Joy Research: A Narrative Review
Abstract
Tiffany Field
This narrative review includes current research on the effects and predictors of joy. Only 3 studies on the effects of joy could be found in this current literature including studies on smiling, gratitude and well-being resulting from joy. Several predictors of joy were noted in this literature. They included experiential learning, a sense of worth, being respected, being a male in surgery, connections for pharmacists, connections in neurology, connections with patients and connections for old people. Aside from this literature being relatively sparse, several methodological limitations can be noted. They include sampling problems like single gender samples and several samples of clinicians and patients. Only a few studies appeared on the effects of joy and the studies on predictors of joy were primarily focused on being respected and connected. Surprisingly, no studies were focused on the joys of relationships with family and friends except for participants in several studies expressing the desire for more time with family and friends. No studies could be found on potential underlying biological mechanisms for joy. Despite these limitations, this literature suggests ideas for future research on joy.