The satisfaction with life scale . Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71 - 75 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Feldman Barrett, L., Russell, J. A. ( 1998 ). Independence and bipolarity in the structure of current affect . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 967 - 984 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Fernet, C., Austin, S., Vallerand, R. J. ( 2012 ). The effects of work motivation on employee exhaustion and commitment: An extension of the JD-R model . Work & Stress, 26, 213 - 229 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Foster, C. A., Witcher, B. S., Campbell, W. K., Green, J. D. ( 1998 ). Arousal and attraction: Evidence for automatic and controlled processes . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 86 - 101 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Goossens, L., Lasgaard, M., Luyckx, K., Vanhalst, J., Mathias, S., Masy, E. ( 2009 ). Loneliness and solitude in adolescence: A confirmatory factor analysis of alternative models . Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 890 - 894 . doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.07.011

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Harmon-Jones, E., Harmon-Jones, C., Abramson, L., Peterson, C. K. ( 2009 ). PANAS positive activation is associated with anger . Emotion, 9(2), 183 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Howard, J. L., Gagné, M. Testing a continuum structure of self-determined motivation: A meta-analysis . In press at Psychological Bulletin.

Google Scholar ISI

Kins, E., Beyers, W., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M. ( 2009 ). Patterns of home leaving and subjective well-being in emerging adulthood: The role of motivational processes and parental autonomy support . Developmental Psychology, 45, 1416 - 1429 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

La Guardia, J. G., Ryan, R. M., Couchman, C. E., Deci, E. L. ( 2000 ). Within-person variation in security of attachment: A self-determination theory perspective on attachment, need fulfillment, and well-being . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 367 - 384 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Larson, R. W. ( 1990 ). The solitary side of life: An examination of the time people spend alone from childhood to old age . Developmental Review, 10, 155 - 183 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Larson, R. W. ( 1997 ). The emergence of solitude as a constructive domain of experience in early adolescence . Child Development, 68, 80 - 93 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Larson, R. W., Csikszentmihalyi, M. ( 1978 ). Experiential correlates of time alone in adolescence . Journal of Personality, 46, 677 - 693 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Larson, R. W., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Graef, R. ( 1982 ). Time alone in daily experience: Loneliness or renewal? In Peplau, L. A., Perlman, D. (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy (pp. 40 - 53 ). New York, NY : John Wiley .

Google Scholar

Larson, R. W., Zuzanek, J., Mannell, R. ( 1985 ). Being alone versus being with people: Disengagement in the daily experience of older adults . Journal of Gerontology, 40, 375 - 381 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline

Long, C. R., Averill, J. R. ( 2003 ). Solitude: An exploration of benefits of being alone . Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 33, 21 - 44 . doi:10.1111/1468-5914.00204

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Long, C. R., More, T. A., Averill, J. R. ( 2007 ). The subjective experience of solitude . In Burns, R., Robinson, K. (Chair), Proceedings of the 2006 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium (pp. 68 - 76 ). Newtown Square, PA .

Google Scholar

Long, C. R., Seburn, M., Averill, J. R., More, T. A. ( 2003 ). Solitude experiences: Varieties, settings, and individual differences . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 578 - 583 . doi:10.1177/0146167203029005003.

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Rosenthal, R., Rosnow, R. ( 2007 ). Essentials of behavioral research: Methods and data analysis. Boston, MA : McGraw-Hill Education .

Google Scholar

Ryan, R. M., Connell, J. P. ( 1989 ). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 749 - 761 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L. ( 2000 ). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being . American Psychologist, 55, 68 - 78 . doi:10.1037110003-066X.55.1.68.

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L. ( 2017 ). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York, NY : Guilford Publications .

Google Scholar Crossref

Ryan, R. M., Frederick, C. ( 1997 ). On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well-being . Journal of Personality, 65, 529 - 565 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Shadish, W., Cook, T., Campbell, D. ( 2002 ). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston, MA : Houghton Mifflin .

Google Scholar

Wang, J. M., Rubin, K. H., Laursen, B., Booth-LaForce, C., Rose-Krasnor, L. ( 2013 ). Preference-for-solitude and adjustment difficulties in early and late adolescence . Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42, 834 - 842 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Wang, Y. ( 2006 ). Culture and solitude: Meaning and significance of being alone (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Massachusetts , Amherst .

Google Scholar

Watson, D., Clark, L. A. ( 1997 ). Measurement and mismeasurement of mood: Recurrent and emergent issues . Journal of Personality Assessment, 68, 267 - 296 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Watson, D., Clark, L. A., Tellegen, A. ( 1988 ). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063 - 1070 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Westgate, E. C., Wilson, T. D., Gilbert, D. T. ( 2017 ). With a little help for our thoughts: Making it easier to think for pleasure . Emotion, 15, 828 - 839 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI