草莓社区

Visiting scholar conducts positive communication research

March 8, 2017

By Angie Stewart

Jos茅 Antonio Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez was working at an advertising agency in Spain when he read 鈥�99 Francs,鈥� a novel by French author Fr茅d茅ric Beigbeder. The author, Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez said, insisted that advertisers don鈥檛 want people to be happy 鈥� because happy people don鈥檛 buy products.

That concept bothered Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez, who is now the head of the department of communication and education at Loyola University Andalucia in Spain, and a visiting scholar at 草莓社区.

Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez wanted people to be happy.

So he left the agency and began researching positive communication, a field where his backgrounds in psychology and communication intersected. He found a community of scholars absorbed in the topic.

鈥淲hen we say 鈥榩ositive storytelling,鈥� positive communication, we mean that this persuasion is for the well-being of everybody: for the well-being of the people you want to persuade and also the individual that persuades 鈥� the brand,鈥� he explained.

Now, Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez said he鈥檚 collaborating with around 75 researchers from universities all over the world 鈥� including Quinlan marketing professor Linda Tuncay Zayer 鈥� to write a handbook on positive communication.

Called 鈥淭he Routledge Handbook of Positive Communication,鈥� it will cover five areas of positive communication research: advertising, marketing and public relations; journalism and media; interpersonal communication; education; and technology. He and his colleagues aim to complete the handbook by the end of this year and present their findings at the conference of positive communication in 2018, he said.

Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez鈥檚 research deals with two levels of happiness: hedonia and eudaimonia. He said hedonia essentially means to feel positive emotions 鈥� 鈥榟appiness鈥� in the popular sense 鈥� while eudaimonia takes that feeling to a deeper level.

Eudaimonia means living virtuously 鈥� becoming happy rather than experiencing fleeting satisfaction 鈥� and is the focus of positive communication, according to Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez. He said it鈥檚 a concept that was explored by the ancient philosophers Aristotle, Plato, Seneca and Socrates, but now, two thousand years later, we have the science to back it up

鈥淭he question we can ask to all kinds of communication is the following: 鈥楾o what extent are you helping the people to be more happy in terms of virtue?鈥� he said.

Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez conceded that, in the past, we might have seen advertising with more 鈥渟elfish鈥� values. But beginning about 10 years ago, he said, there was a paradigm shift 鈥� one exemplified in Dove鈥檚 esteem-boosting advertisements and in recent Super Bowl commercials, such as Airbnb鈥檚 鈥淲e Accept鈥� segment.

鈥淸Now,] we are watching another kind of advertising that also, of course, needs to sell products, but it鈥檚 not the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Airbnb [commercial], for example, 鈥� we can say this is positive advertising in terms that it is selling Airbnb, but also with positive value 鈥� the knowledge of different people [mixing with] other cultures.鈥�

The researcher found that commercials aren鈥檛 the only aspect of Super Bowl games with the potential to be positive; he discovered in his research that fan culture itself generates a feeling of belonging and is connected to intellectual development.

The happiness derived from actively participating in a fan community could be explained by additional research Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez conducted, which found that people who valued experiences over material objects tended to be happier, while materialistic individuals were more vulnerable to depression.

鈥淓xperiences bring more happiness than objects or material goods,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e saw the clear statistical difference [in happiness] between the people that prefer material goods and the people that prefer experiences.鈥�

For companies, creating uplifting discourse alone isn鈥檛 enough to create authentic happiness, according to Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez, who said brands should also live out the values they promote.

鈥淧ositive communication is not only to seem. It鈥檚 also to do. It鈥檚 also to be,鈥� he said.

The scholar applies that principle to his own life. For holidays and birthdays, Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez and his wife exchange experiences instead of material goods. This past Christmas, he paid for her to take a cooking class, and for him, she purchased tickets to events around Chicago, where he鈥檒l be conducting research through the end of March.

In the coming weeks, Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez plans to be a guest speaker in classes, and hold a seminar on positive communication for faculty at Loyola Chicago.

In the years since Beigbeder鈥檚 鈥�99 Francs鈥� altered the course of his life, Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez has opened his second advertising agency in Spain and compiled research that counters the French author鈥檚 pessimistic outlook.

Advertisers do, Mu帽iz-Vel谩zquez maintains, want happy people.

鈥淚f Aristotle said the ultimate aim of the life is happiness for all individuals, also for communication, in all of the fields, the ultimate aim must always be happiness,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 good for the self, for the brands 鈥� the mission of communication must be the happiness of people.鈥�