In 1913, the American writer Eleanor H. Porter imagined an orphan girl who lived with her aunt, a very rigid and strict person. In that environment, Pollyanna tried to find reasons to rejoice and spread her optimism. Her character conveyed the message that, no matter how difficult circumstances may seem, a positive attitude can change almost anything.
Later, in 1978, psychologists Margaret Matlin and David Stang used the Pollyanna archetype to describe a phenomenon they observed in many people: a positivity bias, particularly when looking at the past, although it extends to many other situations. This is how they coined the “Pollyanna principle.”
What is the Pollyanna principle and how does it manifest itself in daily life?
The Pollyanna principle states that we tend to prioritize pleasant events over unpleasant ones. Matlin and Stang noted that this bias is expressed in different contexts, such as when we overestimate the size of valuable objects, avoid looking at unpleasant images that may disturb us, or tend to share good news more than bad ones.
A study conducted at the University of Vermont confirmed that there is a universal and deeply rooted positivity bias that crosses national, linguistic and cultural boundaries. After analyzing more than 100,000 words in 10 different languages, these researchers verified that we use many more positive words than negative ones.
This bias also influences our memory. The Pollyana principle is what leads us to remember past experiences as more positive than they really were. That is, we have a tendency to look at the past with a rose-colored prism, which is why we tend to think that everything in the past was better and we look back with a certain nostalgia (except in exceptional cases).
In fact, it has been proven that as we age we tend to focus more on the positive events in our lives. Older adults remember more positive images than negative ones compared to younger people. They also pay more attention to happy faces than to angry or sad ones and focus more on the positive characteristics or consequences of their decisions.
In reality, the Pollyana principle is based on our positivity bias, which refers to the tendency to interpret, see and remember reality through a favorable prism, even situations that are unfamiliar to us. Therefore, it manifests itself in three ways:
- Tendency to develop a positive vision of reality
- Tendency to feed positive expectations, visions and memories
- Tendency to favor positive information in reasoning
Obviously, people with depression and anxiety or those who have a very strong negativity bias are the exception to the norm. In them, the pessimistic tendency dilutes the effect of the Pollyanna principle.
The good – and the bad – of positivity bias
A study conducted at the University of Cincinnati revealed that people subject to positivity bias report higher levels of happiness. Without a doubt, this propensity for the positive helps us to be more optimistic and put a good face on bad weather.
Trying to focus on the positive in the midst of the storm can give us strength to move forward. It will help us not to hit bottom emotionally and will allow us to stay motivated when we set a very ambitious goal and obstacles appear along the way.
“Rewriting” our past, subtracting its emotional impact, also allows us to realize that, in the end, everything passes or that, after all, it wasn’t that big of a deal. This positivity bias when looking back allows us to face the present with a more resilient attitude.
However, not everything is rosy.
Researchers have also found that those who expose themselves to positive stimuli and avoid negative ones take longer to recognize what is unpleasant or threatening than what is pleasant and safe. They also tend to classify more stimuli as positive than what really exists.
It means that people with a very strong positivity bias could develop toxic optimism that works against them. If they are not able to perceive threats in time, they could be in danger. If they cannot objectively estimate the probability of something negative happening, they may take unnecessary risks.
When the Pollyanna mentality is taken to the extreme, we risk becoming disconnected from reality, preventing us from responding adaptively and choosing the best possible path to save resources, effort, time, and of course, suffering.
The right balance, the key to long-term well-being
As with most things in life, the sweet spot lies in a healthy balance of positivity and optimism along with a healthy dose of realism. To achieve this, we must be able to encourage ourselves and see the positive in life, but we must also ensure that we stay grounded, develop a sense of context, and strive to nurture a practical understanding of what is appropriate.
The tendency to focus on the positive can come with the wisdom that comes with age, teaching us that it is better to focus our attention on what makes us feel good and allows us to move forward, instead of wasting energy worrying uselessly about problems that we cannot solve or looking at the negative side of life. But we must make sure that vision does not prevent us from ignoring the problems we can solve.
In this sense, a study carried out at the University of Tennessee confirmed that, when negative experiences are beyond our control, such as bad weather or the loss of a loved one, facing them with a positive bias helps us recover and mitigate their impact. On the other hand, when we have a certain degree of control over those experiences, the Pollyanna effect works against us and leads to worse outcomes over time, simply because it invites us to sit back and ignore the problem as it continues to grow.
We all have bad days and difficult moments. Denying them and insisting on seeing only the positive is not the solution. We must make sure to compensate for our optimistic bias to see reality as it is and, from there, draw up a viable plan of action.
References:
Dodds, P. et Al. (2015) Human language reveals a universal positivity bias. PNAS; 112(8): 2389-2394.
O’Mara, E. M. et. Al. (2011) Positively Biased Appraisals in Everyday Life: When Do They Benefit Mental Health and When Do They Harm It? J Pers Soc Psychol; 101(3): 415–432.
Mather, M. & Knight, M. R. (2006) Angry faces get noticed quickly: Threat detection is not impaired among older adults. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences; 61B: 54-57.
Isaacowitz, D. M. et. Al. (2006) Selective preference in visual fixation away from negative images in old age? An eye-tracking study. Psychology and Aging; 21: 40-48.
Mather, J. A. et. Al. (2005) Divergent trajectories in the aging mind: Changes in working memory for affective versus visual information with age. Psychology and Aging; 20: 542-553.
Dember, W. N. & Penwell, L. (1980) Happiness, depression, and the Pollyanna principle. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society; 15 (5): 321-323.
Matlin, M. W. & Stang, D. J. (1978) The Pollyanna Principle: Selectivity in Language, Memory, and Thought.
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