Does Pleasure Create Positive Affect or Does Positive Affect Create Pleasure?

In the Persian language, happiness and pleasure are not distinguished much and sometimes they are used as the same meaning. Rumi says in a piece, "Be happy, whoever knows the secret, He knows that happiness brings happiness". Two pleasures in the second stanza can mean pleasure and happiness, which is also a displacement, now the question that is the main goal of this research arises whether pleasure creates happiness or happiness creates pleasure. Despite the apparent simplicity, the evidence-based answer to this question cannot be done by collecting cross-sectional data and requires longitudinal research or data collection in two or more situations. In this research, the data were collected with the help of Oishi, Schimmack & Diener (۲۰۰۱), at three points in time in ۲۰۱۷, ۲۰۱۸ and ۲۰۲ it was collected on a sample of ۴۱۱ students of Isfahan University. The initial sample size was ۵۰۰ people who were included in the research due to the drop of people who were present in all three situations. In addition to the pleasure tool, positive and negative affect scale of Watson Telejen and Clark ۱۹۸۸ was also used. The analysis of the findings was done with the help of cross lagged panel analysis. The second phase from ۲۰۱۹ to ۲۰۲۱ consistently supported the finding that positive affect causes pleasure and not the other way around. In addition to the pleasure tool, PANAS positive and negative emotion scale of Watson Telejen and Clark ۱۹۸۸ was also used. The analysis of the findings was done with the help of cross lagged panel analysis. The second phase from ۲۰۱۹ to ۲۰۲۱ consistently supported the finding that positive affect causes pleasure and not the other way around. In ۲۰۲۱, in the third phase, positive induced affect was used and pleasure was considered as a dependent variable. The results showed that positive induced affect was able to create pleasure in the participants of the research.

Keywords:

Pleasure , Positive Affect , Students , Isfahan