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]
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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.
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]
According to the research recorded by Dan Zarella, the more positive a person is on social media, the more followers they will get because "users become less engaged when content on their feed becomes more negative" (Lee 1). So, when someone posts a lot of positive things, it makes people want to be a part of their social media presence. People on social media seek out positivity.[5]
