[inimino]

Oh my. That would indeed be interesting, if only the method could even have a hope to show such a thing.

From the abstract:

> When positive expressions were reduced, people produced fewer positive posts and more negative posts; when negative expressions were reduced, the opposite pattern occurred.

Well and good, when people see more positive posts, they post more positively. But then:

> This work also suggests that, [...] the observation of others’ positive experiences constitutes a positive experience for people.

What a leap into the dark that is!

This study cannot show anything about affect, only about what was measured, which is what people posted on Facebook.

[disgruntledphd2]

Entirely agreed. But the previous study was a self-reported observational analysis, with appproximately 300 (German) participants.

I'm not defending the study in general, but the context of the research is somewhat important.