The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones like “I can succeed.” But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
The study’s authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is very positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your stupid friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you’re just underlining his faults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students’ self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, “I am lovable.”
Those with low self-esteem didn’t feel better after the forced self-affirmation. In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.
小题1:What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?
A．It has produced positive results.
B．It is a highly profitable industry.
C．It is based on the concept of positive thinking.
D．It was established by Norman Vincent Peale.小题2:What does the word “underline” mean (Line 4, Para. 3)?
A．point out
B．lay emphasis on
C．pay no attention to
D．take for granted小题3: Which of the following is TRUE about the Canadian researchers’ study?
A．Encouraging positive thinking many do more good than harm.
B．Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one’s mood.
C．There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems.
D．Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem.小题4:What do we learn from the last paragraph?
A．Meditation may prove to be a good form of psychotherapy.
B．People can avoid making mistakes through meditation.
C．Different people tend to have different ways of thinking.
D．The effects of positive thinking vary from person to person.
