Joys

Joy is a positive affect characterized by feelings of great pleasure, delight, or gratitude. It often arises in moments of personal meaning or social connection and can vary in intensity from brief bursts to more sustained states when circumstances are deeply valued.

The word derives from Old French joie and Latin gaudium, reflecting a sense of rejoicing shared across many languages. In English usage, joy can denote both a transient emotional state and a more enduring sense of gladness tied to meaningful life experiences.

Psychologically, joy involves the appraisal of events as rewarding or significant and is associated with approach motivation. Neurobiologically, it engages reward circuits and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and endorphins. Common triggers include achievement, gratitude, social bonding, humor, beauty, and spiritual or religious experiences.

The plural form joys is often used to describe distinct sources or kinds of joyful experience—joys of achievement, parental joy, aesthetic joys, religious joy, or everyday moments of laughter. Cultural norms shape how joy is expressed, celebrated, and interpreted within communities.

In research and public discourse, joy is treated as a positive component of well-being and resilience. It is measured alongside other affective states, and its expression can reinforce social ties and prosocial behavior, even as contexts modulate its visibility and acceptability. Joy is related to happiness, delight, and elation.