The Pollyanna principle, also called Pollyannaism or positivity bias, is the tendency for people to remember pleasant items more accurately than unpleasant ones. Research suggests that at a subconscious level the mind tends to focus on the optimistic, while at the conscious level it more often focuses on the negative.
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountPeople tend to remember pleasant experiences and items more accurately than unpleasant ones, a positive bias in the accuracy of recall for the past. 1 First Described YearSourced to the subject's own account Classification
Type of PhenomenonSourced to the subject's own account Sources
1. Pollyanna Principle (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPsychological research and findings section, first sentence
The Pollyanna principle was described by Margaret Matlin and David Stang in 1978 using the archetype of Pollyanna more specifically as a psychological principle which portrays the positive bias people have when thinking of the past.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
The Pollyanna principle (also called Pollyannaism or positivity bias) is the tendency for people to remember pleasant items more accurately than unpleasant ones.
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