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emotion
Your brain processes positive concepts faster than negative ones.
The Pollyanna principle describes a systematic human tendency to favor positive information in memory and processing.
Research indicates that people identify positive words more quickly than negative ones and recall favorable experiences with greater clarity. This creates an unconscious bias that shapes how we store our personal history.
Your brain builds a slightly kinder version of the past than the reality.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Matlin and Stang, 1978
- What the check found
- The attribution to Margaret Matlin and David Stang's 1978 book is accurate. The principle is a widely recognized concept in psychology regarding the preference for positive information.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.