Negative emotions too play a helpful role in our lives and so recognising our negative feelings is just as important as recognising our positive feelings. For example, negative affect such as frustration or even mild depression can play a valuable role in signalling that a goal is unattainable and that it is time to pursue a modified goal. Positive affect is often inappropriate in situations of loss or bereavement, and may lead an observer to conclude that the person is insensitive or uncaring. Thus in some situations, negative affect is a more appropriate response, and experiencing disappointment, sadness or grief may be beneficial for our long term well-being and social relationships (Huppert, 2005).
It will be unrealistic to expect a candidate to effect emotional change in a short period of time, particularly in regard to the deep seated emotions of the early developmental stages. Those emotions may take months, perhaps years, before significant change is noticed. In the process of accompanying the candidate's growth the formator needs to evaluate the degree of change she or he makes over time from negative to positive emotions in the scale of frequency of occurrence and the intensity of the emotion.