Positivity: Psychology, Definition, and Examples

Positivity is the practice or tendency to be positive or optimistic in life. When we are positive, we engage in positive thinking, have positive emotions, and engage in positive behaviors like kindness and generosity. All of this positivity contributes to positive outcomes like improved well-being (take our well-being quiz). 

Positivity is made up of positive thinking, positive emotions, and positive behaviors. Here are some examples of what each of these may include.

Positive Thinking:

• Transforming negative thoughts into positive thoughts
• Noticing positive aspects of a situation
• Challenging pessimistic thoughts (Bekhet & Zauszniewski, 2013)

Positive Emotions:
Positive Behaviors: 

Positivity is made up of different components, each of which has different, but mostly positive, impacts on our lives.  For example, self-focused positive thinking tends to be good for well-being and buffer the effects of stress (Taylor & Brown, 1994). So try using strategies like self-compassion and self-kindness to grow this aspect of positivity. It is likely also beneficial for us to improve our feelings of self-worth and self-confidence (Miller Smedema, Catalano, & Ebener, 2010).
 
Future-focused positivity thinking and optimism tend to help us have better well-being, social relationships, and cope better with stress (Taylor & Brown, 1994). Similarly, present-focused positive thinking—for example about how much control we have over stressful situations—generally helps us cope better (Crum, Akinola, Martin, & Fath, 2017).

In A Year of Positive Thinking, you’ll transform your mindset to create positive life changes―one thought, one day, and one year at a time.
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Prompts include: 

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Here are some examples of positivity. Use these examples to help build your own positivity habit.

• “Even though I sometimes fail, I always try my best.”
• “My parents weren’t perfect, but they did the best they could.”
• “I’m so lucky to have such great friends and family in my life.”
• “That game of tennis was so fun.”
• “It’s all going to be alright.”
• “I’m looking forward to the holidays this year.”

Lots of research has shown that prior knowledge supports memory (Newberry & Bailey, 2019). When our brains have more information on a topic, the easier it is to recall anything related to that topic. By this logic, the more positive words, information, and memories we have related to positive things, the easier it should be to be positive.

Research has already shown that we can improve cognitive functions (like memory and attention) in ways that enhance positivity and well-being (Villani, Serino, Triberti, & Riva, 2017). For example, training people to focus on the positive over the negative contributes to improvement in well-being (MacLeod, et al., 2002; Wadlinger & Isaacowitz, 2008).

Overall, this suggests that strengthening our brain in ways that increase our positive knowledge should help us increase positivity.  One way to do this is to memorize positive words. Check out our positivity workbook for a science-based positive word collection (Bradley & Lang, 1999).

Gratitude notes are notes of appreciation written for specific people. Ask yourself:

• Who is someone that you are grateful for today?
• What did they do?
• Why was it important to you?

Once you’ve answered these questions, write out a note or text message to give to this person. By sharing your gratitude you can amplify and extend your positivity.

Here are a few more science-based gratitude practices for positivity:

Have you ever heard people say, “You can’t love someone else until you love yourself?” Now, I don’t know if there is science to back this up, but certainly, self-compassion is a key aspect of positivity. Being comfortable in your own skin—and finding your true self—can make it easier to accept others as they are and give and receive love more easily. To build your self-compassion, one research-based strategy is to write a self-compassion letter (Shapira & Mongrain, 2010). This letter is kind and comforting. You basically talk to yourself like you were a small child. Here’s the self-compassion letter activity if you need more help.

Positive reappraisal is an emotion regulation strategy where we look for silver linings in an otherwise challenging situation. We can try to find the benefits or downplay the negative parts until we feel a bit better about the situation. Here is a positive reappraisal activity to try to practice this skill.

Doing positivity meditations can shift your mood and help you develop a more positive mindset. Doing these types of meditations regularly (each day or even once a week) can give you the opportunity to focus on your goal to increase positivity and prioritize this goal in your life. Below, I’ve included a few of my favorite positivity meditation videos.

In some ways, negativity is the opposite of positivity, just as optimism is often contrasted with pessimism. But we have to remember that each of us developed our emotional styles for a reason. And forcing negativity to turn into positivity may not work well. For example, inducing a  positive mood in pessimists not only hurts performance, but it also makes them even more anxious. For some of us, worry is used to explore potentially negative outcomes, and this helps reduce anxiety (Norem & Chang, 2002). So just be thoughtful about how you feel and whether positivity is right for you in each situation.

Some of us are more visual and we can generate more positivity from visuals than from thought exercises or meditations. If that sounds like you, here are some positivity images that are likely to boost your mood. Take a moment to just take these in, savoring any positive emotions that arise.

Sometimes there are negative thought patterns that get in the way of our positivity. We want to feel more positive, but we also feel stuck–My life sucks, I don’t have X, or Positivity is impossible. Ask yourself, are you stuck using any of these negative thinking styles:

• Catastrophizing. Catastrophizing is when you expect that everything will turn out with the worst possible outcome. 
• Minimization. Minimizing is when you ignore or cast aside the positive side of things. 
• Overgeneralization. Overgeneralization is when you experience something negative and think it means that you’ll always have negative experiences.

​These negative thinking styles can get us stuck in our negativity and make it difficult to boost positivity. So try challenging these thinking styles.

Sometimes we just need to get our mind primed to think in more positive ways. Here are a few questions to get your mind active:

• What positive qualities or strengths do you have?
• Are there any good things that have occurred that you are grateful for?
• What music, foods, or activities do you like?
• Is there anything else that makes you feel positive?

Here are a few more articles related to positivity that you may be interested in:

• Bekhet, A. K., & Zauszniewski, J. A. (2013). Measuring use of positive thinking skills: Psychometric testing of a new scale. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 35(8), 1074-1093.
• Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (1999). Affective norms for English words (ANEW): Instruction manual and affective ratings (Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 25-36). Technical report C-1, the center for research in psychophysiology, University of Florida.
• ​Crum, A. J., Akinola, M., Martin, A., & Fath, S. (2017). The role of stress mindset in shaping cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses to challenging and threatening stress. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 30(4), 379-395.
• MacLeod, C., Rutherford, E., Campbell, L., Ebsworthy, G., & Holker, L. (2002). Selective attention and emotional vulnerability: assessing the causal basis of their association through the experimental manipulation of attentional bias. Journal of abnormal psychology, 111(1), 107.
• Miller Smedema, S., Catalano, D., & Ebener, D. J. (2010). The relationship of coping, self-worth, and subjective well-being: A structural equation model. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 53(3), 131-142.
• Newberry, K. M., & Bailey, H. R. (2019). Does semantic knowledge influence event segmentation and recall of text?. Memory & cognition, 47(6), 1173-1187.
• Norem, J. K., & Chang, E. C. (2002). The positive psychology of negative thinking. Journal of clinical psychology, 58(9), 993-1001.
• Shapira, L. B., & Mongrain, M. (2010). The benefits of self-compassion and optimism exercises for individuals vulnerable to depression. Journal of Positive Psychology, 5, 377-389.
• Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1994). Positive illusions and well-being revisited: separating fact from fiction.
• Villani, D., Serino, S., Triberti, S., & Riva, G. (2017). Ageing positively with digital games. In eHealth 360° (pp. 148-155). Springer, Cham.
• Wadlinger, H. A., & Isaacowitz, D. M. (2008). Looking happy: The experimental manipulation of a positive visual attention bias. Emotion, 8(1), 121.