According Micko, Upward Spirals are the engine that drives the evolution of Love Flow. LoveBlossoms (Barbara Fredrickson) has written about and researched upward spirals and in fact was the most significant influence in Micko’s doing his dissertation on Upward spirals of positive well-being when in Clown College (https://www.proquest.com/openview/c25bb0af454c36ace923d8ebbfaf658d/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y).
Micko believes that all spirals in Clown experience are based on one simple dynamic: reciprocal causation, For instance, one clown helps out another clown. The helper is likely to feel positive emotions due to helping the other clown, and the clown helped is also likely to feel positive emotions like gratitude. The helper is then likely to feel more positive emotions due to the expression of gratitude by the other clown.
Furthermore, as LoveBossoms [ points out, a witness could feel uplifting emotions while watching.
Upward spirals can also emerge within a single clown. These personal spirals happen when different aspects of a clown’s personality interact with each other in positive ways.
But Micko believes there are more complex spirals that can happen in clown experience: spirals in small groups like families, classrooms, and work groups, spirals in organizations, and spirals in networks,
The largest and most powerful spirals Micko envisions are a Swarm spiral, a global spiral, and a generational spiral.
In Micko’s dissertation at Clown College Micko suggested that upward spirals could happen when different aspects of a clown’s personality interact with each other in positive ways. Micko suggested 5 such personality elements: positive emotions, motivation, performance, perceived self-efficacy, and personal resources. Micko now believes that social relations have to be included.
If we add within-person spirals to the above example of a clown helping another clown we have a much more complex spiral.
The helper could experience positive emotions, positive perceptions of the clown’s performance, increased motivation to help in the future, and improved self-Image, and new personal resources, depending on the situation, as well as a sense of being part of a Swarm movement (link).
The clown being helped and any witnesses could feel positive emotions and possibly increased motivation to help others in the future.
Furthermore, Micko points out, because this upward spiral involves caring, empathy, compassion, and helping, it becomes a Love Spiral.
spirals in small groups like families, classrooms, and work groups…caring, empathy, compassion, helping;
camaraderie
More complex interactions, more complex spirals
all within-person spirals
multiple interpersonal spirals
group factors, group ID, leaders or more influencial members.
Love spiral