Positivity effect

"Positivity bias" redirects here. For the societal tendency, see Pollyanna principle. For the psychological effect in older adults, see Socioemotional selectivity theory. For the bias towards publishing research with positive results, see Publication bias.

Not to be confused with Positive affect.

The positivity effect is the ability to constructively analyze a situation where the desired results are not achieved, but still obtain positive feedback that assists one's future progression.

Empirical research findings suggest that the positivity effect can be influenced by internal positive speech, where engaging in constructive self-dialogue can significantly improve one’s ability to perceive and react to challenging situations more optimistically. ^[1]

The findings of a study show that the optimism bias in future-oriented thinking fulfils a self-improvement purpose while also suggesting this bias probably reflects a common underpinning motivational process across various future-thinking domains, either episodic or semantic. ^[2]

In attribution

Main article: Selective perception

The positivity effect as an attribution phenomenon relates to the habits and characteristics of people when evaluating the causes of their behaviors. To positively attribute is to be open to attributing a person’s inherent disposition as the cause of their positive behaviors, and the situations surrounding them as the potential cause of their negative behaviors.

In perception

Two studies by Emilio Ferrara have shown that, on online social networks like Twitter and Instagram, users prefer to share positive news, and are emotionally affected by positive news more than twice as much as they are by negative news. ^{[3] [4]}

See also

• Psychology portal

• List of biases in judgment and decision making
• List of memory biases
• Optimism bias
• Pollyanna principle
• Positivity offset
• Rosy retrospection
• Self-serving bias
• Toxic positivity
• Wishful thinking

Notes

1. Racy, Famira; Morin, Alain (January 2024). "Relationships between Self-Talk, Inner Speech, Mind Wandering, Mindfulness, Self-Concept Clarity, and Self-Regulation in University Students". Behavioral Sciences. 14 (1): 55. doi: 10.3390/bs14010055 . ISSN   2076-328X. PMC   10813701 . PMID   38247707.
2. Salgado, Sinué; Berntsen, Dorthe (2019-04-29). "My future is brighter than yours: the positivity bias in episodic future thinking and future self-images". Psychological Research. 84 (7): 1829–1845. doi:10.1007/s00426-019-01189-z. ISSN   0340-0727. PMID   31037451. S2CID   140294480.
3. Ferrara, Emilio; Yang, Zeyao (2015). "Measuring Emotional Contagion in Social Media". PLoS ONE . 10 (1): e0142390. arXiv: 1506.06021 . Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1042390F. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142390 . PMC   4636231 . PMID   26544688.
4. Ferrara, Emilio; Yang, Zeyao (2015). "Quantifying the effect of sentiment on information diffusion in social media". PeerJ Computer Science. 1: e26. arXiv: 1506.06072 . Bibcode:2015arXiv150606072F. doi: 10.7717/peerj-cs.26 . S2CID   14133100.

References

Dictionaries and encyclopedias

• Hoorens, Vera (2014). "Positivity Bias". Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer Netherlands. pp. 4938–4941. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2219. ISBN   978-94-007-0752-8.
• Colman, Andrew M (2008). "Positivity Bias". A Dictionary of Psychology (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-953406-7.

Papers

• Taylor, S.E.; Koivumaki, J.H. (1976). "The perception of self and others: Acquaintanceship, affect and actor-observer differences". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . 33 (4): 403–408. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.33.4.403. PMID   1271218.
• Winquist, Lynn A.; Mohr, Cynthia D.; Kenny, David A. (1998). "The Female Positivity Effect in the Perception of Others". Journal of Research in Personality. 32 (3): 370–388. doi:10.1006/jrpe.1998.2221.
• Mezulis, A. H.; Abramson, L. Y.; Hyde, J. S.; Hankin, B. L. (2004). "Is there a universal positivity bias in attributions? A meta-analytic review of individual, developmental, and cultural differences in the self-serving attributional bias". Psychological Bulletin. 130 (5): 711–747. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.5.711. PMID   15367078.