positive thinking science research

Time to get real on the power of positive thinking

Positive thinking has long been extolled as the route to happiness, but it might be time to ditch the self-help books after a new study shows that realists enjoy a greater sense of long-term wellbeing than optimists.

Researchers from the University of Bath and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) studied people's financial expectations in life and compared them to actual outcomes over an 18-year period. They found that when it comes to the happiness stakes, overestimating outcomes was associated with lower wellbeing than setting realistic expectations.

The findings point to the benefits of making decisions based on accurate, unbiased assessments. They bring in to question the 'power of positive thinking' which frames optimism as a self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby believing in success delivers it, along with immediate happiness generated by picturing a positive future.

Negative thinking should not replace positive thinking though. Pessimists also fared badly compared to realists, undermining the view that low expectations limit disappointment and present a route to contentment.

Their numbers are dwarfed though by the number of people -- estimated to be 80 percent of the population -- who can be classed as unrealistic optimists. These people tend to overestimate the likelihood that good things will happen and underestimate the possibility of bad things. High expectations set them up for large doses of destructive disappointment.

"Plans based on inaccurate beliefs make for poor decisions and are bound to deliver worse outcomes than would rational, realistic beliefs, leading to lower well-being for both optimists and pessimists. Particularly prone to this are decisions on employment, savings and any choice involving risk and uncertainty," explains Dr Chris Dawson, Associate Professor in Business Economics in Bath's School of Management.

"I think for many people, research that shows you don't have to spend your days striving to think positively might come as a relief. We see that being realistic about your future and making sound decisions based on evidence can bring a sense of well-being, without having to immerse yourself in relentless positivity."

The results could also be due to counteracting emotions, say the researchers. For optimists, disappointment may eventually overwhelm the anticipatory feelings of expecting the best, so happiness starts to fall. For pessimists, the constant dread of expecting the worst may overtake the positive emotions from doing better than expected.

In the context of the Covid-19 crisis the researchers highlight that optimists and pessimists alike make decisions based on biased expectations: not only can this lead to bad decision making but also a failure to undertake suitable precautions to potential threats.

"Optimists will see themselves as less susceptible to the risk of Covid-19 than others and are therefore less likely to take appropriate precautionary measures. Pessimists, on the other hand, may be tempted to never leave their houses or send their children to school again. Neither strategy seems like a suitable recipe for well-being. Realists take measured risks based on our scientific understanding of the disease," said co-author Professor David de Meza from LSE's Department of Management.

Published in the American journal Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin the, findings are based on analysis from the British Household Panel Survey -- a major UK longitudinal survey -- tracking 1,600 individuals annually over 18 years.

To investigate whether optimists, pessimists or realists have the highest long-term well-being the researchers measured self-reported life satisfaction and psychological distress. Alongside this, they measured participants' finances and their tendency to have over- or under-estimated them.

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Materials provided by University of Bath . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• David de Meza, Chris Dawson. Neither an Optimist Nor a Pessimist Be: Mistaken Expectations Lower Well-Being . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 2020; 014616722093457 DOI: 10.1177/0146167220934577

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A Harvard study found that women who were optimistic had a significantly reduced risk of dying from several major causes of death over an eight-year period, compared with women who were less optimistic.  

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How power of positive thinking works

Karen Feldscher

Harvard Chan School Communications

Study looks at mechanics of optimism in reducing risk of dying prematurely

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Can happiness lead toward health?

Having an optimistic outlook on life — a general expectation that good things will happen — may help people live longer, according to a new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study found that women who were optimistic had a significantly reduced risk of dying from several major causes of death — including cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and infection — over an eight-year period, compared with women who were less optimistic.

The study appears online today in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

“While most medical and public health efforts today focus on reducing risk factors for diseases, evidence has been mounting that enhancing psychological resilience may also make a difference,” said Eric Kim , research fellow in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and co-lead author of the study. “Our new findings suggest that we should make efforts to boost optimism, which has been shown to be associated with healthier behaviors and healthier ways of coping with life challenges.”

The study also found that healthy behaviors only partially explain the link between optimism and reduced mortality risk. One other possibility is that higher optimism directly impacts our biological systems, Kim said.

The study analyzed data from 2004 to 2012 from 70,000 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study, a long-running study tracking women’s health via surveys every two years. They looked at participants’ levels of optimism and other factors that might play a role in how optimism may affect mortality risk, such as race, high blood pressure, diet, and physical activity.

The most optimistic women (the top quartile) had a nearly 30 percent lower risk of dying from any of the diseases analyzed in the study compared with the least optimistic (the bottom quartile), the study found. The most optimistic women had a 16 percent lower risk of dying from cancer; 38 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease; 39 percent lower risk of dying from stroke; 38 percent lower risk of dying from respiratory disease; and 52 percent lower risk of dying from infection.

While other studies have linked optimism with reduced risk of early death from cardiovascular problems, this was the first to find a link between optimism and reduced risk from other major causes.

“Previous studies have shown that optimism can be altered with relatively uncomplicated and low-cost interventions — even something as simple as having people write down and think about the best possible outcomes for various areas of their lives, such as careers or friendships,” said postdoctoral research fellow Kaitlin Hagan, co-lead author of the study. “Encouraging use of these interventions could be an innovative way to enhance health in the future.”

Other Harvard Chan School authors of the study included Professor Francine Grodstein and Associate Professor Immaculata De Vivo, both in the Department of Epidemiology, and Laura Kubzansky, Lee Kum Kee Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and co-director of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness. Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor Dawn DeMeo was also a co-author.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

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The Power of Positive Thinking

Here’s heartwarming news: People with a family history of heart disease who also had a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within five to 25 years than those with a more negative outlook.

That’s the finding from Johns Hopkins expert  Lisa R. Yanek, M.P.H. , and her colleagues. The finding held even in people with family history who had the most risk factors for coronary artery disease, and positive people from the general population were 13 percent less likely than their negative counterparts to have a heart attack or other coronary event.

Yanek and her team determined “positive” versus “negative” outlook using a survey tool that assesses a person’s cheerfulness, energy level, anxiety levels and satisfaction with health and overall life. But you don’t need a survey to assess your own positivity, says Yanek. “I think people tend to know how they are.”

Hope and Your Heart

The mechanism for the connection between health and positivity remains murky, but researchers suspect that people who are more positive may be better protected against the inflammatory damage of stress. Another possibility is that hope and positivity help people make better health and life decisions and focus more on long-term goals. Studies also find that negative emotions can weaken immune response.

What  is  clear, however, is that there is definitely a strong link between “positivity” and health. Additional studies have found that a positive attitude improves outcomes and life satisfaction across a spectrum of conditions—including traumatic brain injury,  stroke  and brain tumors.

Can You Boost Your Bright Side?

Although a positive personality is something we’re born with and not something we can inherently change, Yanek says, there are steps you can take to improve your outlook and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Simply smile more.

A University of Kansas study found that smiling—even fake smiling—reduces heart rate and blood pressure during stressful situations. So try a few minutes of YouTube humor therapy when you’re stomping your feet waiting in line or fuming over a work or family situation. It’s difficult not to smile while watching a favorite funny video.

Practice reframing.

Instead of stressing about a traffic jam, for instance, appreciate the fact that you can afford a car and get to spend a few extra minutes listening to music or the news, accepting that there is absolutely nothing you can do about the traffic.

Build resiliency.

Resiliency is the ability to adapt to stressful and/or negative situations and losses. Experts recommend these key ways to build yours:

• Maintain good relationships with family and friends.
• Accept that change is a part of life.
• Take action on problems rather than just hoping they disappear or waiting for them to resolve themselves. 

Definitions

Cardiovascular (car-dee-oh-vas-cue-ler) disease : Problems of the heart or blood vessels, often caused by atherosclerosis—the build-up of fat deposits in artery walls—and by high blood pressure, which can weaken blood vessels, encourage atherosclerosis and make arteries stiff. Heart valve disorders, heart failure and off-beat heart rhythms (called arrhythmias) are also types of cardiovascular disease.

Immune response : How your immune system recognizes and defends itself against bacteria, viruses, toxins and other harmful substances. A response can include anything from coughing and sneezing to an increase in white blood cells, which attack foreign substances.

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Positivity Is Not Magic. It’s Science.

Achieving workplace positivity comes down to neuroscience and psychology, not mystery and chance, writes Ana García Villas-Boas.

How can I keep my team motivated in the face of uncertainty? How can I inspire individuals to be proactive and take action? How can I encourage innovation? These are just some of the questions I hear from my clients these days. Leading people has always been a challenge – and these days particularly so, thanks to the pandemic and the increased stress it has caused for organizations and the people inside them.

Thus, in addition to the traditional business activities, leaders must now manage the emotions of their teams. To do this, leaders must also manage their own emotions more mindfully and learn to focus on and prioritize their own self-care.

Yet, the end of the quarter is always looming, the bottom line ever-present. So how can leaders keep this in mind, sustain motivation and productivity among workers while conveying a sense of calmness? Advances in neuroscience and the science of positive psychology provide insight here.

Barbara Fredrickson, a professor of Psychology and Director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been investigating the effect of positive emotions for more than thirty years. Her research shows that people with a positive attitude overcome difficulties more quickly and are more resilient. Based on her research, she developed the broaden-and-build theory , which uses positive emotions to solve developmental and growth challenges instead of solving survival issues.

A positive mindset is the breeding ground for creativity, expansive and visionary thinking, empathy, cooperation, and connection. Moreover, broadening one’s mindset makes people better equipped to overcome adversity. Her findings shed light on how people with a positive mindset become stronger and develop exponentially in overcoming obstacles. In the world of business, Frederickson’s research shows that high-performing teams use at least a 3:1 ratio of positive messages as opposed to negative ones.

Marcial Losada and Emily Heaphy, who studied the impact of team conversations , calculate that the ratio of positive versus negative interactions in high-performing teams is 6:1. Their research clearly demonstrates the impact of the type of conversations on team performance, and therefore on results:

The first question leaders should ask themselves is: what type of conversations do we have amongst the team? in the hallways? via email and web chats? with superiors and with colleagues? Are these productive conversations or do they stir up emotions that are unproductive, even toxic and destructive?

Resonant leaders attract while dissonant leaders repel. Richard Boyatzis, a professor at Case Western University, has studied the relationship between inspirational leadership and its impact on relationships from a neuroscience perspective. In their book, Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence , Boyatzis, Daniel Goleman, and Annie McKee coined the term “resonant leader” to describe a figure who is “attuned to people’s feelings” and “moves them in a positive emotional direction.”

Thanks to advances in magnetic resonance research on the movement of brain neurons, studies have shown that resonant leaders connect and activate one part of the brain, while dissonant leaders, who send out negative emotions, activate another part of the brain. This is produced by the effect of mirror neurons which, as their name indicates, reproduce the reflection of what they perceive. This brain-to-brain transmission takes place primarily below consciousness.

Resonant leaders turn on brain circuitry that makes people become receptive to new ideas and enables them to observe and analyze business and social environments. However, a different circuit is triggered in dissonant leaders. The socializing brain circuit is disabled and the areas of the brain that focus on problem-solving and efficient job performance are activated. When the task-execution circuit is turned on, the circuit that activates receptiveness to new ideas and environmental observation is turned off.

Therefore, when leaders help people around them to feel positive, these people are receptive to building relationships; they can think creatively and they are open to different ideas, thus ratifying Frederickson’s broaden-and-build theory. Dissonant leaders, however, have the opposite effect – by focusing primarily on weaknesses and problems, these leaders make others feel threatened and activate their brain’s survival mode, which literally encourages them to flee.

What can leaders do to ensure teams are motivated and with a positive attitude?

• Use consistently positive language. Construct sentences around what you want to achieve and avoid what you don’t want. For example, instead of saying “we cannot afford the number of incidents to increase,” say “let’s do everything we can to increase service quality and decrease the number of incidents.”  
• Look on the bright side. Try starting meetings with an appreciative warmer by asking, “What is the best thing that has happened to you this week? What has been the best business or customer service interaction?” These simple questions tap into positive emotions and activate the brain’s circuitry of expansion, building, and connection.
• Ask generative questions that focus on making the best of the situation, and even improving it. For example, when is your customer most satisfied? How can everyone contribute to the success of this project? If you were starting the project from scratch, how would you go about it? What is important to you in this particular project?
• Nurture the positive energy. It is important to surround yourself with people with whom you can have productive conversations and a mutual investment in each other’s goals. In addition, building a network of positive relationships – and this requires an investment of time and focus – create a support system for when we are discouraged or confused.
• Take responsibility for your self-care. Looking after one’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health is a priority for everyone and particularly so for leaders because they have many others who depend on them. It is important to find the time to recharge, relax, and open up space for reflective thinking. This can be done through regular exercise, healthy eating, mindfulness practice, and spending time with family and friends.

MADAVI, where I work as an appreciative facilitator, recently conducted a project with the Spanish supermarket chain, Eroski, in which we focus on helping managers and employees discover what they do best in terms of customer service and find ways to improve upon it even more. Just nine months after the initiative got off the ground, Eroski customer satisfaction rose from 68% to 87%.

It’s not magic, it’s science. By cherishing and nurturing the emotions and connections between the people of an organization, leaders can create positive results that make an impact on individuals and on business.

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The Power of Positive Thinking

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Carly Snyder, MD is a reproductive and perinatal psychiatrist who combines traditional psychiatry with integrative medicine-based treatments.

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What Is Positive Thinking?

• Benefits of Positive Thinking

How to Practice Positive Thinking

Potential pitfalls of positive thinking, frequently asked questions.

Do you tend to see the glass as half empty or half full? You have probably heard that question plenty of times. Your answer relates directly to the concept of positive thinking and whether you have a positive or negative outlook on life. Positive thinking plays an important role in positive psychology , a subfield devoted to the study of what makes people happy and fulfilled.

Research has found that positive thinking can aid in stress management and even plays an important role in your overall health and well-being. It can help combat feelings of low self-esteem, improve physical health, and help brighten your overall outlook on life.

This article discusses what positive thinking is and the health benefits of being positive. It also explores some of the strategies you can use to become a more positive thinker.

Positive thinking means approaching life's challenges with a positive outlook. It doesn't mean seeing the world through rose-colored lenses by ignoring or glossing over the negative aspects of life.

Positive thinking does not necessarily mean avoiding difficult situations. Instead, positive thinking means making the most of potential obstacles, trying to see the best in other people, and viewing yourself and your abilities in a positive light.

Some researchers, including positive psychologist Martin Seligman , frame positive thinking in terms of explanatory style. Your explanatory style is how you explain why events happened.

• Optimistic explanatory style : People with an optimistic explanatory style tend to give themselves credit when good things happen and typically blame outside forces for bad outcomes. They also tend to see negative events as temporary and atypical.
• Pessimistic explanatory style : People with a pessimistic explanatory style often blame themselves when bad things happen, but fail to give themselves adequate credit for successful outcomes. They also have a tendency to view negative events as expected and lasting. As you can imagine, blaming yourself for events outside of your control or viewing these unfortunate events as a persistent part of your life can have a detrimental impact on your state of mind.

Positive thinkers are more apt to use an optimistic explanatory style, but the way in which people attribute events can also vary depending upon the exact situation. For example, a person who is generally a positive thinker might use a more pessimistic explanatory style in particularly challenging situations, such as at work or at school.

While there are many factors that determine whether a person has a positive outlook, the way that they explain the events of their life, known as their explanatory style, plays an important role.

Positive Psychology vs. Positive Thinking

While the terms "positive thinking" and "positive psychology" are sometimes used interchangeably, it is important to understand that they are not the same thing. Positive thinking is about looking at things from a positive point of view. It is a type of thinking that focuses on maintaining a positive, optimistic attitude. Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the effects of optimism, what causes it, and when it is best utilized.

Health Benefits of Positive Thinking

In recent years, the so-called "power of positive thinking" has gained a great deal of attention thanks to self-help books such as "The Secret." While these pop-psychology books often tout positive thinking or philosophies like the law of attraction as a sort of psychological panacea, empirical research has found that there are many very real health benefits linked to positive thinking and optimistic attitudes.

Positive thinking is linked to a wide range of health benefits, including:

• Better stress management and coping skills
• Enhanced psychological health
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Increased physical well-being
• Longer life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease-related death

One study of 1,558 older adults found that positive thinking could also reduce frailty during old age.

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Aging Research found that having a positive mental attitude was linked to decreased mortality over a 35-year period. People who had a more positive outlook were also more likely to get regular physical exercise, avoid smoking, eat a healthier diet, and get more quality sleep.

Clearly, there are many benefits of positive thinking . But why, exactly, does positive thinking have such a strong impact on physical and mental health ?

One theory is that people who think positively tend to be less affected by stress. Research suggests that having more positive automatic thoughts helps people become more resilient in the face of life's stressful events. People who had high levels of positive thinking were more likely to walk away from stressful life events with a higher sense of the meaningfulness of life.

Another possibility is that people who think positively tend to live healthier lives in general; they may exercise more, follow a more nutritious diet, and avoid unhealthy behaviors.

While you might be more prone to negative thinking, there are strategies that you can use to become a more positive thinker. Practicing these strategies regularly can help you get in the habit of maintaining a more positive outlook on life.

• Notice your thoughts : Start paying attention to the type of thoughts you have each day. If you notice that many of them are negative, make a conscious effort to reframe how you are thinking in a more positive way.
• Write in a gratitude journal : Practicing gratitude can have a range of positive benefits and it can help you learn to develop a better outlook. Experiencing grateful thoughts helps people to feel more optimistic.
• Use positive self-talk : How you talk to yourself can play an important role in shaping your outlook. Studies have shown that shifting to more positive self-talk can have a positive impact on your emotions and how you respond to stress.

While there are many benefits to thinking positively, there are actually times when more realistic thinking is more advantageous. For example, in some situations, negative thinking can actually lead to more accurate decisions and outcomes.

Some research has found that negative thinking and moods can actually help people make better, more accurate judgments.

However, research suggests that realistic optimism might be the ideal. The results of a 2020 study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin revealed that people who have mistaken expectations, whether those expectations are optimistic or pessimistic, tend to fare worse in terms of mental health when compared to realists.  

The authors of the study suggest that the disappointment that optimists experience when their high hopes are not realized can have a negative impact on well-being. This doesn't mean that people should strive to be pessimistic thinkers. since studies indicate that people with a negative outlook tend to fare the worst. Instead, having a generally positive outlook that is focused on realistic expectations may be the best approach. 

In some cases, inappropriately applied positive thinking can cross the line into what is known as toxic positivity . This involves insisting on maintaining a positive mindset no matter how upsetting, dire, or damaging a situation might be. This type of excessive positivity can impede authentic communication and cause people to experience feelings of shame or guilt if they struggle to maintain such an overly positive outlook.

Positive thinking can have pitfalls at times. While it is important to have an overall positive outlook, unrealistically high expectations can lead to disappointment. Being unable to accept any negative emotions, known as toxic positivity, can also have a negative effect on mental well-being.

A Word From Verywell

Even if you are not a natural-born optimist, there are things you can do to learn how to think more positively and become a positive thinker . One of the first steps is to focus on your own inner monologue and to pay attention to your self-talk.

Strategies that can improve your positive thinking include noticing your thoughts and making a conscious effort to shift from negative thoughts to more positive one. Practicing positive self-talk and practicing gratitude can also be helpful ways to start having a more positive outlook.

Positive thinking is important because it can have a beneficial impact on both physical and mental well-being. People who maintain a more positive outlook on life cope better with stress, have better immunity, and have a lower risk of premature death. Positive thinking also helps promote greater feelings of happiness and overall satisfaction with life.

Positive thinking has been shown to help people live healthier, happier lives. When they have a positive outlook, they are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors such as exercising, eating healthy, and getting plenty of rest. Downsides of positive thinking include the risk of forming overly high expectations that result in disappointment and being affected by toxic positivity.

Practicing mindfulness can be a way to build self-awareness and become more conscious of how your negative thoughts affect your moods and behaviors. As you become better at identifying negative thought patterns, you can then take steps to shift into a more positive mindset. Actively replacing negative thoughts with positive ones can help you eventually learn to become a more positive thinker.

Kim ES, Hagan KA, Grodstein F, DeMeo DL, De Vivo I, Kubzansky LD. Optimism and cause-specific mortality: a prospective cohort study . Am J Epidemiol. 2017;185(1):21-29. doi:10.1093/aje/kww182

Seligman M.  Learned Optimism . Random House.

Chang E, Sanna L.  Virtue, Vice, And Personality: The Complexity of Behavior . American Psychological Association.

Johns Hopkins Medicine. The power of positive thinking .

Park N, Peterson C, Szvarca D, Vander Molen RJ, Kim ES, Collon K. Positive psychology and physical health: Research and applications . Am J Lifestyle Med . 2016;10(3):200-206. doi:10.1177/1559827614550277

Gale CR, Mõttus R, Deary IJ, Cooper C, Sayer AA. Personality and risk of frailty: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing . Ann Behav Med . 2017;51(1):128-136. doi:10.1007/s12160-016-9833-5

Paganini-Hill A, Kawas CH, Corrada MM. Positive mental attitude associated with lower 35-year mortality: The Leisure World Cohort Study .  J Aging Res . 2018;2018:2126368. doi:10.1155/2018/2126368

Boyraz G, Lightsey OR Jr. Can positive thinking help? Positive automatic thoughts as moderators of the stress-meaning relationship . Am J Orthopsychiatry . 2012;82(2):267-77. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.2012.01150.x

Kross E, Bruehlman-Senecal E, Park J, et al. Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: how you do it matters . J Pers Soc Psychol . 2014;106(2):304-24. doi:10.1037/a0035173

Forgas JP. Don’t worry, be sad! On the cognitive, motivational, and interpersonal benefits of negative mood . Curr Dir Psychol Sci . 2013;22(3):225-232. doi:10.1177/0963721412474458

De Meza D, Dawson C. Neither an optimist nor a pessimist be: mistaken expectations lower well-being . Pers Soc Psychol Bull . 2021;47(4):540-550. doi:10.1177/0146167220934577

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

May 1, 2024

18 min read

Can Scientific Thinking Save the World?

A physicist, a philosopher and a psychologist are working together to bring better, smarter decision-making to the masses

By Lee Billings

Kislev/Getty Images

A physicist, a philosopher and a psychologist walk into a classroom.

Although it sounds like a premise for a joke, this was actually the origin of a unique collaboration between Nobel Prize–winning physicist Saul Perlmutter, philosopher John Campbell and the psychologist Rob MacCoun. Spurred by what they saw as a perilously rising tide of irrationality, misinformation and sociopolitical polarization, they teamed up in 2011 to create a multidisciplinary course at the University of California, Berkeley, with the modest goal of teaching undergraduate students how to think—more specifically, how to think like a scientist . That is, they wished to show students how to use scientific tools and techniques for solving problems, making decisions and distinguishing reality from fantasy . The course proved popular, drawing enough interest to run for more than a decade (and counting) while sparking multiple spin-offs at other universities and institutions.

Now the three researchers are bringing their message to the masses with a new book, Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense . And their timing is impeccable: Our world seems to have only become more uncertain and complex since their course began, with cognitive biases and information overload all too easily clouding debates over high-stakes issues such as climate change , global pandemics , and the development and regulation of artificial intelligence . But one need not be an academic expert or policymaker to find value in this book’s pages. From parsing the daily news to treating a medical condition, talking with opposite-minded relatives at Thanksgiving or even choosing how to vote in an election, Third Millennium Thinking offers lessons that anyone can use—individually and collectively—to make smarter, better decisions in everyday life.

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Scientific American spoke with Perlmutter, Campbell and MacCoun about their work—and whether it’s wishful thinking to believe logic and evidence can save the world.

[ An edited transcript of the interview follows .]

How did all of this begin, and what motivated each of you to take on such an ambitious project?

PERLMUTTER: In 2011 I was looking at our society making big decisions: “Should we raise the debt ceiling?”—things like that. And surprisingly enough, we were not doing it in a very sensible way. The conversations I was hearing about these political decisions weren’t like those I’d have over lunch with a bunch of scientists at the lab—not because of politics, but rather because of the style of how scientists tend to think about solving problems. And I thought, “Well, where did scientists learn this stuff? And is it possible for us to articulate what these concepts are and teach them in a way that people would apply them in their whole lives, not just in a lab? And can we empower them to think for themselves using the best available cognitive tools rather than teaching them to ‘just trust scientists?’”

So that was the starting point of it. But that’s not the whole story. If you put a bunch of physicists together in a faculty meeting, they don’t necessarily act much more rational than any other faculty members, right? So it was clear we really needed expertise from other fields, too, such as John’s expertise in philosophy and Rob’s expertise in social psychology. We actually put a little sign up looking for people who’d want to help develop the course. It said something like, “Are you embarrassed watching our society make decisions? Come help invent our course; come help save the world.”

MacCOUN: When Saul approached me about the course, I was delighted to work with him. Even back in 2011 I was filled with angst about the inefficacy of policy debates; I had spent years working on two big hot-button issues: drug legalization and open military service for gay and lesbian individuals. I worked with policymakers and advocates on both sides, just trying to be an honest broker in these debates to help clarify the truth—you know, “What do we actually know, and what don’t we know?” And the quality of debate for both of those issues was so bad, with so much distortion of research findings. So when Saul mentioned the course to me, I just jumped at the chance to work on this.

CAMPBELL: It was obvious to me that this was philosophically very interesting. I mean, we’re talking about how science inputs into decision-making. And in decision-making, there are always questions of value, as well as questions of fact; questions about where you want to go, as well as questions about how do we get there; and questions about what “the science” can answer. And it’s very interesting to ask, “Can we tease apart facts and values in decision-making? Does the science have anything to tell us about values?” Well, likely not. Scientists always shy away from telling us about values. So we need to know something about how broader effective concerns can be woven in with scientific results in decision-making.

Some of this is about how science is embedded in the life of a community. You take a village—you have the pub, you have the church, you know clearly what they are for and how they function in the whole community. But then the science, what is that? Is it just this kind of shimmering thing that produces telephones, TVs and stuff? How does it fit into the life of the community? How does it embed in our civilization? Classically, it’s been regarded as a “high church” kind of thing. The scientists are literally in an ivory tower and do as they please. And then occasionally, they produce these gadgets, and we’re not sure if we should like them or not. But we really need a more healthy, grounded conception of how science plays into our broader society.

I’m glad you brought up the distinction between facts and values. To me, that overlaps with the distinction between groups and individuals—“values” feel more personal and subjective and thus more directly applicable to a reader, in a way. And the book is ultimately about how individuals can empower themselves with so-called scientific thinking—presumably to live their best lives based on their personal values. But how does that accord with this other assertion you’ve just made, saying science likely doesn’t have anything to tell us about values in the first place?

PERLMUTTER: Well, I think what John was getting at is: even once we develop all these ways to think through facts, we don’t want to stop thinking through values, right? One point here is that we’ve actually made progress together thinking about values over centuries. And we have to keep talking to each other. But it’s still very helpful to separate the values and the facts because each requires a slightly different style of thinking, and you want people to be able to do both.

MacCOUN: That’s right. Scientists can’t tell us and shouldn’t tell us, in fact, what values to hold. Scientists get in trouble when they try that. We talk in the book about “pathologies” of science that sometimes happen and how those can be driven by values-based thinking. Regarding values, where science excels is in clarifying where and how they conflict so that in public policy analysis, you can inform the trade-offs to make sure that the stakeholders in a debate empirically understand how its various outcomes advance certain values while impeding others. Usually what happens next is finding solutions that minimize those trade-offs and reduce the friction between conflicting values.

And let’s be clear: when we talk about values, we sometimes talk as if people are either one thing or another. You know, someone may ask, “Are you for or against ‘freedom?’” But in reality, everyone values freedom. It’s just a question of how much, of how we differ in our rankings of such things. And we’re all looking for some way to pursue more than one value at a time, and we need other people to help us get there.

PERLMUTTER: And let’s remember that we’re not even consistent within our own selves about our individual rankings of values, which tend to fluctuate a lot based on the situation.

I love how our discussion is now reflecting the style of the book: breezy and approachable but also unflinching in talking about complexity and uncertainty. And in it, you’re trying to give readers a “tool kit” for navigating such things. That’s great, yet it can be challenging for readers who might assume it’s, say, a science-infused self-help book offering them a few simple rules about how to improve their rational thinking. This makes me wonder: If you did have to somehow reduce the book’s message to something like a series of bullet points on a note card, what would that be? What are the most essential tools in the kit?

CAMPBELL: This may be a bit ironic, but I was reading somewhere recently that where AI programs such as ChatGPT really go wrong is in not giving sources. Most of these tools don’t tell you what evidence they’re using for their outputs. And you’d think, of course, we should always show what evidence we have for anything we’re gonna say. But really, we can’t do that. Most of us can’t remember the evidence for half of what we know. What we can usually recall is how likely we thought some assertion was to be true, how probable we thought it was. And keeping track of this is a worthwhile habit of mind: if you’re going to act on any belief you might have, you need to know the strength with which you can hold that belief.

PERLMUTTER: We spend a fair amount of time on this in the book because it allows you to see that the world doesn’t come to us with certainty in almost anything. Even when we’re pretty sure of something, we’re only pretty sure, and there’s real utility in having a sense of the possibility for something contradicting what we think or expect. Many people do this naturally all the time, thinking about the odds for placing a bet on their favorite sports team or about the chance of a rain shower spoiling a picnic. Acknowledging uncertainty puts your ego in the right place. Your ego should, in the end, be attached to being pretty good at knowing how strong or weak your trust is in some fact rather than in being always right. Needing to always be right is a very problematic way to approach the world. In the book, we compare it to skiing down a mountain with all your weight rigid on both legs; if you don’t ever shift your stance to turn and slow down, you might go very fast, but you usually don’t get very far before toppling over! So instead you need to be able to maneuver and adjust to keep track of what it is that you really do know versus what you don’t. That’s how to actually get wherever you’re trying to go, and it’s also how to have useful conversations with other people who may not agree with you.

MacCOUN: And that sense of working together is important because these habits of mind we’re discussing aren’t just about your personal decision-making; they’re also about how science works in a democracy. You know, scientists end up having to work with people they disagree with all the time. And they cultivate certain communal ways of doing that—because it’s not enough to just be a “better” thinker; even people well-trained in these methods make mistakes. So you also need these habits at a communal level for other people to keep you honest. That means it’s okay, and necessary even, to interact with people who disagree with you—because that’s how you find out when you’re making mistakes. And it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll change your mind. But it’ll improve your thinking about your own views.

So in summary:

Try to rank your confidence in your beliefs.

Try to update your beliefs based on new evidence and don’t fear being (temporarily) wrong.

Try to productively engage with others who have different beliefs than you.

That’s a pretty good “top three” list, I think! But, pardon my cynicism, do you worry that some of this might come off as rather quaint? We mentioned at the outset how this project really began in 2011, not much more than a decade ago. Yet some would probably argue that social and technological changes across that time have now effectively placed us in a different situation, a different world. It seems—to me at least—on average much harder now than it was 10 years ago for people with divergent beliefs and values to have a pleasant, productive conversation. Are the challenges we face today really things that can be solved by everyone just getting together and talking?

CAMPBELL: I agree with you that this sort of cynicism is now widespread. Across the past few decades we seem to have forgotten how to have a conversation across a fundamental divide, so now we take for granted that it’s pointless to try to convert those holding different views. But the alternative is to run society by coercion. And just beating people down with violent subjugation is not a long-term tenable solution. If you’re going to coerce, you have to at least show your work. You have to engage with other people and explain why you think your policies are good.

MacCOUN: You can think of cynicism as this god-awful corrosive mix of skepticism and pessimism. At the other extreme, you have gullibility, which, combined with optimism, leads to wishful thinking. And that’s really not helpful either. In the book we talk about an insight Saul had, which is that scientists tend to combine skepticism with optimism—a combo I’d say is not generally cultivated in our society. Scientists are skeptical, not gullible, but they’re optimistic, not pessimistic: they tend to assume that problems have a solution. So scientists sitting around the table are more likely to be trying to figure out fixes for a problem rather than bemoaning how terrible it is.

PERLMUTTER: This is something we’ve grappled with, and there are a couple of elements, I think, that are important to transmit about it. One is that there are good reasons to be disappointed when you look at the leaders of our society. They’ve structurally now gotten themselves into a fix, where they seem unable to even publicly say what they believe, let alone find real compromises on divisive issues. Meanwhile you can find lots of examples of “citizen assembly” events where a random selection of average people who completely disagree and support the opposite sides of the political spectrum sit down together and are much more able to have a civil, thoughtful conversation than their sociopolitical leaders can. That makes me think most of the [people in the] country (but not all!) could have a very reasonable conversation with each other. So clearly there’s an opportunity that we haven’t taken advantage of to structurally find ways to empower those conversations, not just the leaders trying to act for us. That’s something to be optimistic about. Another is that the daily news portrays the world as a very scary and negative place—but we know the daily news is not offering a very good representative take on the true state of the world, especially regarding the huge improvements in human well-being that have occurred over the past few decades.

So it feels to me that many people are living in “crisis” mode because they’re always consuming news that’s presenting us crises every moment and driving us apart with wedge issues. And I think there’s optimism to be found in looking for ways to talk together again. As John says, that’s the only game in town: to try to work with people until you learn something together, as opposed to just trying to win and then having half your population being unhappy.

CAMPBELL: We are maybe the most tribal species on the planet, but we are also perhaps the most amazingly flexible and cooperative species on the planet. And as Saul said, in these almost town-hall-style deliberative citizen assemblies you see this capacity for cooperation coming out, even among people who’d be bitterly divided and [belong to] opposite tribes otherwise—so there must be ways to amplify that and to escape being locked into these tribal schisms.

MacCOUN: And it’s important to remember that research on cooperation suggests you don’t need to have everybody cooperating to get the benefits. You do need a critical mass, but you’re never going to get everyone, so you shouldn’t waste your time trying to reach 100 percent. [Political scientist] Robert Axelrod and others studying the evolution of cooperation have shown that if cooperators can find each other, they can start to thrive and begin attracting other cooperators, and they can become more robust in the face of those who are uncooperative or trying to undermine cooperation. So somehow getting that critical mass is probably the best you can hope for.

I’m sure it hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice that as we discuss large-scale social cooperation, we’re also in an election year in the U.S., ostensibly the world’s most powerful democracy. And sure, part of the equation here is breaking down walls with basic acts of kindness and humility: love thy neighbor, find common ground, and so on. But what about voting? Does scientific decision-making give us some guidance on “best practices” there?

PERLMUTTER: Well, clearly we want this to be something that transcends election years. But in general, you should avoid making decisions—voting included—purely based on fear. This is not a time in the world where fear should be the dominant thing driving our individual or collective actions. Most of our fears divide us, yet most of our strength is found in working together to solve problems. So one basic thing is not to let yourself be flustered into voting for anyone or anything out of fear. But another is to look for leaders who use and reflect the scientific style of thinking, in which you’re open to being wrong, you’re bound by evidence, and you’re able to change your mind if it turns out that you were pursuing a bad plan. And that’s something that unfortunately we very rarely see.

CAMPBELL: At the moment we have an abundance of free speech—everyone can get on to some kind of social media and explain their views to the entire country. But we seem to have forgotten that the whole point of free speech was the testing of ideas. That was why it seemed like such a good thing: through free speech, new ideas can be generated and discussed and tested. But that idea of testing the ideas you freely express has just dropped out of the culture. We really need to tune back in to that in how we teach and talk about free speech and its value. It’s not just an end in itself, you know?

MacCOUN: And let’s be mindful of some lessons from history, too. For a lot of these issues that are so polarizing and divisive, it’s probably going to turn out that neither side was completely right, and there was some third possibility that didn’t occur to most, if any, of us. This happens in science all the time, with each victorious insight usually being provisional until the next, better theory or piece of evidence comes along. And in the same way, if we can’t move past arguing about our current conception of these problems, we’re trapping ourselves in this one little region of conceptual space when the solution might lie somewhere outside. This is one of very many cognitive traps we talk about in the book. Rather than staking out our hill to die on, we should be more open to uncertainty and experimentation: we test some policy solution to a problem, and if it doesn’t work, we’re ready to rapidly make adjustments and try something else.

Maybe we can practice what we preach here, this idea of performing evidence-based testing and course correction and escaping various sorts of cognitive traps. While you were working on this book, did you find and reflect on any irrational habits of mind you might have? And was there a case where you chose a hill to die on, and you were wrong, and you begrudgingly adjusted?

MacCOUN: Yeah, in the book we give examples of our own personal mistakes. One from my own research involves the replicability crisis and people engaging in confirmation bias. I had written a review paper summarizing evidence that seemed to show that decriminalizing drugs—that is, removing criminal penalties for them—did not lead to higher levels of use. After writing it, I had a new opportunity to test that hypothesis, looking at data from Italy, where in the 1970s they’d basically decriminalized personal possession of small quantities of all drugs. And then they recriminalized them in 1990. And then they redecriminalized in 1993. So it was like a perfect opportunity. And the data showed drug related deaths actually went down when they reinstituted penalties and went back up again when the penalties were removed. And this was completely opposite of what I had already staked my reputation on! And so, well, I had a personal bias, right? And that’s really the only reason I went and did more research, digging deeper on this Italian thing, because I didn’t like the findings. So across the same span of time I looked at Spain (a country that had decriminalized without recriminalizing) and at Germany (a country that never decriminalized during that time), and all three showed the same death pattern. This suggests that the suspicious pattern of deaths in fact had nothing to do with penalties. Now, I think that leads to the correct conclusion—my original conclusion, of course! But the point is: I’m embarrassed to admit I had fallen into the trap of confirmation bias—or, really, of its close cousin called disconfirmation bias, where you’re much tougher on evidence that seems to run counter to your beliefs. It’s a teachable moment, for sure.

CAMPBELL: It takes a lot of courage to admit these sorts of things and make the necessary transitions. One cognitive trap that affects many of us is what’s called the implicit bias blind spot, where you can be really subtle and perceptive in spotting other people’s biases but not your own. You can often see a bias of some sort in an instant in other people. But what happens when you look at yourself? The reaction is usually, “Na, I don't do that stuff!” You know, I must have been through hundreds and hundreds of student applications for admission or searches for faculty members, and I never spotted myself being biased at all, not once. “I just look at the applications straight,” right? But that can’t always be true because the person easiest to fool is yourself! Realizing that can be such a revelation.

PERLMUTTER: And this really informs one of the book’s key points: that we need to find better ways to work with people with whom we disagree—because one of the very best ways to get at your own biases is to find somebody who disagrees with you and is strongly motivated to prove you wrong. It’s hard, but you really do need the loyal opposition. Thinking back, for instance, to the big race for measuring the cosmological expansion of the universe that led to the discovery of dark energy, it was between my team and another team. Sometimes my colleagues and I would see members of the other team showing up to do their observations at the telescopes just as we were leaving from doing ours, and it was uncomfortable knowing both teams were chasing the same thing. On the other hand, that competition ensured we’d each try to figure out if the other team was making mistakes, and it greatly improved the confidence we collectively had in our results. But it’s not good enough just to have two opposing sides—you also need ways for them to engage with each other.

I realize I’ve inadvertently left probably the most basic question for last. What exactly is “third millennium thinking?”

PERLMUTTER: That’s okay, we actually leave explaining this to the book’s last chapter, too!

MacCOUN: Third millennium thinking is about recognizing a big shift that’s underway. We all have a sense of what the long millennia predating science must have been like, and we all know the tremendous advances that gradually came about as the modern scientific era emerged—from the practices of various ancient civilizations to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, all those shifts in thinking that led to the amazing scientific revolution that has so profoundly changed our world here in what, until the end of the 20th century, was the second millennium. But there’s also been disenchantment with science, especially recently. And there’s validity to concerns that science was sometimes just a handmaiden of the powerful and that scientists sometimes wield more authority than they deserve to advance their own personal projects and politics. And sometimes science can become pathological; sometimes it can fail.

A big part of third millennium thinking is acknowledging science’s historic faults but also its capacity for self-correction, some of which we’re seeing today. We think this is leading us into a new era in which science is becoming less hierarchical. It’s becoming more interdisciplinary and team-based and, in some cases, more approachable for everyday people to be meaningfully involved—think of so-called citizen science projects. Science is also becoming more open, where researchers must show their work by making their data and methods more readily available so that others can independently check it. And we hope these sorts of changes are making scientists more humble: This attitude of “yeah, I’ve got the Ph.D., so you listen to me,” that doesn’t necessarily work anymore for big, divisive policy issues. You need a more deliberative consultation in which everyday people can be involved. Scientists do need to stay in their lane to some extent and not claim authority just based on their pedigree—the authority comes from the method used, not from the pedigree.

We see these all connected in their potential to advance a new way of doing science and of being scientists, and that’s what third millennium thinking is about.

CAMPBELL: With the COVID pandemic, I think we’ve all sadly become very familiar with the idea that the freedom of the individual citizen is somehow opposed to the authority of the scientist. You know, “the scientist is a person who will boss you around, diminish your freedom and inject you with vaccines laced with mind-controlling nanobots” or whatever. And it’s such a shame. It’s so debilitating when people use or see science like that. Or alternatively, you might say, “Well, I’m no scientist, and I can’t do the math, so I’ll just believe and do whatever they tell me.” And that really is relinquishing your freedom. Science should be an enabler of individual power, not a threat to your freedom. Third millennium thinking is about achieving that, allowing as many people as possible to be empowered—to empower themselves—by using scientific thinking.

PERLMUTTER: Exactly. We're trying to help people see that this combination of trends we’re now seeing around the world is actually a very fertile opportunity for big, meaningful, positive change. And if we lean into this, it could set us in a very good position on the long-term path to a really great millennium. Even though there are all these other forces to worry about at the moment, by applying the tools, ideas and processes from the culture of science to other parts of our lives, we can have the wind at our back as we move toward a brighter, better future.

• Wellness And Personal Development

The Science of Affirmations: The Brain’s Response to Positive Thinking

Affirmations are positive statements intended to promote self-belief and motivation. They have shown some effectiveness in improving self-esteem and resilience.[31] 

Although some people may consider positive affirmations pseudoscience, the practice of using empowering self-talk for personal benefit has been researched in scientific studies, and researchers suggest there are benefits associated with this practice. The research is ongoing, as more studies are needed to confirm the benefits of positive thinking fully.

Disciplines, such as affective neuroscience, which investigates how the brain processes emotions, are contributing to current knowledge of the role positive and negative emotions and thoughts play in an individual’s overall well-being. (1) Moreover, recent studies have linked affirmations to concrete physical and mental gains in areas such as health, learning, and interpersonal relationships. (2)

Because positive affirmations work by replacing negative thought patterns with healthier ways of thinking, they can have a positive impact on the brain and body. (3) By promoting positive thoughts and affirming an individual’s core values, these mantras encourage productive responses to challenging situations.

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Individuals who practice positive affirmations may also experience increased self-confidence and self-worth and fewer harmful consequences of stress on the body and mind . That may include reduced production of cortisol, a stress hormone. Increased cortisol levels have been linked with various physical and mental problems, such as weight gain, sleep difficulties, and increased risk of heart disease . (4)

This article delves into the effectiveness of affirmations, examining evidence-based strategies for their application in personal growth. We explore the potential benefits and limitations of affirmations, offering insight into their practical implementation and their role in psychological well-being.

What Are Self-Affirmations?

By definition, self-affirmations are empowering, positive statements that assert one’s own value or worth. (5) Individuals may recite these mantras either out loud or silently to boost confidence, maintain self-integrity, reduce negative self-talk, and soothe anxiety during challenging situations

Self-affirming statements are typically designed to transform negative thoughts into positive ones, serving as a catalyst for positive changes in physical and mental health. Practicing positive affirmations may also help individuals create a sense of future orientation, which helps them focus on actionable steps to achieve their goals. (6)

Affirming messages may differ from person to person, reflecting what’s important to the individual, including their: (7)

• Aspirations
• Core values
• Personal history

What Is the Science Behind Positive Affirmations?

The success of positive daily affirmations may have roots in neuroscience, which explores the structure and function of the human nervous system. Through repetition of affirming statements, the brain can form new neural pathways, which create physical connections to these repeated thoughts. (8)

Essentially, strengthening these pathways makes it easier for the mind to return to these positive statements and thinking patterns rather than falling back into negative thinking. Eventually, this can lead to positive mental and physical outcomes associated with self-related thoughts, such as enhanced self-esteem and confidence. (9)

The Self-Affirmation Theory

The self-affirmation theory suggests that people are genetically wired to see themselves as competent and noble. When a person or situation challenges these deeply rooted beliefs, it impacts self-related processing, which aids in defining the “self.” (10) Ultimately, this can cause psychological distress or discomfort and may result in negative feelings, low self-esteem, or a reduced sense of self-competence. (11)

The affected individual may try to eliminate or reduce this discomfort through self-affirmation. These empowering messages can reinforce their confidence in their core values and beliefs and may help create a positive valuation of self.

Recent scientific studies have examined the self-affirmation theory’s potential merit. They’ve also explored how positive affirmations may create beneficial outcomes for mental health and physical health and well-being.

The results showed that positive affirmations can deliver long-term benefits by creating a positive feedback loop between the self and an individual’s ability to adapt over time. Self-affirmations may also reduce the threat presented by challenges to an individual’s self-valuation. (12)

Effectiveness of Affirmations: What Does Science Say?

There is a wealth of research related to the effectiveness of positive affirmations. One study examining the effects of positive self-statements found that people with low self-esteem experienced worse self-esteem and lower mood after repeating positive affirmations. On the other hand, people with high self-esteem experienced a boost in mood and self-esteem after repeating affirmations.[31]

Another study investigated the effectiveness of affirmations in reducing stress responses. The researchers found that people who engaged in self-affirmation tasks exhibited reduced neural activity in regions associated with threat processing and stress reactivity, leading to lower stress levels.[32]

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize and form new neural connections in response to experience and learning. This process is central to understanding how positive affirmations work. Studies using neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have demonstrated that engaging in positive self-affirmations can activate brain regions associated with positive emotion regulation and reward processing.[33]

However, it’s important to recognize the limitations of affirmations as well as how they may affect people differently. The same neuroimaging study suggests that the efficacy of affirmations may vary depending on individual differences and context.[33] Plus, the effectiveness of affiramtions may be affected by factors like the person’s mindset and the specificity of the affirmations used.[32]

The Neuroscience Behind Positive Thinking

Recent research into the brain’s response to positive and negative thinking and emotions involved the use of neuroimaging techniques like high-tech scans that can provide information about changes in the brain’s activity. These studies suggested that happier individuals — those prone to positive sentiments — may be less reactive to emotional stimuli than negative thinkers.

Consequently, they may be better able to regulate their emotional reaction to stressful situations. That’s likely because, in happier individuals, the amygdala, a brain area that regulates emotions and encodes memories, may be less responsive to negative stimuli. (13)

Scientific evidence also suggests that techniques, such as mindfulness and other forms of meditation, may affect how the brain responds to emotional stimuli. For example, individuals who practice self-affirmation focusing on future-oriented values may show heightened activity in the brain systems responsible for self-processing and valuation compared to individuals who don’t.

One study, in particular, showed how self-affirmation alters the brain’s reward system, activating areas responsible for creating associations between positive stimuli and positive outcomes. (14) Consequently, individuals who have a positive mental image and a strong feeling of self-integrity, may more strongly associate positive affirmations with desired outcomes.

Psychological Theory

Psychological theories provide an evidence-based framework for understanding aspects of human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. For example, self-affirmation theory suggests that the ultimate goal of the self is to protect its self-identity and core personal values. (15) This theory may explain why self-affirmation effects may be so beneficial for an individual’s mental health.

Theoretical approaches to psychology typically fall into five main categories. (16)

• Biological: Biological theories postulate that thoughts, feelings, and actions have biological roots, such as brain structure, hormones, genetics, and the immune system.
• Behavioral: This approach typically looks at how environmental factors affect a person’s physical behavior.
• Cognitive: The cognitive approach explores the impact of environmental factors on human behaviors. It revolves around memory, attention, perception, and other mental processes.
• Humanistic: Humanistic theory emphasizes the whole person. It suggests that behavior is impacted by an individual’s self-image and inner feelings.
• Psychodynamic: Based on the teachings of famous psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, the psychodynamic approach correlates childhood events with adult behaviors.

Although psychological science aims to study human behavior and its underpinnings, validating psychological theories can be tricky. Many of these theories are abstract or broad in scope, and finding and providing relationships between psychological variables and resulting emotional health or physical behaviors is challenging for researchers. (17)

How Do Daily Affirmations Work?

Self-affirmation has known benefits for physical and mental health. For many practitioners, affirming statements promote self-confidence and change their view of their own perceived abilities in a positive way. However, scientists continue to study to better understand how and why affirmations work.

One recent study suggests that sending self-relevant positive messages may activate the brain’s self-related processing and reward pathways. Consequently, individuals who practice positive affirmation may experience positive changes, such as fewer negative thoughts and a healthier response to stress. (18)

The success of self-affirmation rests largely in repetition. According to recent research, people may be more likely to consider repeated information true than statements they’ve only heard once. Essentially, repetition contributes to the ease of self-related processing, which often creates an illusion of truthfulness. (19) By repeating positive statements associated with self rather than expressing negative thoughts, those messages are more likely perceived as true.

What’s the Difference Between Positive Affirmations & Positive Thinking?

Both positive affirmations and positive thinking use optimistic thoughts to lead to self-improvement. However, these two interrelated ideas have significant distinctions.

Positive affirmations are empowering words and phrases that practitioners recite repeatedly to challenge negative thoughts and improve self-perception. Positive thought involves focusing regularly on healthy thoughts and beliefs, even when things don’t go as planned—positive thinking is more related to optimism and isn’t a specific and intentional practice.

Essentially, positive affirmations are often focused on specific goals or areas for self-improvement while positive thoughts apply to all aspects of one’s life. Affirmations may be used as a tool to create a mindset that’s conducive to positive thought patterns.

How to Create and Use Affirmations Effectively

Creating your own affirmations and using them effectively doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult. Here are some steps and tips:

• Identify areas for growth : Reflect on parts of your life where you seek improvement or empowerment, such as self-confidence or relationships.
• Frame statements positively : Phrase affirmations in the present tense, using positive language, focusing on what you want to manifest or cultivate in your life.
• Make them specific and believable : Ensure your affirmations are realistic and align with your values and goals.

Here are some examples of personalized affirmations for common goals or challenges:

• For self-confidence : “I am worthy of love and respect.”
• For health and wellness : “I nourish my body with healthy choices and honor its needs.”
• For abundance and prosperity : “I attract abundance and opportunities into my life.”

Once you have created personalized affirmations, you’ll want to create a routine that works for you, one that you can stick to. Here are some tips:

• Choose optimal times: Incorporate affirmations into your routine, such as in the morning when you wake up or before bedtime, whatever works best for you.
• Repeat regularly: Consistency is key when it comes to making sure affirmations are effective. Repeat them aloud once or several times per day.
• Use visualization: Use visualization techniques along with your affirmations can help you imagine achieving your goals and embodying the qualities you state in your affirmations.

How to Do Affirmations at Home

Self-affirmation practice can have numerous mental and physical benefits, but how an individual chooses to self-affirm is a crucial part of its success. For the best outcome, affirmations should be focused and consistent. Messages should be repeated multiple times each day, either at set times or before or after challenging events, such as job interviews or family meetings. Fortunately, creating a self-affirmation routine at home is easy and can be maximized by following the guidelines below.

Find a Calm & Quiet Space

Delivering effective self-directed messages requires focus, so it’s important to find a calm, quiet space for affirmation practice. To avoid interruptions, choose a room with a door that can be shut and locked. If possible, opt for a calming, clutter-free space free from noise. Serene outdoor spaces, such as a secluded backyard or screened-in porch, may also be ideal for affirmation practice.

By choosing an ideal space, the practitioner can more easily enter the proper mindset for practicing. To do so, remain calm during the recitation and try to form a positive mental image that embodies each message.

Avoid Using Stock Affirmations

The most impactful messages are ones that have personal meaning, so avoid stock affirmations. Creating one’s own affirmations can begin by identifying goals, desires, and core values and translating them into positive statements, such as, “I can speak up on my own behalf.”

To improve the outcome, stick with realistic, believable messaging. For example, stating, “I take steps each day to further my career” is realistic. Stating, “I will be president of the company in 5 years,” probably isn’t. It may also be helpful to adapt affirmations to situations that arise, such as creating spur-of-the-moment statements to provide motivation for an impromptu board meeting.

Writers should never include negative thoughts in a positive affirmation. Instead, individuals who are creating their own affirmations should aim to change negative sentiments into positive messages.

Keep Your Affirmations Future Oriented

Most affirmations use present tense phrases, often beginning with “I can” or “I am.” However, messages should typically have a future orientation.

Essentially, future-oriented messages focus forward, incorporating actionable steps that can drive the affirmer toward their goals. (20) For example, an individual who wishes to lose weight may create a future-focused positive statement by saying, “I choose healthy foods to nourish my body and mind.” To be effective, a positive affirmation should be grounded in the present, as if it’s already happening, and inspire the user to take steps to reach their goals.

The Brain’s Response to Self-Affirmation

Daily positive affirmations can change the way brain systems respond to the messages they receive, particularly when it comes to self-related information processing. The subsequent behavior change an individual engages in may lead to beneficial changes overall. (21)

Proven benefits of self-affirmation include a stronger sense of personal worth, less negative self-talk, and reduced anxiety and defensiveness in challenging situations. (22) It may even have a beneficial effect on people dealing with health-deteriorating stress or chronic physical pain.

You Can Overcome Self-Sabotaging

Self-sabotage occurs when an individual intentionally or unintentionally creates barriers to their own success. It may take the form of procrastination or perfectionism, and when it happens regularly, it can impact almost every area of the self-saboteur’s life, including their employment, relationships, and overall health. (23)

Positive affirmations can help stop this cycle by interrupting the negative thought patterns that result in low self-esteem, fear of failure, and other causes of self-sabotaging. By reasserting one’s closely held values, affirmation intervention can create a healthier mindset. Affirming statements that challenge problematic “I can’t” beliefs promote self-confidence and illuminate actionable steps an individual can use to restore self-competence and work effectively toward achieving their goals.

You May Regain a Positive Sense of Self

An individual’s sense of self reflects their feeling of uniqueness and identity. (24) Negative feelings and events can undermine this crucial component of who that person really is. (25)

Affirmations challenge the unhelpful beliefs that can threaten the self. By reaffirming core values through empowering, personalized positive affirmations, individuals may reclaim a positive self-view. These beneficial messages can also reduce the defensiveness associated with threats to an individual’s sense, so they can remain open to change and improvement. (26)

It Can Reduce Negative Self Talk & Negative Feelings

Regularly engaging in negative self-talk can be detrimental to one’s mental well-being. Often repeated phrases, such as “I’m just useless” or “I’ll never be good enough,” can lead to anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Ultimately, this self-directed criticism can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, damaging work and personal relationships and resulting in isolation. (27)

When recited regularly, positive affirmations can be an antidote to negative feelings and self-talk. Although it may take time, by repeating positive (or at least neutral) messaging to oneself, it’s possible to rewire the brain for positivity.

It Can Send Health Messages to Your Body to Reduce Physical Pain

Modern scientific research suggests a strong connection between the mind and body. Although practicing self-affirmation can’t completely eliminate pain, it can change the way the brain perceives it, reducing unpleasant and uncomfortable physical sensations.

Beneficial thinking techniques, such as positive daily affirmations related to pain relief, can retrain the brain to focus on the positive. In turn, this may enhance the effectiveness of medications and other pain relief therapies and may decrease health-deteriorating stress and anxiety that often accompanies physical pain. (28)

It May Help Change Your Negative Thinking Patterns

Individuals may engage in various negative thinking patterns, including: (29)

• Catastrophizing
• Overgeneralizing
• Jumping to conclusions
• All-or-nothing categorizing

These thought patterns can negatively impact almost every aspect of someone’s life, including health, family, education, and employment.

Negative thought patterns associated with self-related criticisms typically won’t go away on their own. However, practicing affirmations can help individuals break through these repetitive thoughts, replacing them with more positive ways of thinking. Through repetition, positive daily affirmations can override harmful thought patterns by providing healthier, more realistic messages. (30)

• www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.01025/full
• www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115137
• health.clevelandclinic.org/do-positive-affirmations-work/
• www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037
• www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-affirmation
• dictionary.apa.org/future-orientation
• www.forbes.com/health/mind/positive-affirmations/
• www.brainfutures.org/neuroplasticity-101/
• rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/mind/well-being/positive-affirmations
• www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X18301428
• dictionary.apa.org/self-affirmation-theory
• ggsc.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/White_Paper_Positive_Neuroscience_FINAL.pdf
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4814782/
• www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0065260106380045
• simplypsychology.org/perspective.html
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8273366/
• www.healthandhumanperformancelab.com/_files/ugd/b30fc8_53e1f971c6164c50af2b1ccf27d9eb68.pdf
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8116821/
• pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25646442/
• www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/self-affirmation-enhances-performance-makes-us-receptive-to-our-mistakes.html
• www.forbes.com/health/mind/what-is-self-sabotage/
• psychologydictionary.org/sense-of-self/
• rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/38783/
• voice.ons.org/news-and-views/self-affirmations-build-your-personal-and-moral-resiliency
• health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-negative-self-talk-and-how-to-change-it/
• www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/6-ways-to-use-your-mind-to-control-pain
• sdlab.fas.harvard.edu/cognitive-reappraisal/identifying-negative-automatic-thought-patterns
• www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/05/09/13-coaches-explain-how-to-overcome-negative-thought-patterns/?sh=1a5bf2335cb4
• Introduction
• Wellness Tips For Adults
• Yoga For Mental Health
• Building Strong Internal Resources
• Can Money Buy Happiness?
• Can You Succeed?
• Energize Yourself & Your Family
• It's Just Not Fair!
• Maintaining Food Portions
• Getting Active
• How Do I Love Myself?
• Why We Lie To Ourselves
• Chakra Affirmations To Restore Balance To Your Energy Centers
• The Importance Of Feeling Safe
• Dealing With Liars
• 10 Secrets Of Successful People
• How Negative Energy Effects Adults, Teenagers And Children: What We Can Do To Change It
• The Pros And The Cons Of Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery From A Psychologist's Viewpoint
• Are Mental Health Apps The New Generation Of Self-Help Books?
• The Science Of Affirmations: The Brain's Response To Positive Thinking
• The Science Of Manifestation: The Power Of Positive Thinking
• 120+ Daily Positive Mental Health Affirmations
• 140 Daily Positive Affirmations For Men To Boost Self Esteem & Confidence
• 140 Daily Positive Affirmations For Kids & Children
• 200 Daily Positive Affirmations For Women To Boost Self Esteem
• 150 Powerful Daily Affirmations & Words Of Affirmation Quotes To Guide You
• The Science Of Making Bad Decisions
• Dig Deeper: How Does Gardening Boost Mental Health?
• 7 Habits Of Supremely Happy People
• 4 Ways To Improve Your Relationships This Year
• How Technology Is Changing How We Relate
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• Words Of Wisdom
• Warm Up This Winter By Embracing Mistakes
• Helping Yourself Speak Your Truth
• What's YOUR Biggest Challenge For The New Year?
• Navigating Life's Challenges
• Improving The Quality Of Life As We Age
• The Third Noble Truth - The Noble Truth Of The End Of Suffering
• The Second Noble Truth - The Noble Truth Of The Cause Of Suffering
• Why Are We So Busy?
• The First Noble Truth - The Noble Truth Of Suffering
• Discovering Your Best Personal-Professional Energy: Reconnecting With Your Spiritual Homeland - Part II
• Discovering Your Best Personal-Professional Energy: In The Context Of Health, Aging & Time - Part I
• Give Yourself A Break!
• Changing The Machinery Of Upset
• Too Much Pretending
• A Mistake Is But An Error: An Ironic-Poetic Odyssey For Human Authenticity And Audacity
• 9 Clever Ways To Gain Confidence
• Understanding Human Behavior
• Emotional Needs - More Subtle And Sensible Than You Think
• The Myth Of Emotional Security
• How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?
• Being At Peace With The Pain Of Others
• Celebrating Transitions In This Season Of Change
• Thinking And Beliefs
• What Will You Do With The Rest Of Your Life?
• The Key To Overcoming Procrastination
• Eight Ways To Take Care Of Yourself During A Health Crisis
• It's Not Only Okay To Reach Out During A Health Crisis - It's Recommended
• The Machinery Of Upset
• How To Be Mentally Strong
• Antidote To Busy: 5 Simple Ways To Find Time For You
• Is The Intention A Goal Or Already Realized?
• Being Proactive About Problem-Solving
• Natural SPEED: Stress Resiliency Shrink Rap(TM): Safe Stress Survival Strategies
• 12 Things You Should Never Give Up For A Relationship
• Emotion In The Brain
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• Steps To Self Reliance
• Expressing Your Intentions
• Kindness To You Is Kindness To Me; Kindness To Me Is Kindness To You
• Using Your "Free" Time To Enrich Your Life
• Integration Of Mind And Brain
• The Meaning Of Life
• Can You Truly Be Yourself At Work?
• Grow A Key Inner Strength
• Five Tips To Make You More Successful
• Evolutionary Neurobiology Of Shame
• Is Laughter Really The Best Medicine?
• Whose Decision Is It Anyway?
• What Is The Mind?
• Getting The Respect You Deserve
• Volunteering In Later Life: Rewarding Or Stressful?
• What Is Mindful Presence?
• How To Say No To People You Care About
• Are Your Needs Getting Met?
• Key Points Of Letting Go
• Discovering Love In The Face Of Imminent Death
• Empathy: Your Most Potent Skill For Building Closer Relationships
• Would You Let A Crowd Diagnose You?
• Intention Of Harmlessness
• Weak And Strong
• Games And Manipulation: The Games People Play
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• Right Intention
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• Developing A "Buddha Brain" Through Gratitude
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• Wholesome Intentions - The Neurology Of Intention
• Developing An Inner Protector
• "Hope Dealers" Inspire Youth To Achieve True Wellbeing
• Learned Optimism
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• Everyman's Dance Troupe Teaches Lessons About How To Live Well
• Incessant Drip, Drip, Drip -- A Universal Story
• How The Three Pillars Of Exercise Benefit Mental Health
• Core Beliefs And Happiness
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• The Beauty Of Saying "No"
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• Handling Blocks To Any Inner Practice--Meditation, Yoga, Gratitude, Mindfulness
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• Late Sociologist Warned About Multitasking's Effect On Wellness
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• Celebrate The Ordinary!
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• Sleeping, Eating & Gaming, Oh My: The Blood Sugar-Blood Pressure-Out For Blood Triangle
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• Choice - Level III: The "Will" Without A Willful Doer Chooses
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• Choice - Level II: Developing A Workable Structure For Choice
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• Choice - Level I: Seeing Through Obstacles To Living By Choice
• What Defines A Successful Life?
• Feelings Are Authentic And Valid -- Perceptions And Beliefs Are Suspect
• 24/7 SPEED/Resiliency Shrink Rap(TM):Safe Stress Survival Strategies
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• Accept Dependence
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• Critical Thinking Is Not Critical, Just Looking For Truth & Reality: The Heart Of Asking Questions That Reveal "What Is"
• On Becoming More Perceptually Objective, Empathic And Accurate: Or Getting Your Head Out Of The Clouds Of Negative Assumptions And Premature Judgments
• Change How You Think And Change Your Life
• Being An Outstanding Steward Of Life Itself -- What We Can Learn From Animals
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• Healthy Feeling Processing
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• Personal Identity: Meanings Over Memories
• How Social Norms Affect Our Decisions
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• Recognize Suffering In Others
• The Sixteen Laws Of Emotions: Recognizing Moods And Emotions To Return To Healthy Feeling Processing
• To Stabilize Weight And Improve Your Self-Esteem, Research Shows The HAES Approach Is A Winner!
• "Let's Just Wait And Watch It" -- Let's NOT! The Mentality Of "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It" Can Kill You
• Transform Ill Will
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• Cultivate Good Will
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• The Lure Of Facebook
• Mediterranean Diet May Benefit Your Noggin As Well As Your Heart
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• Will's Five Dynamic Laws Of The Universe
• The Final Five "N & N" Tools And Techniques For Saying "No" (and Meaning It) - Part III
• Do You Believe In Miracles?
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• "N & N" - No & Negotiate - Tools And Techniques For Saying "No": Establishing Priorities, Setting Limits, And Solving Problems - Part II
• The Greater The Effort, The Sweeter The Reward (and The Harder The Loss)
• Speak Truly
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• Why Is It Hard To "Just Say 'No'"?: Ten Barriers To Asserting Your Individuality, Intentionality, And Integrity - Part I
• Mindfulness Research Makes Us Take A Deep Breath
• Benefits Of Meditation And How To Get Started
• How Does Your Income Determine Your Well-Being?
• Own Being Responsible? -- Absolutely, Make Others Responsible? -- You Must Be Kidding!
• Facebook And Emotional Well-Being: Three Ways To Keep Things Positive
• Lived By Love
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• Drop The "Shoulds"
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• The Four Thoughts That Turn The Mind: Part Four: Precious Human Birth
• Recharging Yourself Through Relationships And Giving To Others
• A Fresh New Year Upon Which To Embrace Change
• Recognizing And Working Well With The Unconscious
• The Four Thoughts That Turn The Mind: Part Three: Karma
• The Four Thoughts That Turn The Mind: Part Two: Suffering
• The Four Thoughts That Turn The Mind: Part One - Impermanence
• A Vacation Is Good For The Soul...and For The Relationship
• The Art Of Pacing - Live Long And Prosper
• Did You Know? Some Surprising Data About Stress
• An Expert Interview With Darrin Zeer On Managing Work Stress
• Can How You Eat Change What You Eat And What You Weigh?
• How Lucky Are You?
• The "Fallen" Realities Of Human Nature
• Our Fast Paced Lives
• How To Better Motivate Weight Loss
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• Could Loneliness Shorten a Life?
• Health Tip: Balance Work and Home Life
• Always Sleepy After the Change to Daylight Saving Time?
• When One Spouse Exercises, the Other May Start, Too
• A Sense of Purpose May Help Your Heart
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• Health Tip: Maintaining Healthy Habits
• Health Tip: Take Seven Steps for Heart-Healthy Kids
• U.S. Dietary Guidelines Take Aim at Sugar
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• How to Stay Safe When Riding Out a Blizzard
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• Want to Get Healthy? Get Your Partner Involved
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• Health Tip: Turning Off the TV
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• An Optimistic Outlook May Be Good for Your Heart
• Happy Childhood May Be Good for Your Heart
• Keeping Safe in a Big Freeze
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• Health Tip: 12 Ways to a Healthier Holiday
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• Public Restrooms No Germier Than Your Home, Study Finds
• Could a 'Mediterranean' Diet Extend Your Life?
• Health Tip: Avoid Overindulging at Holiday Office Party
• How Well You Sleep May Depend on Your Genes, Study Suggests
• Better Diet, Exercise Can Prevent Diabetes in Both Sexes, Study Finds
• Health Tip: Prevent a Christmas Tree Fire
• Rx for Better Health Care: Kindness and Compassion
• Health Tip: Change Your Skin Routine During Winter
• Feeling 'Worn Out'? Your Heart May Pay the Price
• Health Tip: Think You're Getting Enough Calcium?
• Protect Yourself in Icy Temperatures, Heavy Snow
• 'Purpose in Life' a Boon to Your Health
• Make the Most of This Weekend's Time Change
• Stroke Prevention Guidelines Emphasize Healthy Lifestyle
• Even Depression May Not Dim Thoughts of Bright Future
• Healthy Lifestyle May Boost Breast Cancer Survival
• Even Decaf Coffee May Help the Liver
• U.S. Life Expectancy Hits Record High of Nearly 79 Years: CDC
• Using Social Media to Manage Your Moods?
• Health Tip: Are You at a Healthy Weight?
• The Obese Are Frequent Targets for Cyberbullies
• Pets Really Are Like People's Children, Brain Scans Suggest
• Study: Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors May Prevent 80 Percent of Heart Attacks
• Get a Flu Shot During Checkup, Doctor Says
• Walking, Biking to Work Seems to Have Mental Health Benefits
• A Good Night's Sleep May Mean a Good Day's Work
• Health Tip: Keep Your Family Moving
• Short Walks Can Offset Long Stretches of Sitting
• Health Tip: Starting a Walking Program
• Sit Less, Protect Your DNA and Live Longer?
• Health Tip: Aging Well
• Overconfident Folks May Blind Others to Their Real Abilities
• Diet, Exercise Counseling Urged for Overweight Americans With Heart Risks
• With Kids in School, Parents Can Work Out
• Health Tip: Strengthening Your Brain
• Want to Stay Slim? Leave the Car at Home
• Good Neighbors Are Good for Your Heart, Study Says
• Eating Out Equals Eating More
• Health Tip: Take Care in the Heat
• Fruits, Veggies May Have Their Limits in Boosting Lifespan
• Healthy Habits May Slow Cellular Signs of Aging, Study Finds
• Running Could Add 3 Years to Your Lifespan
• Most Adults Are Members of 'Clean Plate Club'
• Food Safety Tips for the Summer
• Exercise May Help Counter Health Risks of Sedentary Lifestyle
• Your Genes May Help Pick Your Friends
• A Little Alcohol May Not Be Good for Your Heart After All
• Health Tip: Be Safe at the Beach
• Severe Obesity Cuts Up to 14 Years Off Life: Study
• 'Practice Makes Perfect' Genes May Be Key to Great Musicians
• Change Bad Habits Early, Save Your Heart Later
• Eye Doctors Offer Fireworks Safety Tips
• Many Don't Want to Be Alone With Their Thoughts
• Stay Safe On The Roads This July Fourth
• Have a Fun -- But Safe -- Fourth of July
• Health Tip: Drink Lots of Fluids This Summer
• Is All That TV Killing You?
• Health Tip: Safer Use of Fireworks
• Vitamin D: A Key to a Longer Life?
• Good Heart Health May Keep Your Mind Sharp, Too
• Health Tip: Eat Well, But Start Simple
• Indoor Tanning Ups Melanoma Risk, Even Without Burning: Study
• Tips for Staying Safe in the Sun
• New Campaign Seeks to Help Sleep-Deprived Americans
• Guard Your Good Vision, Experts Say
• Consistent Protein Intake Key to Muscle Strength, Study Says
• Purposeful Life Might Be a Longer Life
• As Summer Arrives, CDC Offers Pool Chemical Safety Tips
• Health Tip: Which SPF Do I Need?
• Adult Health Better for Bullies Than Their Victims: Study
• Most People Have Unwanted Thoughts, International Study Finds
• Health Tip: How Many Zzzz's Do You Need?
• Health Tip: Being Healthy Doesn't Have to Be Expensive
• Even Routine Housework May Help Stave Off Disability
• Spouse's Sunny Outlook May Be Good for Your Health
• Adjusting Your Thermostat Might Improve Your Thinking
• Health Tip: Confused About Healthy Eating?
• Jury Still Out on Benefits of Vitamin D
• For Greater Happiness, Spend Your Money on 'Life Experiences': Study
• Hands-Free Cellphones Don't Make Driving Safer, Review Shows
• Health Tip: Help Prevent Anemia
• World Cup Matches Might Boost Your Mental Health
• Stress Reduction And Management
• Anger Management
• Weight Loss
• Emotional Resilience
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder
• Mens Health
• What Is Addiction?
• Signs, Symptoms, & Effects Of Addiction
• What Causes Addiction?
• Mental Health, Dual-Diagnosis, & Behavioral Addictions
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• Information On Specific Drugs
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• Internet Addiction
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• ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation Paperback – November 10, 2015

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• Print length 240 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Current
• Publication date November 10, 2015
• Dimensions 5.6 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
• ISBN-10 1617230235
• ISBN-13 978-1617230233
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Editorial Reviews

About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved..

Author’s Note

Throughout the book, I draw from the scientific articles and book chapters my colleagues and I have published over the past twenty years. In describing our experiments, our findings, and their implications, I have cited the articles used in the writing of this book so that readers can consult the original texts if they wish. I am deeply cognizant of the rich intellectual contributions of my coauthors, my fellow travelers in the rethinking of positive thinking.

What is your dearest wish? What dreams do you have for the future? What do you want to be or do? Imagine your dream coming true. How wonderful it would be. How fulfilling.

What holds you back from realizing your wish? What is it in you that stops you from really going for it?

Rethinking Positive Thinking is a book about wishes and how to fulfill them. It draws on twenty years of research in the science of motivation. And it presents a single, surprising idea: the obstacles that we think most impede us from realizing our deepest wishes can actually hasten their fulfillment.

Approached by someone who wants to achieve a specific dream, many of us offer simple advice: think positive! Don’t dwell on the obstacles, since that will only bring you down; be optimistic, focus on what you want to achieve; imagine a happy future in which you’re active and engaged; visualize how much snazzier you’ll look when you’ve lost that twenty pounds, how much happier you’ll feel when you’ve snagged that promotion, how much more attractive your partner will find you when you’ve quit drinking, how much more successful you’ll be when you’ve started that new business. Channel positive energy and before you know it, all your wishes and goals will come true.

Yet dreamers are not often doers. My research has confirmed that merely dreaming about the future makes people less likely to realize their dreams and wishes (as does dwelling on the obstacles in their path). There are multiple reasons why dreaming detached from an awareness of reality doesn’t cut it. The pleasurable act of dreaming seems to let us fulfill our wishes in our minds, sapping our energy to perform the hard work of meeting the challenges in real life.

Another way to visualize our future exists, a more complex approach that emerges out of work I’ve done in the scientific study of human motivation. I call this method “mental contrasting,” and it instructs us to dream our dreams but then visualize the personal barriers or impediments that prevent us from achieving these dreams. Perhaps we fear that by bringing our dreams directly up against reality, we’ll quash our aspirations—that we’ll wind up even more lethargic, unmotivated, and stuck. But that’s not what happens. When we perform mental contrasting, we gain energy to take action. And when we go on to specify the actions we intend to take as obstacles arise, we energize ourselves even further.

In my studies, people who have applied mental contrasting have become significantly more motivated to quit cigarettes, lose weight, get better grades, sustain healthier relationships, negotiate more effectively in business situations—you name it. Simply put, by adding a bit of realism to people’s positive imaginings of the future, mental contrasting enables them to become dreamers and doers.

Rethinking Positive Thinking presents scientific research suggesting that starry-eyed dreaming isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The book then examines and documents the power of a deceptively simple task: juxtaposing our dreams with the obstacles that prevent their attainment. I delve into why such mental contrasting works, particularly on the level of our subconscious minds, and introduce the specific planning process that renders it even more effective. In the book’s last two chapters, I apply the method of mental contrasting to three areas of personal change—becoming healthier, nurturing better relationships, and performing better at school and work—and I offer advice on how to get started with this method in your own life. In particular, I present a four-step procedure based on mental contrasting called WOOP—Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan—that is easy to learn, easy to apply to short- and long-term wishes, and that is scientifically shown to help you become more energized and directed.

I’ve written Rethinking Positive Thinking for individuals who are stuck and don’t know what to do about it. It’s also for people whose lives are just fine but who might wonder if they could be better. It’s for people who have a particular challenge in front of them that they’ve tried and failed to handle in the past or that they just don’t know how to approach. Ultimately, though, I’ve written it for all of us. We all need help motivating ourselves so that we can stay on track and move ahead.

Why is this? Well, traditional societies have more mechanisms in place—rituals, habits, rules, laws, norms—that circumscribe individual autonomy and assign people roles and responsibilities. The same is true in repressive societies such as North Korea or the former East Germany. When we lack freedom of action, our own choices do not matter so much because external forces push and pull us to act or prevent us from doing so. The challenge people face in these societies primarily involves keeping up their morale and persevering.

Modern Western societies are different, confronting us with what some call the “curse of freedom.” The pull and push of tradition and external authority seems to have subsided. Many of us experience more freedom than ever, but we are now required to act on our own—to find it in us to stay motivated, energized, engaged, and connected. Nobody is guiding us, day after day, to do what it takes to stay healthy, to pursue a fulfilling career, or to build a family. Nobody is standing over us giving meaning to our lives. It’s all on our shoulders. We need to keep ourselves on track—and we need to restore our ability to take constructive action when we get painfully stuck.

Indulging in fantasies about the future doesn’t help. Though enjoyable in the short term, fantasies only deplete our efforts and lead us to stumble over and over again. We wind up mired in indecision, on the verge of apathy, prone to an impulsive lurching from action to action, pushed beyond our capabilities, seething with frustration, and falling into an unhappiness we don’t understand. But by experiencing our dreams in our minds and also grounding ourselves in the realities we are bound to encounter, we can charge ourselves up to tackle life head-on—to connect with what is most real and abiding in our lives.

Whether you are unhappy and struggling with serious problems, or just want to discover, explore, and optimize hidden possibilities and opportunities, this book will deepen your ideas about human motivation and help you boldly chart a path ahead. Like so many participants in my studies, you’ll come away more motivated than ever to connect with others, engage with the world around you, and take action. All from a single, counterintuitive question: What holds you back from realizing your dreams?

Chapter One

Dreaming, Not Doing

One of my friends, a man in his early forties whom I’ll call Ben, remembers having an intense but rather corny crush on a fellow student when he attended college during the late 1980s. He had seen this woman on several occasions while dining with his friends at a cafeteria on campus. As Ben would shave in the morning or try to pay attention during lectures, his mind would drift and he would picture what it would be like to be in a relationship with this woman. He imagined that she was an artist, and that the two of them would tour architectural ruins in Rome and gaze up at the Sistine Chapel. Maybe she would want to sketch him lying on the quad on a sunny day reading a book, or, better yet, playing jazz piano, as he often did on weekends to earn extra money. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to share peaceful moments with someone capable of understanding and sharing his own creativity? For that matter, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a woman to go to the movies with, or to watch a sunset with, or to hop a bus and go to a nearby city with?

Ben didn’t tell his friends about his daydreams; he thought of them as his little secret. They were wonderfully satisfying images, but unfortunately, they stayed just that. You see, Ben couldn’t bring himself to ask this woman out. He told himself she was a total stranger and he’d make a fool of himself by flirting with her. Besides, he was too busy with schoolwork to date someone. He wanted to get good grades, and it wasn’t as if he lacked friends to hang out with on the weekends.

Why didn’t Ben have the energy and drive to step up and make his move? He was doing what so many of us regard as essential to success—dreaming about fulfilling our wishes. What was holding him back?

The Cult of Optimism

The notion that simply imagining our deepest wishes coming true will help us attain them is everywhere these days. Best-selling books like The Secret 1 and Chicken Soup for the Soul 2 teach us that we can make good things happen just by thinking positively, and that positive thinkers are “healthier, more active, more productive—and held in higher regard by those around them.”3 So many of us do think positively, as illustrated by the unvarnished, smiling optimism of contestants on American Idol , who speak confidently of their talents and their dream of being discovered, or their counterparts on the Bachelor , many of whom express absolute certainty that they will outshine all the other girls and win the big prize. These individuals gain popularity among audiences not only for having elaborate fantasies about future success, but for living in the bubble of these fantasies and assuming without a sliver of doubt that one day their daydreams will come true.

The cult of optimism goes further than that. Advertising puts forth happy, optimistic people as paragons of success. Politicians at all levels regale the citizenry by claiming the mantle of hope and touting the virtues of the “American dream.” Economists chart “consumer confidence” and survey business leaders about how optimistic their outlook is for the future; financial markets rise and fall on such data. Popular music celebrates the ability of dreaming and dreamers to save the world. We’re also warned from a young age and at every subsequent turn to rid ourselves of harmful “negative self-talk” or to “get out of the hole of negative thinking” if we want to succeed in life.4 An inspiring message posted on the wall of a Manhattan middle school exhorts kids to “Reach for the moon; even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

Optimism appears to prevail even in the face of extreme adversity. In 2008, amidst a severe recession, PepsiCo began surveying American consumers as part of its Pepsi Optimism Project. In 2010, a full 94 percent of those surveyed felt that “optimism is important in creating new ideas that can have a positive impact on the world.” Almost three-quarters of participants reported that they “expect the best to happen in uncertain times.” And over 90 percent said that they “believe that optimism can have a strong impact on moving society forward in a positive direction.”5 By 2013, some observers were decrying the death of the American dream and American optimism, yet a survey that year sponsored by the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company found that 73 percent of Americans saw life as “the glass half full” and 79 percent felt that the American dream was still alive.6 Another poll by Gallup found that 69 percent of those surveyed were “optimistic” about their personal prospects in 2013.7

The worship of optimism is not of recent vintage, nor is it uniquely American. It’s a theme in world literature, from Marcus Aurelius (“Dwell on the beauty of life”)8 to Samuel Johnson (“that the habit of looking on the best side of everything is worth a thousand a-year”)9 to Dr. Seuss (“And when things start to happen, don’t worry, don’t stew. Just go right along, you’ll start happening too”).10 But Americans traditionally have seemed to relish their optimistic outlook. “Pessimism never won any battle,” President Dwight Eisenhower once said. Charlie Chaplin likewise came out on the side of positive thinking, stating that “You’ll never find rainbows if you’re looking down.”11

Belief in the power of optimism rests on a simple idea: by looking at the future, we can hang tough and do our best in the present. And if we are going to look ahead, thinking positively seems to be the way to go. What else are we going to do—dwell on how doomed we are to misfortune and misery? How motivating is that? A common adage circulating on the Web (and printed on T-shirts) says it all: “Dream it. Wish it. Do it.”

Given optimism’s prevalence, it sometimes feels risky to express even mildly negative viewpoints inside institutions and organizations. If you’re in the workplace and you take the position of the “realist,” others will often label you a “Debby downer” or a killjoy. Filmmakers and television producers often shrink from offering tragic themes and sad endings, fearing that they will come across as “too dark” and turn viewers off. For that matter, what politician wants to question the merit of an optimistic outlook or be seen as breaking from the traditional “can-do” attitude?

As a German citizen who came to the United States relatively late in life, I was initially struck by how much more positive thinking was valued in the United States than back in Europe. In Germany, if you asked how someone was doing, you would usually get a frank answer, such as “I didn’t sleep well last night,” or “My puppy got sick and it’s bothering me.” In America, I noticed how people would say, “I’m fine”—even if something was bothering them. I also noticed that people found it jarring when someone violated the unwritten rule of positivity. In 1986, when I was a postdoctoral fellow in Philadelphia, a professor told me about a faculty meeting during which she described some difficult things happening in her life. Her colleagues became highly critical of her for being so “negative” in a professional setting. It was implied that she needed to learn to keep her negativity to herself, so that it wouldn’t infect other people.

A Closer Look at Optimism

As unfamiliar as this widespread optimism was to me, I felt thankful for it and did not see it as a counterproductive presence in society. I felt people were being considerate and not dumping all their problems on one another. They valued being in a good mood and keeping others in a good mood as well. I gained a more nuanced perspective, though, when I began to study optimism during the mid-1980s. Initially, I was inspired by what I had seen in East Germany during the Cold War. I researched cross-cultural differences in levels of depressive behavior and compared pessimistic outlooks between individuals living under communism in East Germany with those who lived in West Germany’s more open, democratic society.12 As part of this research, I went into bars (or Kneipen , as Germans call them) in adjacent areas of East and West Berlin to observe and track signs of depression among male bar patrons.13

At the time, some people in West Germany and elsewhere wondered whether the communist system held substantial advantages for people’s well-being and sense of security. This was a society in which everyone was meant to be equal and cared for by the state, and in which everybody was guaranteed a job and a place to live. However, I found more visible signs of depression—such as slumped postures and sad facial expressions—in patrons of East German bars than I did in patrons of West German bars. I found it fascinating that many people I spoke to in East Germany, just to get through the day, relied on blind optimism and free imagery of a better future.

On one occasion, an East German painter expressed his chagrin at being trapped in East Berlin. He had no canvas, paints, or other supplies required to pursue his art, and on ideological grounds the authorities explicitly discouraged him from doing what he loved most. But this artist, who painted small, appealing figures in the style of Miró and Klee, also told me of his intense dreams of traveling outside of the country to pursue his artistic work. “One day, I’ll visit Paris,” he said quietly with a smile on his face. Then he turned to gaze out the window and sighed. It was a poignant moment that brought home just how sustaining positive fantasies can be.

Conversations such as this inspired me to refine my understanding of optimism. Martin E. P. Seligman, founder of the positive psychology movement and my research advisor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, conceived of optimism as beliefs or expectations about the future that are based on past experiences of success.14 Seligman found that we are most optimistic when we assess reality as we’ve known it thus far and logically conclude that the future will likely work out in a similar fashion. If a batter in baseball has already hit .300 with twenty home runs over the past three months of the season, a manager getting ready for a big game will put him in the cleanup position over the player who has hit only .200 with three home runs. Based on experience, the manager believes it more likely that the .300 hitter will get on base in the game—he has a “positive expectation of success.”

In East Berlin, though, people I met remained hopeful even though they believed that their wishes for the future very likely wouldn’t come true. My artist friend had never been to Paris, nor did he have any particular reason based on his past experience to think he would ever visit there. In fact, his past experience suggested he would likely never leave East Germany. Yet still he pictured himself free to pursue his art—painting at all hours, feeling inspired and stimulated and visiting the Louvre. He sustained hope purely on the basis of positive fantasies—free thoughts and images about the future that happened to occur to him and that mentally guided him to and through Paris. His hopefulness amounted to the dreamy anticipation of being surprised given what he knew rationally about his past and the likely grimness of his future reality.

Against this background, Seligman’s definition seemed helpful but unable to capture the entire phenomenon of optimism. With his definition the dominant one, many in the discipline seemed to possess an apparent blind spot. Empirical or quantitatively oriented psychologists were hardly writing about or studying positive fantasies or dreams. Influenced by the study of human behavior, they focused on understanding the rational, experience-based judgments people might make about future likelihoods. Expectations were easy to measure and study, while fantasies seemed vague or intangible and thus not suitable for objective analysis. Fantasies also harkened back to Freud,15 who then (as now) had a reputation for putting forth ideas unsubstantiated by empirical research.

I sensed that positive fantasies were an important part of the human experience, and wanted to explore in depth how they work and affect our behavior. For inspiration, I looked back to the origins of modern psychology—specifically, to the latenineteenth-century thinker William James. In his chapter entitled “The Perception of Reality,” in volume two of his seminal work The Principles of Psychology , James remarked, “Everyone knows the difference between imagining a thing and believing in its existence, between supposing a proposition and acquiescing in its truth.”16 James was talking about people’s outlooks on the past and present, but this distinction also seemed to hold true for the future. It suggested to me that there were in fact two distinct kinds of optimism worth studying: positive expectations that were based on past experience, and the more free-flowing thoughts and images that were rooted in wishes and desires.

I wondered in particular if positive dreams disconnected from past experience would affect people’s willingness and ability to take action in their lives. Scholars like Albert Bandura17 and Martin E. P. Seligman18 had probed the connection between positive expectations and performance, establishing that expectations increased effort and actual achievement. In their research studies, people who judged their chances of success more favorably based on past experience actually did more to pursue them and achieved their goals more readily. Would fantasizing about something likewise increase the chances of the fantasies actually coming about? Could a flight of fancy, a dream detached from actual experience in the past, energize someone to take action and accomplish the dream?

I thought it probably could. There was no reason to think dreams were any different in their practical impact than expectations; all forms of positive thinking seemed inherently helpful. Wanting to investigate this further, I conducted a study of twenty-five obese women enrolled in a weight-loss program.19 Before the program began, I asked participants how much weight they wished to lose and how likely it was that they would succeed. Then I asked each participant to complete several short open-ended scenarios. In some they were asked to imagine having successfully completed the program and in others being in situations in which they were tempted to violate their diets.

“You have just completed Penn’s weight-loss program,” one scenario read. “Tonight you have made plans to go out with an old friend whom you haven’t seen in about a year. As you wait for your friend to arrive, you imagine . . .” In another scenario, I asked participants to imagine that they had come upon a plate of doughnuts. What would they think, feel, or do? Asking participants in the study to rate how positive or negative their fantasies seemed to them, I measured whether they dreamed about an idealized outcome of weight loss as well as whether they fantasized about weight loss being an easy process. It was the participants’ own, subjective assessment of their dreams—whether they found their dreams to be positive or negative—which interested me, not whether I as a researcher happened to think their dreams were positive or negative.20

The results of this initial study got my attention. After one year, women who assessed that they were likely to lose weight shed an average of twenty-six pounds more than those who didn’t believe they would lose much weight. But here’s the kicker. Irrespective of their judgments based on past experience, women who had strong positive fantasies about slimming down—the ones who most positively pictured themselves looking slender and attractive when going out with their friend, or who pictured themselves passing by the doughnuts without batting an eye—lost twenty-four pounds less than those who pictured themselves more negatively. Dreaming about achieving a goal apparently didn’t help that goal come to fruition. It impeded it from happening. The starry-eyed dreamers in the study were less energized to behave in ways that helped them lose weight.

I published that study back in 1991, and no, it didn’t suddenly cause people either in psychology or the wider world to take a more nuanced look at optimism. It didn’t do much of anything because the prevailing belief in the power of optimism was just too strong. Almost everyone back then accepted without question the notion that positive views of the future would increase the chances of success. For this reason, some of my colleagues urged me to change course. “Stick closer to established concepts,” they told me. “Researching dreams is too risky; it brings you closer to pseudoscience and speculation. If you want people to take you seriously, do research on positive expectations.” But I felt research on dreams was meaningful and that my work could contribute to people’s lives.

Although my first study was published in a peer-reviewed journal, the second paper I wrote on the subject was rejected several times, with reviewers claiming that the results and arguments were too far-fetched. Some of my peers said they didn’t even want to finish reading my paper because my message was ridiculous and even hideous. I was upset and disappointed, but I wanted to see my ideas through.

In science, particular findings must be replicated in order for the scientific community—including me as an author—to accept them. You can’t necessarily trust the results of just a few studies. Idiosyncrasies in the data or the analysis could be responsible for the findings. To convince my most skeptical colleagues (and myself) as well as attract a wider audience for my work, I wanted to conduct a number of rigorous, larger studies. I knew I couldn’t rest on other people’s prior work; the burden was on me to build a painstaking case, putting study after study into place like cinder blocks in a wall until the overall findings were supported.

I got to work, spending twenty years observing people of different ages, in different contexts, in both Germany and the United States. I varied my research methods to anticipate any conceivable objection scholars might have. If I could run studies with all these variations and still come up with a similar result, I would feel confident that I was dealing with a substantial psychological phenomenon. That’s exactly what happened.

Again and again, much to my surprise at first, the results turned out to be the same. Positive fantasies, wishes, and dreams detached from an assessment of past experience didn’t translate into motivation to act toward a more energized, engaged life. It translated into the opposite.

Remember Ben, who dreamed about his mystery woman but never pulled himself away from his studies long enough to ask her out? I investigated whether the positive fantasies of people in his situation did in fact impede them from taking action. I recruited 103 college students who had claimed to have a crush on a member of the opposite sex but who weren’t dating that person.21 I first asked them to assess, on a scale from 0 to 100 percent, how likely it was that they would initiate a relationship with that person (i.e., expectations about the future based on past experiences). Then I asked them to complete a series of hypothetical scenarios related to dating. “You are at a party,” one scenario read. “While you are talking to him/her, you see a girl/boy, whom you believe he/she might like, come into the room. As she/he approaches the two of you, you imagine . . .” For each scenario, I asked participants to rate on a 1 (very negative) to 7 (very positive) scale how negative or positive they felt their dream was.

For some students in the sample, such a prompt initiated a positive dream: “The two of us leave the party, everyone watches, especially the other girl. We go outside, sit on a bench, no one around, he puts his arm around me . . . etc. . . .” For others, it elicited a more negative dream: “He and she begin to converse about things which I know nothing about. They seem to be much more comfortable with each other than he and I are, and they don’t care very much to involve me in the conversation.”

Five months later, I checked in on the students and asked if they had gotten together with the person on whom they had a crush. The results were similar to those obtained in the study of the obese women. The more students expected, based on some reasonable assessment of past experiences, that they would initiate a relationship, the more likely they reported having initiated the relationship. But the more students, like Ben, had indulged in positive fantasies as part of our study, the less likely they reported initiating the relationship. Initiating a relationship is a classic challenge requiring motivation and bold action. So is looking for a job. Would job seekers increase their chances of finding employment by positively visualizing themselves acing an interview or sitting in a wonderful new office or handing out flashy new business cards? In 1988, I recruited eighty-three male graduate students at a German university. Most were in their midtwenties. I asked how probable it was that they would find a job, and how much it mattered to them that they be employed. I also asked them to generate and write down any positive fantasies about finding a job and to rate on a scale of 1 (very rarely) to 10 (very often) how often these images entered into their minds. Then I let two years pass before checking back in. The more frequently students had experienced positive fantasies, the less success they had. They reported that they sent out fewer applications and received fewer job offers. Ultimately, they reported earning less money. Dreaming about their success hurt them.

Some of the studies mentioned so far—the lovelorn college students, the job seekers—used self-reported data. That is, I assessed the end result by relying on the participants themselves to tell me what happened. What if the participants I was studying got it wrong? What if something about positive fantasies caused them to under- or overreport how much success they were having? That would mess up my results and possibly put my larger findings into question.

I decided to study the phenomenon of positive fantasies in a more objective way, examining the role of optimism in academic achievement. I asked 117 college students in an introductory psychology class what grade they wished to achieve on the midterm, which would happen in two days’ time, and how likely they were to achieve it. I measured their fantasies in the usual way—by asking them to complete hypothetical scenarios. “You have already completed your test and today is the day that the grades are posted,” one scenario read. “As you are walking toward the building that the board is in, you imagine . . .” One student completed this scenario with a negative fantasy, writing: “What if I messed up the exam? Maybe I should have studied more—where is my grade? Damn—it is a ‘C.’ How shall I ever make this up?” Others were more positive. I just asked students to rank how positive or negative they thought these fantasies were.

I logged students’ midterm and final grades over a six-week period; I didn’t rely on the students to report them. As expected, the more students positively fantasized about the grades they would get, the lower they scored and the less they reported studying.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Current; Reprint edition (November 10, 2015)
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Gabriele oettingen.

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What Is Positive Thinking? +9 Examples of Positive Thoughts

In this article, we’ll address these questions while providing resources to help you cultivate the ability to think more positively. With these insights, you’ll better understand how to swap out negative thoughts for positive ones, grow your wellbeing, and even improve your physical health.

Before we continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

What is positive thinking in psychology, are there benefits 4 research results, positive thinking and physical health: 5 findings, 9 real-life examples of positive thinking, positive thinking vs. negative thinking, criticisms: what positive thinking is not, our 5 best positive thinking resources, a take-home message.

Broadly speaking, positive thinking can be thought of as positive cognitions. This distinguishes positive thinking from emotions, behaviors, and longer term outcomes like wellbeing or depression.

In the research on positive thinking, an agreed-upon definition is still evolving. For example, Caprara and Steca (2005) suggested that life satisfaction , self-esteem, and optimism were indicators that a person was engaging in positive thinking.

Indeed, these concepts may involve positive thinking, but they are also often thought of as positive outcomes that might result from engaging in positive-thinking strategies.

Others have been more precise about what positive thinking involves. Bekhet and Zauszniewski (2013) outlined eight key skills that contribute to positive thinking that can be recalled easily using the acronym THINKING:

• Transforming negative thoughts into positive thoughts
• Highlighting positive aspects of the situation
• Interrupting pessimistic thoughts by using relaxation techniques and distraction
• Noting the need to practice positive thinking
• Knowing how to break a problem into smaller parts to be manageable
• Initiating optimistic beliefs with each part of the problem
• Nurturing ways to challenge pessimistic thoughts
• Generating positive feelings by controlling negative thoughts

You’ll note that this list includes techniques such as relaxation that may or may not be cognitive.

Other researchers have explored the different dimensions of positive thinking and have suggested that positive thinking can be understood as a construct with four dimensions (Tsutsui & Fujiwara, 2015):

• Self-encouragement thinking This involves thoughts about being one’s own cheerleader.
• Self-assertive thinking This involves thoughts about doing well for others.
• Self-instructive and control thinking This involves thoughts that guide performance.
• Self-affirmative thinking This involves confident thoughts.

As you can see, positive thinking can be defined in different ways. Inconsistent definitions of positive thinking in the research make it difficult to draw clear conclusions about the role of positive thinking in mental health .

For example, Diener et al. (2009) suggest that positive thinking is good for wellbeing, but when positive thinking and wellbeing are measured with the same scales (for example, scales that measure optimism, subjective wellbeing, or life satisfaction), the research may really be saying that something predicts itself, which is not very useful or informative.

Clearer definitions about what positive thinking is and how it’s different from assessments of wellbeing are needed to better understand the actual benefits and importance of positive thinking.

Here we’ll aim to clarify which types of positive thinking are good for mental health and wellbeing and which types might not be so good.

First, positive thinking about the self tends to be good for wellbeing. For example, when people have confidence in their abilities to achieve, they are more likely to succeed and achieve (Taylor & Brown, 1994).

Viewing oneself more positively than others also seems to buffer the effects of stress (Taylor & Brown, 1994). This evidence is mostly consistent with research on self-worth, self-confidence, and self-esteem (Miller Smedema, Catalano, & Ebener, 2010) – processes that may be considered types of positive thinking.

Second, optimistic thoughts are generally thought to be good for wellbeing. It doesn’t seem to matter whether these thoughts are unrealistic or not. Optimistic thinking tends to help people feel better, have more positive social relationships, and cope better with stress (Taylor & Brown, 1994).

Third, positive thoughts or beliefs about control appear to be beneficial. For example, believing that we have control during stressful experiences seems to help us cope better (Taylor & Brown, 1994).

The benefit of positive thoughts about control appears to be consistent with other research on the challenge mindset . When we have a challenge mindset , we believe that we have the skills and ability to handle current stressors. This mindset can be contrasted with a threat mindset , which is characterized by thoughts and beliefs that we can not effectively handle our current stressors (Crum, Akinola, Martin, & Fath, 2017).

The challenge mindset , where we believe we have more control, is more beneficial for us.

Lastly, a general positive outlook toward life, oneself, and the future is considered so beneficial that it is often considered a part of wellbeing itself (Caprara & Steca, 2005). As the philosopher René Descartes once said:

I think, therefore I am.

This seems true when it comes to positive thinking; if we think we feel good, then we do.

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Research has begun to provide compelling evidence for a link between positive thinking and physical health. Namely optimism, which is often considered a type of positive thought, seems to contribute to positive health outcomes. For example, Scheier and Carver (1987) linked optimism to fewer physical ailments such as coughs, fatigue, muscle soreness, and dizziness.

Optimists also seemed to recover faster from coronary artery bypass surgery (Scheier & Carver, 1987). Other evidence points to the potential impact of positive thinking on cardiovascular health, including better blood pressure and lower risk for heart attacks.

Positive thinking also seems to improve the quality of life among cancer patients and can be protective against the common cold, allergies, and other immune system issues (Naseem & Khalid, 2010). Furthermore, AIDS-specific optimism is related to active coping (Taylor et al., 1992).

Although there are many benefits of positive thinking on health, there appears to be one key caveat. Urging patients with severe illness to think positively about extremely negative situations can be too big of an ask.

Psychological support that includes positive thinking can place an unnecessary burden on already struggling patients. So it’s important to keep in mind that positive thinking is just one of many potentially successful strategies and shouldn’t be forced upon individuals who don’t feel like it’s a good fit for them (Rittenberg, 1995).

Past-focused positive thinking

Past-focused thinking that is negative or pessimistic may contribute to greater depression. Shifting these thoughts to be more positive can help us move past bad things that happened in the past.

Here are examples of past-focused positive thoughts that put a positive spin on the past while still acknowledging the difficult situation:

• “I did the best I could.”
• “That job interview went badly, but at least I learned what to do differently next time.”
• “I know my childhood wasn’t perfect, but my parents did the best they could.”

Present-focused positive thinking

Present-focused positive thinking can help us cope more effectively with our current challenges, decrease our stress, and potentially improve our life satisfaction.

Here are some examples of present-focused positive thoughts:

• “I’m so lucky to have my friend Jane who really cares about me.”
• “That breakfast was so tasty and beautiful, and I enjoyed it immensely.”
• “Even though I may make mistakes, I always try my best.”

Future-focused positive thinking

Future-focused thinking that is negative or pessimistic may contribute to greater worry or anxiety. Shifting these thoughts to be more positive can help us stay more present and stop generating negative emotions about things that haven’t even happened yet.

Here are some examples of future-focused positive thoughts:

• “It’s all going to turn out fine.”
• “I can’t wait to go to that event next week.”
• “I will continue to work toward my goals, so I know that my future is going to be great.”

By focusing positive thinking backward, in the moment, and forward, we can use it to resolve different types of negative thoughts and potentially improve multiple aspects of wellbeing.

Like positive thinking, negative thinking is not a clear-cut construct. But as a relatively simple example, optimism is often contrasted with pessimism.

When it comes to performance, both optimism and pessimism are equally effective. More specially, a person who is a defensive pessimist does better when using one strategy, and a person who is a strategic optimist does better when using another. That means that negative thoughts can help some people in some circumstances (Norem & Chang, 2002).

When it comes to wellbeing, optimists tend to be in a better mood, while pessimists tend to be higher in anxiety (Norem & Chang, 2002). But simply inducing a more positive mood in pessimists doesn’t just hurt their performance, it makes them more  anxious.

Defensive pessimists do and feel better when they’re allowed to explore potentially negative outcomes – this helps them manage their anxiety more effectively. Furthermore, defensive pessimists have better outcomes than other anxious people who are not pessimists.

All this is to say that ridding people of their pessimism is not only unhelpful, but it may also be harmful (Norem & Chang, 2002). So what does one do with negative thinking?

In the case of pessimists, it may be better not to force them into positive thinking. To them, it may feel like trying to put a square peg into a round hole. Instead, it may be more helpful to explore whether negative thoughts are functional, useful, and beneficial.

It may be helpful to record negative thoughts to understand why they appear and how they affect other emotions and behaviors. Use our Dysfunctional Thought Record Worksheet to do this, as it will help explore negative thought triggers and practice making thoughts more adaptive.

This doesn’t mean these new thoughts have to be positive, just more helpful. Furthermore, you can access our Getting Rid of ANTS: Automatic Negative Thoughts Worksheet  as well.

First, excessive positive emotion may actually harm wellbeing. For example, Dr. June Gruber’s research suggests that too much positive emotion can be a risk factor for mania (Gruber, Johnson, Oveis, & Keltner, 2008).

Furthermore, thinking excessively about happiness has also been linked to lower wellbeing. Especially, setting unreasonably high standards for happiness and frequently thinking about one’s own emotional state have been linked to lower happiness (Ford & Mauss, 2014). This research suggests that there may be some aspects of positive thinking that are not good for us.

Another common criticism of positive thinking is that it’s an inappropriate, and possibly ineffective, strategy in some situations – for example, in response to the death of a loved one (Bonanno & Burton, 2013).

Further research has shown that cognitive reappraisal, which involves thinking about the positives or silver linings of a situation, can help in some situations and hurt in others. More specifically, using this positive thinking strategy was actually associated with higher depression in situations that were controllable (Troy, Shallcross, & Mauss, 2013). This suggests that positive thinking may not be an effective strategy in all situations.

Another criticism centers around particular types of positive thinking that are not based on science. For example, experts in the field of psychology generally consider “the law of attraction,” which suggests that believing in something will make it so, to be pseudoscience, not based on scientific methods.

In fact, these types of beliefs are considered magical thinking, and research has shown that greater familiarity with the law of attraction is associated with higher depression (Jones, 2019). So it’s important to keep in mind that positive thinking can be a useful tool in some circumstances and may contribute to optimism, positive outcomes, and wellbeing, but it’s not magic.

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Here are some resources to help you learn more about positive thinking and build positive thinking skills.

Radical self-love cards

This worksheet helps you build a deck of self-affirmation cards. These can help cultivate more self-focused positive thoughts.

Grab the Stacking the Deck worksheet for guidelines.

Reverse the Rabbit Hole

Those of us with anxiety know that thoughts take on a mind of their own and take us along for the ride.

By considering positive outcomes, you may be able to derail this process and get out of the anxiety rabbit hole.

Grab the Reverse the Rabbit Hole worksheet to get started.

Paying attention to positive events

It’s human nature to pay more attention to the negative than the positive. But if we’re always just focusing on the bad stuff, we never get around to noticing and appreciating the good stuff.

Make an effort to pay more attention to the positive in life. Grab our Skills for Regulating Emotions worksheet  to learn more.

I’m Great Because…

Sometimes we are self-critical because we just haven’t spent the time to think about what is great about us. Reflecting on our good qualities can make positive thinking easier.

Check out our I’m Great Because… worksheet for some prompts.

My Love Letter to Myself

Exploring our positive qualities and working to better understand how they benefit us can help us value ourselves more.

To build this self-insight, take a peek at our My Love Letter to Myself worksheet .

17 Positive Psychology Exercises

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, this signature collection contains 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.

Positive thinking has been of interest to psychologists for some time. Still, a mutually agreed-upon definition of positive thinking remains elusive.

Regardless of how positive thinking is measured, it appears to impact both mental and physical health positively.

Further, many useful resources are available to help people build their positive thinking skills.

Overall, the research suggests that cultivating positive thinking in counseling, therapy, or on your own is indeed a worthwhile endeavor. We trust our resources will be beneficial in guiding you on a more positive path.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• 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.
• Bonanno, G. A., & Burton, C. L. (2013). Regulatory flexibility: An individual differences perspective on coping and emotion regulation. Perspectives on Psychological Science , 8 (6), 591–612.
• Caprara, G. V., & Steca, P. (2005). Affective and social self-regulatory efficacy beliefs as determinants of positive thinking and happiness. European Psychologist , 10 (4), 275–286.
• 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.
• Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Biswas-Diener, R., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D. W., & Oishi, S. (2009). New measures of well-being. In E. Diener, Assessing well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. (pp. 247–266). Springer.
• Ford, B., & Mauss, I. (2014). The paradoxical effects of pursuing positive emotion. In J. Gruber & J. T. Moskowitz (Eds.),  Positive emotion: Integrating the light sides and dark sides (pp. 363–382). Oxford University Press.
• Gruber, J., Johnson, S. L., Oveis, C., & Keltner, D. (2008). Risk for mania and positive emotional responding: Too much of a good thing? Emotion , 8 (1), 23–33.
• Jones, B. (2019). If you think it you can achieve it: The relationship between goal specificity and magical thinking. Murray State Theses and Dissertations, 140.
• Naseem, Z., & Khalid, R. (2010). Positive thinking in coping with stress and health outcomes: Literature review. Journal of Research & Reflections in Education , 4 (1).
• Norem, J. K., & Chang, E. C. (2002). The positive psychology of negative thinking. Journal of Clinical Psychology , 58 (9), 993–1001.
• 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.
• Rittenberg, C. N. (1995). Positive thinking: An unfair burden for cancer patients? Supportive Care in Cancer , 3 (1), 37–39.
• Scheier, M. E., & Carver, C. S. (1987). Dispositional optimism and physical well‐being: The influence of generalized outcome expectancies on health. Journal of Personality , 55 (2), 169–210.
• Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1994). Positive illusions and well-being revisited: Separating fact from fiction.  Psychological Bulletin , 116 (1), 21–27.
• Taylor, S. E., Kemeny, M. E., Aspinwall, L. G., Schneider, S. G., Rodriguez, R., & Herbert, M. (1992). Optimism, coping, psychological distress, and high-risk sexual behavior among men at risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 63 (3), 460.
• Troy, A. S., Shallcross, A. J., & Mauss, I. B. (2013). A person-by-situation approach to emotion regulation: Cognitive reappraisal can either help or hurt, depending on the context. Psychological Science , 24 (12), 2505–2514.
• Tsutsui, K., & Fujiwara, M. (2015). The relationship between positive thinking and individual characteristics: Development of the Soccer Positive Thinking Scale. Football Science , 12 , 74–83.

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Negative thinking is clearly unhelpful and unhealthy. But critical thinking—deep reflection, informed by research — is increasingly important in an age of opinion-based blogs, or “created content “ copy-and-pasted from unknown sources. This seems especially true when talking about positive thinking. Can we convince critical thinkers (also some of the most negative thinkers?) to be more positive through empty platitudes or anecdotal evidence?

A big stumbling block for me here is the interpretation of René Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am.” to mean “if we think we feel good, then we do”. I hate to be a downer, but this is a superficial misinterpretation of the original quote. I wouldn’t mind so much, but Cartesian philosophy is such a major contributor to our ongoing (mis)understanding of the brain, mind, reality. Please don’t undermine the otherwise wonderful ideas presented here and alienate critical thinkers. Positive psychology needs to convince them too!

The Affective Neuroscience of Positive Thinking

Positive thinking ‘works’, but works best ‘affectively’ when performed persistently while in a relaxed state. Below is the neuroscience behind this simple idea, which can be easily tested if one gives this slight modification of positive thinking a try.

And it all has to do with the neuroscience of pleasure. Unlike other functions in the brain, from perception to thinking, the neural source of our pleasures are localized in the brain as specialized groups of nerve cells or ‘nuclei’, or ‘hot spots’, located in the mid-brain. These nuclei receive inputs from different sources in the nervous system, from proprioceptive stimuli (neuro-muscular activity) to interoceptive stimuli (satiation and deprivation) to cognitive stimuli (novel positive or negative means-end expectancies), and all modulate the activity of these nuclei which release or inhibit endogenous opioids that elicit the rainbow of pleasures which mark our day.

For example, relaxation induces opioid activity and is pleasurable, but tension inhibits it and is painful. Similarly, satiation inhibits our pleasure when we eat, and deprivation or hunger increases it. Finally, positive novel means-ends expectancies enhance our pleasures, and negative expectancies inhibit them. Thus, for our sensory pleasures (eating, drinking), watching an exciting movie makes popcorn taste better than when watching a dull or depressing movie. This also applies to when we are relaxed, as thinking or performing meaningful activity is reflected in ‘flow’ or ‘peak’ experiences when we are engaging in highly meaningful behavior while relaxed. (Meaning will be defined as anticipated or current behavior that has branching novel positive implications, such as creating art, doing good deeds or productive work)

But again, don’t mind this verbiage, just prove it to yourself Just get relaxed using a relaxation protocol such as progressive muscle relaxation, eyes closed rest, or mindfulness, and then follow it by exclusively attending to or performing meaningful activity, or in other words, positive thinking, and avoiding all meaningless activity or ‘distraction’. Keep it up and you will not only stay relaxed, but continue so with a greater sense of wellbeing or pleasure. The attribution of affective value to meaningful behavior makes the latter seem ‘autotelic’, or reinforcing in itself, and the resultant persistent attention to meaning crowds out the occasions we might have spent dwelling on other unmeaningful worries and concerns.

References:

Rauwolf, P., et al. (2021) Reward uncertainty – as a ‘psychological salt’- can alter the sensory experience and consumption of high-value rewards in young healthy adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (prepub) https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxge0001029

A more formal explanation from a neurologically based learning theory of this technique is provided on pp. 44-51 in a little open-source book on the psychology of rest linked below. (The flow experience is discussed on pp. 81-86.) https://www.scribd.com/doc/284056765/The-Book-of-Rest-The-Odd-Psychology-of-Doing-Nothing

More on the Neuroscience of Pleasure Berridge Lab, University of Michigan https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/research&labs/berridge/research/affectiveneuroscience.html

The article seemed well written, though there were a few places where the writing seemed unclear to me.

I would recommend, though, that the author consider the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza, whose programs reach millions every year. It would be wonderful for this article to include some of his research findings about the placebo effect. His work has been scientifically validated to the point that NIH has approached him with the hope of studying his work. I feel that without looking at Dr. Dispenza’s work, it is a disservice to belittle the Law Of Attraction, as it represents a lack of understanding of ‘The Field’. It would also be so helpful to include a consideration of the work of Lynne McTaggart, a UK researcher, who is changing the planet with her understanding of how to use group intention to create change in the physical world. Dr. Joe Dispenza’s and Lynne McTaggart’s work are by no means pseudo-science, as this author would seem to imply by her comment. I felt that the author was relying far more on studies that are 15, and even 33 years old, rather than looking at the scientific knowledge we have available today. As a result, the article felt quite ‘outdated’ to me.

Good day Maryanne,

You mention a few interesting points! As always, we encourage comments and insights from our readers and appreciate the sharing of your thoughts.

Best regards, Annelé

I like it because it gives a new dimension for thinking about past present and future and also because it helps me a lot to understand how mind works in a tough situation . So I’d like to register my appreciation for the useful content of this article

This article is very useful .

Self – encouragement thinking,self – assertive thinking,self – instructive and control thinking self affirmative thinking in four points very useful words.Positive thinking very important life…very importance of positive thinking good for mental health…positive thinking about the self tends to be good for well being.Positive thinking improve the quality of life.Future focused Positive thinking Resources….very nice.Thankyou Wishes By.TWINKLE M.SHOWZHANEEM

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Meditation: a simple, fast way to reduce stress.

Meditation can wipe away the day's stress, bringing with it inner peace. See how you can easily learn to practice meditation whenever you need it most.

If stress has you anxious, tense and worried, you might try meditation. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can help restore your calm and inner peace.

Anyone can practice meditation. It's simple and doesn't cost much. And you don't need any special equipment.

You can practice meditation wherever you are. You can meditate when you're out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor's office or even in the middle of a business meeting.

Understanding meditation

Meditation has been around for thousands of years. Early meditation was meant to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. These days, meditation is most often used to relax and lower stress.

Meditation is a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation can help you relax deeply and calm your mind.

During meditation, you focus on one thing. You get rid of the stream of thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process can lead to better physical and emotional well-being.

Benefits of meditation

Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit your emotional well-being and your overall health. You also can use it to relax and cope with stress by focusing on something that calms you. Meditation can help you learn to stay centered and keep inner peace.

These benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help take you more calmly through your day. And meditation may help you manage symptoms of some medical conditions.

Meditation and emotional and physical well-being

When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.

The emotional and physical benefits of meditation can include:

• Giving you a new way to look at things that cause stress.
• Building skills to manage your stress.
• Making you more self-aware.
• Focusing on the present.
• Reducing negative feelings.
• Helping you be more creative.
• Helping you be more patient.
• Lowering resting heart rate.
• Lowering resting blood pressure.
• Helping you sleep better.

Meditation and illness

Meditation also might help if you have a medical condition. This is most often true if you have a condition that stress makes worse.

A lot of research shows that meditation is good for health. But some experts believe there's not enough research to prove that meditation helps.

With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as:

• Chronic pain.
• Depression.
• Heart disease.
• High blood pressure.
• Irritable bowel syndrome.
• Sleep problems.
• Tension headaches.

Be sure to talk to your healthcare professional about the pros and cons of using meditation if you have any of these or other health conditions. Sometimes, meditation might worsen symptoms linked to some mental health conditions.

Meditation doesn't replace medical treatment. But it may help to add it to other treatments.

Types of meditation

Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to get to a relaxed state. There are many types of meditation and ways to relax that use parts of meditation. All share the same goal of gaining inner peace.

Ways to meditate can include:

Guided meditation. This is sometimes called guided imagery or visualization. With this method of meditation, you form mental images of places or things that help you relax.

You try to use as many senses as you can. These include things you can smell, see, hear and feel. You may be led through this process by a guide or teacher.

• Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to keep out unwanted thoughts.

Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful. This means being more aware of the present.

In mindfulness meditation, you focus on one thing, such as the flow of your breath. You can notice your thoughts and feelings. But let them pass without judging them.

• Qigong. This practice most often combines meditation, relaxation, movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance. Qigong (CHEE-gung) is part of Chinese medicine.
• Tai chi. This is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts training. In tai chi (TIE-CHEE), you do a series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful way. And you do deep breathing with the movements.
• Yoga. You do a series of postures with controlled breathing. This helps give you a more flexible body and a calm mind. To do the poses, you need to balance and focus. That helps you to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.

Parts of meditation

Each type of meditation may include certain features to help you meditate. These may vary depending on whose guidance you follow or who's teaching a class. Some of the most common features in meditation include:

Focused attention. Focusing your attention is one of the most important elements of meditation.

Focusing your attention is what helps free your mind from the many things that cause stress and worry. You can focus your attention on things such as a certain object, an image, a mantra or even your breathing.

• Relaxed breathing. This technique involves deep, even-paced breathing using the muscle between your chest and your belly, called the diaphragm muscle, to expand your lungs. The purpose is to slow your breathing, take in more oxygen, and reduce the use of shoulder, neck and upper chest muscles while breathing so that you breathe better.

A quiet setting. If you're a beginner, meditation may be easier if you're in a quiet spot. Aim to have fewer things that can distract you, including no television, computers or cellphones.

As you get more skilled at meditation, you may be able to do it anywhere. This includes high-stress places, such as a traffic jam, a stressful work meeting or a long line at the grocery store. This is when you can get the most out of meditation.

• A comfortable position. You can practice meditation whether you're sitting, lying down, walking, or in other positions or activities. Just try to be comfortable so that you can get the most out of your meditation. Aim to keep good posture during meditation.
• Open attitude. Let thoughts pass through your mind without judging them.

Everyday ways to practice meditation

Don't let the thought of meditating the "right" way add to your stress. If you choose to, you can attend special meditation centers or group classes led by trained instructors. But you also can practice meditation easily on your own. There are apps to use too.

And you can make meditation as formal or informal as you like. Some people build meditation into their daily routine. For example, they may start and end each day with an hour of meditation. But all you really need is a few minutes a day for meditation.

Here are some ways you can practice meditation on your own, whenever you choose:

Breathe deeply. This is good for beginners because breathing is a natural function.

Focus all your attention on your breathing. Feel your breath and listen to it as you inhale and exhale through your nostrils. Breathe deeply and slowly. When your mind wanders, gently return your focus to your breathing.

Scan your body. When using this technique, focus attention on each part of your body. Become aware of how your body feels. That might be pain, tension, warmth or relaxation.

Mix body scanning with breathing exercises and think about breathing heat or relaxation into and out of the parts of your body.

• Repeat a mantra. You can create your own mantra. It can be religious or not. Examples of religious mantras include the Jesus Prayer in the Christian tradition, the holy name of God in Judaism, or the om mantra of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions.

Walk and meditate. Meditating while walking is a good and healthy way to relax. You can use this technique anywhere you're walking, such as in a forest, on a city sidewalk or at the mall.

When you use this method, slow your walking pace so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Don't focus on where you're going. Focus on your legs and feet. Repeat action words in your mind such as "lifting," "moving" and "placing" as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground. Focus on the sights, sounds and smells around you.

Pray. Prayer is the best known and most widely used type of meditation. Spoken and written prayers are found in most faith traditions.

You can pray using your own words or read prayers written by others. Check the self-help section of your local bookstore for examples. Talk with your rabbi, priest, pastor or other spiritual leader about possible resources.

Read and reflect. Many people report that they benefit from reading poems or sacred texts and taking a few moments to think about their meaning.

You also can listen to sacred music, spoken words, or any music that relaxes or inspires you. You may want to write your thoughts in a journal or discuss them with a friend or spiritual leader.

• Focus your love and kindness. In this type of meditation, you think of others with feelings of love, compassion and kindness. This can help increase how connected you feel to others.

Building your meditation skills

Don't judge how you meditate. That can increase your stress. Meditation takes practice.

It's common for your mind to wander during meditation, no matter how long you've been practicing meditation. If you're meditating to calm your mind and your mind wanders, slowly return to what you're focusing on.

Try out ways to meditate to find out what types of meditation work best for you and what you enjoy doing. Adapt meditation to your needs as you go. Remember, there's no right way or wrong way to meditate. What matters is that meditation helps you reduce your stress and feel better overall.

Related information

• Relaxation techniques: Try these steps to lower stress - Related information Relaxation techniques: Try these steps to lower stress
• Stress relievers: Tips to tame stress - Related information Stress relievers: Tips to tame stress
• Video: Need to relax? Take a break for meditation - Related information Video: Need to relax? Take a break for meditation

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• Meditation: In depth. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm. Accessed Dec. 23, 2021.
• Mindfulness meditation: A research-proven way to reduce stress. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/mindfulness/meditation. Accessed Dec. 23, 2021.
• AskMayoExpert. Meditation. Mayo Clinic. 2021.
• Papadakis MA, et al., eds. Meditation. In: Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2022. 61st ed. McGraw Hill; 2022. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com. Accessed Dec. 23, 2021.
• Hilton L, et al. Mindfulness meditation for chronic pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2017; doi:10.1007/s12160-016-9844-2.
• Seaward BL. Meditation. In: Essentials of Managing Stress. 5th ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2021.
• Seaward BL. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. 9th ed. Burlington, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2018.

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Epistemic Goals and Practices in Biology Curriculum—the Philippines and Japan

• Open access
• Published: 10 May 2024

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You have full access to this open access article

• Denis Dyvee Errabo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4084-5142 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Keigo Fujinami 2   na1 &
• Tetsuo Isozaki 2   na1  

Despite cultural differences, the Philippines–Japan partnership is developing an intentional teaching curriculum with parallel standards. However, disparities among their respective educational systems have prompted inequalities. As education plays a critical role in collaboration, we explored the Epistemic Goals (EGs) and Epistemic Practices (EPs) in the biology curriculum, with the research question: How do the epistemic goals and practices of the biology curriculum transmit knowledge and skills in the Philippines and Japan? Using an ethnographic design, we conducted two iterative explorations of EGs and EPs. First, we examined the curriculum policy to determine its EGs. Using the A-B-C-D protocol, we employed discourse analysis to evaluate knowledge and skills in the biology grade-level standards. Second, we examined the articulation of goals in classroom teaching practices. We conducted classroom immersion and observed classes to determine EPs and supported our observations through interviews, synthesizing the data using inductive content analysis. Our findings revealed that the Philippines’ EGs were to transmit factual knowledge enhanced by basic science skills, and their EPs were audio-visual materials, gamified instructions, guided inquiry, posing questions, and learning-by-doing. In comparison, Japan’s EGs were to provide a solid foundation of theoretical and metacognitive knowledge, integrated science skills, and positive attitudes. Its EPs involved cultivating lasting learning, observation, investigation, experimentation, collaborative discussion, and reflective thinking. Our study makes a meaningful contribution by shedding light on crucial ideologies and cultural identities embedded in Biology curricula and teaching traditions.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

The cultural and educational connections within the Philippines-Japan collaboration establish the basis for developing long-lasting relationships between individuals. Despite cultural differences, both countries continue to develop an intentional teaching curriculum with parallel standards. According to Joseph ( 2010 ), the most effective way to demonstrate cultural ideology is through school curriculum. The term "curriculum" refers to different areas of education, such as the content taught in schools, learning methods, teacher approaches, and student progress assessment (Schiro, 2013 ). Understanding the basic components of an effective curriculum is critical to academic achievement.

Improving the Philippines’ curriculum is a significant and urgent matter given the considerable challenges they face in academic achievement. According to the Program for International Student Assessment (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023 ), Filipino students exhibit relatively lower levels of achievement in critical academic domains such as science, mathematics, and reading (OECD, 2023 ). In contrast, the educational system in Japan is highly regarded for its exceptional quality and performance, consistently achieving top ranks among global academic systems. The 2022 PISA assessment shows that Japanese students consistently demonstrate superior performance compared with the average in their respective subject areas (OECD, 2023 ).

The disparities in outcomes and rankings between the education systems in Japan and the Philippines prompt an intriguing inquiry: what distinguishes Japanese education and how can we draw insights from its curricular practices to enhance the quality of education in the Philippines? This inquiry is of utmost importance as we aim to improve the educational outcomes and opportunities for Filipino students through an effective, quality curriculum. Moreover, it is essential to acknowledge the substantial research gap in curriculum studies regarding curricular benchmarks. This gap provides a valuable opportunity to gain insight into the unique educational system strategies.

Background of the Study

Examining the Epistemic Goals (EGs) and Epistemic Practices (EPs) of the biology curricula requires fundamental inquiries regarding the Nature of Science (NoS), the methodologies scientists employ in knowledge acquisition, and the scientific frameworks of understanding. Brock and Park ( 2022 ) argue that there has been a longstanding emphasis in science education on comprehending the NoS and the processes and undertakings of knowledge production. These essential elements are integrated as important learning goals in global science education curricula and policy documents (Leden & Hansson, 2019 ; Olson, 2018 ; Park et al., 2020 ).

EGs play a crucial role in establishing the fundamental and structural knowledge framework, including the required skills and attitudes. It encompasses the essential cognitive abilities that are pivotal for comprehension, academic engagement, and learning. It represents knowledge seeking, comprehension, and construction, particularly within the framework of the NoS (Chinn et al., 2011 ). Similarly, EGs enable individuals to explore their own beliefs about knowledge, as emphasized by Cho et al. ( 2011 ), with a significant influence on how individuals develop epistemic values and academic achievement. This includes improving advanced literacy skills, making informed decisions, and promoting a lifelong dedication to continuous learning.

Similarly, McDevitt et al. ( 1994 ) discuss how EPs involve various personal inquiry methods. The practices discussed by Hofer ( 2001 ) relate to the personal justification of knowledge acquisition. Personal justification of epistemic beliefs occurs through reliable processes when individual and social practices are considered within the epistemological framework (Chinn et al., 2011 ). According to Goldman ( 1999 ), considerable research has been dedicated to studying reliable belief formation processes, particularly concerning specific practices within scientific inquiry, arguing that practices, as opposed to errors and ignorance, have a relatively positive effect on knowledge. Furthermore, utilizing EPs include exploring external sources of information and engaging in active cognitive construction processes, as elucidated by Muis and Franco ( 2009 ). Hence, scientific inquiry is developed as a core emphasis to raise awareness, cultivate independent thinking skills, question assumptions, and make informed judgments.

Theoretical Framework

This study anchors its theoretical framework in the earlier work of Berland et al. ( 2016 ) on Epistemologies in Practice (EIP). Two epistemic folds define this framework.

First, the EIP defines epistemic goals for student knowledge acquisition, referring to the NoS as a means of understanding scientific development (Lederman, 2002 ). It entails an epistemological investigation of the fundamental features of reality such as the essence of truth, the process of justification, and the distinction between knowledge as a manifestation of capabilities and as a collection of factual information (Knight et al., 2014 ).

Moreover, defining goals is intimately connected to the epistemic dimensions; hence, this study examines how students use epistemic considerations when constructing scientific knowledge. This approach offers an analytical lens for understanding student involvement in scientific practices, which is vital to classroom and learning engagement. Berland et al. ( 2016 ) conducted a study identifying four noteworthy epistemic considerations: nature , generality , justification , and audience .

Nature  explores an extensive range of knowledge. Fundamental to this consideration is the nature of knowledge (knowledge is) and that of knowing (knowledge acquisition) (Lederman, 2007 ; Schiefer et al., 2022 ). Generality  delves into complex interconnections, forming an understanding using scientific concepts and facts. For instance, a phenomenon of interest can be comprehensively understood and explained within the scientific community by examining specific contexts and conditions utilizing scientific theories (Lewis & Belanger, 2015 ). Hence, this act of knowledge generation is crucial to thoroughly comprehending observed events and phenomena (Beeth & Hewson, 1999 ).

Next,  justification  underscores the necessity for logical reasoning to substantiate our conceptual comprehension. It is the systematic process that employs factual information and evidence, particularly that obtained from experiments, to substantiate assertions (Peffer & Ramezani, 2019 ). This practice links evidence with knowledge to assess essential claims and facilitates meaningful discussion (McNeill et al., 2006 ; Osborne et al., 2004 ). Finally, the  audience  dimension orients students' knowledge and the usefulness of their understanding (Berland et al., 2016 ). It is also relevant regarding how students perceive and derive meaning from the material, and how they develop a comprehensive understanding of it (Berland & Reiser, 2009 ; Paretti, 2009 ). The combined impact of these epistemic factors intricately shapes and defines the goals that guide the pursuit of epistemic knowledge.

Second, EIP includes essential practices in the classroom and learning community. In addition to acquiring discipline-specific knowledge, Peffer and Ramezani ( 2019 ) argue that demonstrating proficiency in scientific methodologies leads to developing a sophisticated epistemological understanding of concepts relevant to the NoS and scientific knowledge. Since the NoS is an essential element of inquiry in practice, epistemology and the NoS are inextricably linked (Deng et al., 2011 ). By exploring the NoS, we can gain insight into the fundamental elements that define scientific investigation, including its fundamental principles, underlying assumptions, and the methodologies of scientific pursuit.

According to Greene et al. ( 2016 ), NoS can be used interchangeably with concepts such as personal epistemology and epistemic cognition, which explore how individuals conceptualize knowledge. Personal epistemology reflects epistemological beliefs, reflective judgments, ways of knowing, and reflection (Hofer, 2001 ), whereas epistemic cognition is the examination of knowledge, particularly the evaluation of the essential components of justification and related concepts of objectivity, subjectivity, rationality, and truth (Moshman, 2014 ).

Furthermore, Lederman et al. ( 2002 ), referred NoS to the epistemology and sociology of science – understanding science as a way of knowing, and the values and beliefs inherent in scientific knowledge and its development. It encompasses various philosophical presuppositions, including values, development, conceptual inventions, consensus-building in the scientific community, and distinguishing scientific knowledge (Lederman, 1992 ; Smith & Wenk, 2006 ; Tsai, 2007 ). The close connection between an individual's cognitive framework and the philosophical foundations of the NoS becomes evident when we recognize that these concepts have a shared identity.

Research Question

In this study we analyzed the EGs and EPs in the Biology curriculum. Specifically, we address the question: How do the epistemic goals and practices of the Biology curriculum transmit knowledge and skills in the Philippines and Japan?

Research Design

We employed an ethnography design to examine the EGs and EPs of the biology curricula. Ethnography comprehensively explores the historical, cultural, and political aspects of knowledge evident in the educational traditions and practices of the countries under study (Hout, 2004 ). It involves systematically observing individuals, locations, concepts, written records, and behaviors (Savage, 2000 ) to document routine occurrences and identify opportunities for improvement (Dixon-Woods et al., 2019 ).

Research Strategies

We investigated two iterative cases of EGs and EPs. First, to determine the framework guiding the scope and implementation of EGs, we examined the Biology Grade Level Standards (BGLSs). In this context, EGs refer to the instructions’ specific statements and purposes that outline what students are expected to learn as they interact with the curriculum (Orr et al., 2022 ; Print, 1993 ).

According to Plowright ( 2011 ), the standards within a curriculum serve as its policies. A curriculum is inherently governed by the power and knowledge structures that stem from and circulate within sociocultural and political domains (Ball et al., 2012 ). As an artifact, it embodies culture, design, and learning (Hodder, 2000 ) and is associated with socio-material factors, discursive frameworks, policies, and performativity frameworks (Horan et al., 2014 ; Kalantzis & Cope, 2020 ; Maguire et al., 2011 ).

Second, we engaged in classroom immersion for observational (teaching) research (Sheal, 1989 ) to investigate the EPs. Teaching observation is an unbiased measure that allows us to gain a thorough, firsthand understanding of teaching practice (Desimone, 2009 ). Being physically present in the learning environment provides a unique opportunity to directly observe the teaching methods and strategies in real-time, including their application and usefulness (Granström et al., 2023 ). In addition to helping us identify opportunities for unique learning practices and ways to improve education (Sullivan et al., 2012 ), it provided a better understanding and appreciation of each country's cultural and pedagogical intricacies.

Data Collection and Gathering Procedures

This longitudinal study is part of an ongoing two-year community inquiry project. Our ongoing immersion began in the last quarter of 2022. The first iteration of the case focuses on the documented policies based on the BGLS. Policy materials were obtained from the websites of the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) ( 2006 ) in Japan. In the Philippines, science education goals are carefully designed with each grade level having its own standards that differentiate biology from other specialized areas of science, such as earth science, chemistry, and physics. The curriculum goals are divided into objectives customized for each grade level, thus ensuring a smooth and logical learning progression.

In contrast, science education in Japan follows a standardized set of overarching objectives that cover essential scientific concepts such as energy, particles (matter), life, and the earth. These objectives are outlined in the study course and provide a comprehensive framework that includes a range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The framework clearly outlines the overall objectives, making it possible to identify those specific to different scientific concepts.

The collected BGLSs were analyzed in the subsequent stages below.

Curriculum Matching and Mapping

Table 1 shows the curriculum matching results for both countries. DepEd and MEXT developed, implemented, and monitored the goals of the biology curriculum at the elementary (grades (G) 3–6), junior high (G7–G10), and lower secondary (G7–G9) levels. Employing Hale’s ( 2007 ) curriculum mapping protocol, to map EGs in the BGLS. Essential mapping was used to ascertain specific competencies, including detailed knowledge and abilities that students are expected to acquire.

Syntactic Analysis and Transformation

We expound upon these goals by examining their syntax. Syntax is a methodological analysis of the structure of sentences or statements (Foorman et al., 2016 ), including aspects such as word order, and structure. First, we investigated the verb-content-context and transformed it into Anderson and Krathwohl’s ( 2001 ) A-B-C-D protocol. As shown in Table  2 , a sample goal is divided into four distinct components.

Component A pertains to the intended audience , typically comprising students; component B relates to expected behavior or cognitive faculties component C pertains to the conditions necessary to demonstrate capabilities, and component D relates to the degree to which a behavior must be performed.

Classroom Immersion and Teaching Observation

We coordinated the immersion and teaching observation (IATO) with Philippine and Japanese school administrators. We were granted permission to conduct observations at three schools in Japan and two in the Philippines between January and December 2023. In August 2023, we conducted teaching observations in three classrooms in the Philippines. We further observed ten classrooms, which were predominantly held between November and December in Japan. Our observations encompass various aspects such as imparting subject knowledge, fostering skills, critical thinking abilities, and instilling specific values. Inside the classrooms, we were able to capture photographs and take detailed field notes, which allowed us to thoroughly document the interactions within each dynamic learning environment. By engaging in visual and observational documentation, we created a thorough record of the EPs. For ethical considerations, we deliberately chose not to incorporate any photographs of the students in this manuscript.

Interviews and Focus Group Discussions

After completing IATO, we conducted interviews with the educators to clarify the EPs. This dialogue dramatically improved our understanding of the factors influencing pedagogical decision-making by facilitating the exchange of ideas and perspectives. It also provided valuable context, enhancing our observations and enriching the quality of the observational data collected.

Data Analysis

Using discourse analysis (DA) and curriculum coding, we examined the explicit words that indicate EGs (knowledge and skills), which go beyond signs and signifiers by becoming “practices that methodically produce the objects of which they speak” (Foucault, 1972 , p. 49) at the expense of meaning formation (Khan & MacEachen, 2021 ).

We analyzed EGs based on the explicit BGLSs in the form of knowledge-using behavior and condition . Behavior referred to the knowledge dimension, and condition referred to content (scope of knowledge). To establish a connection between behavior and the cognitive domain, it is imperative to systematically categorize and classify individual cognitive verbs or processes based on their unique characteristics and underlying theoretical frameworks. This allows the development of personalized knowledge about cognitive tasks while contributing to a more organized understanding of cognitive functioning. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Objectives as revised by Anderson and Krathwohl ( 2001 ), we coded each behavior against the cognitive domains. Each cognitive domain uses active verbs arranged hierarchically. The first aspect is remembering , which facilitates quick recall (i.e., recognition). The second aspect is understanding , which allows one to make sense of knowledge/information (i.e., description). The third aspect is applying , which is a demonstration method/procedure (i.e., classification). The fourth aspect is analyzing , which enables breaking down the structure of one’s understanding into parts and pieces of information (i.e., differentiation). The fifth aspect is evaluating , which entails making use of one’s judgment based on parameters such as conditions (i.e., conclusion). Finally, the sixth aspect is creating , which involves putting together pieces of information to create cohesive and holistic knowledge (i.e., development).

Table 3 presents the coding of EGs using knowledge types. First, with the verb describe , we classified a wide range of behaviors from focus and recall to perception and processing to problem-solving and decision-making and compared and categorized the respective verbs based on characteristics derived from cognitive traits. In this context, the term be describes the understanding of information by employing the knowledge of principles. After determining behaviors using verbs, we further classified them into Anderson and Krathwohl’s ( 2001 ) types of knowledge (ToK). Each behavior is determined using the following: (1) familiarity with concepts, which necessitates acquiring factual knowledge (fk) , specifically knowledge of revealed facts; (2) conceptual knowledge (ck) encompassing the comprehension of ideas, associations, and operations; (3) procedural knowledge (pk), pertaining to the investigation methodology and knowledge acquisition within scientific inquiry; and (4) meta-cognitive knowledge (mck) , which denotes a more advanced level of comprehension pertaining to an individual’s understanding of cognition, self-awareness, and self-regulation. In Table 3 , remembering falls under fk , illustrating the knowledge of details/elements .

Similarly, we assessed EGs based on explicit standards in the form of practical skills (PSs) using condition and degree categories. Condition revealed the scope of knowledge and the degree of skill development. We examined the degree by selecting skills based on Gott and Duggan’s ( 1995 ) classification. These PSs were classified according to Finley ( 1983 ) Science skills . The first is Basic Science skills (BSs) , which cover fundamental scientific processes, including observation, classification, measurement, prediction, inference-making, and communication. Second, Integrated Science skills (ISs) are composites (two or more BSs) with fundamental scientific process competencies. Integrated science skills are uniformly identified as a control variable combined with interpreting, hypothesizing, and experimenting to form a cohesive approach.

Table 4 presents the coding of conditions and degrees. We underlined PSs (i.e., investigating) for ease of identification. Each skill is coded according to its degree of development. Finally, we classified the underlying skills as ISs .

Furthermore, we analyzed IATO data using inductive content analysis (ICA). ICA is a social inquiry method grounded in epistemology that depicts the reality of practice. For example, by examining learning delivery, one can identify replicable and valid strategies that can be used to draw inferences from the data (Krippendorff, 2019 ). We utilized Marying's ( 2000 ) ICA protocol to effectively organize, refine, and establish significant categories in teaching practice, ensuring that our observations and field notes were aligned.

Epistemic Goals and Practices – the Philippines

Table 5 presents the EGs and ToK in the Philippines context, utilizing behavior and condition . Regarding behavior , the data revealed a wide range of knowledge, primarily encompassing the domains of remembering and understanding. This trend indicates that the EGs emphasize acquiring crucial and foundational knowledge to develop fk , namely the specific details, elements, and principles of biology. Furthermore, this trend was consistently evident in G3, G4, G7, G8, and G9. However, we found variations in knowledge offerings for G5, G6, and G9. Higher order behavior incorporates mck in G5. This approach involves generating and cultivating strategic knowledge about health-promotion and hygienic practices. During G6, ck was presented to deliver life science principles, whereas during G9, more profound pk was presented. During G9, students were involved in the knowledge acquisition of scientific inquiry.

The condition suggests a progression of goals from elementary to junior high school. Fundamental principles of biology, such as the components and functions of living organisms, are systematically introduced in the early stages of education. For instance, as students progressed to higher grades, they were presented with more advanced concepts related to the organization and functioning of the human body.

Table 6 shows the degree-related goals and PSs in the Philippines. The data indicates that most elementary-level skills (G3–G6) involved classification, investigation, and communication. The acquisition of proficiency in classification and communication skills are imperative for developing a solid foundation for scientific literacy, commonly known as BSs . This investigation enabled a comprehensive scientific inquiry encompassing extensive processes. Investigative skills in G5 and advancements in classification improve the exploration and comprehension of biological phenomena, a combination of skills commonly referred to as ISs .

Additionally, we acknowledge the skills alignment with the proficiencies exhibited in junior high school. Where the use of condition and degree in the syntax did not effectively express practical skills, we resorted to observing behavior as an indicator of the skill dimension. Both the G7 and G8 levels of the curriculum employed the term recognize . In contrast, at the G9 level, the term familiar was used, implying the incorporation of students’ sensory abilities, such as sight or visual perception. These BSs enable students to cultivate their power of observation.

During our IATO, we identified recurring themes to indicate the EPs in the Philippines.

Audio-Visual Materials

We frequently noticed how adept educators were in using audio-visual materials (AVM) to leverage their instruction. Strategically integrating AVM materials led to more engaging and interactive multimedia content for students while stimulating their auditory and visual faculties. Interestingly, we found that the use of AVM also encourages inclusivity within the classroom. By supporting diverse learning preferences, AVM fostered wider understanding, retention, and promoted significant learning experiences.

Gamified Instruction

Several students actively participated in thrilling learning experiences. We observed a gamified strategy that effectively utilized game elements to optimize student engagement. Teachers incorporated gamified experiences, including quick recall sessions, critical thinking exercises, and formative assessments. The interactive nature of gamified experiences captured students’ attention, transforming ordinary learning activities into intellectually stimulating tasks. Therefore, sparked greater motivation, and consistent engagement.

Guided Inquiry

Students demonstrated scientific exploration consistent along with the structured guidance by their teachers. Curiosity prompted students to ask scientific questions and uncover practical solutions. This increased their interest and understanding to learning, while honing important abilities such as inquiry, critical thinking, and decision-making.

Posing Questions

We observed the art of posing thought-provoking questions. Posing questions tapped into students' inherent curiosity while stimulating their interest and motivation. Teachers often asked questions to probe student understanding and ask critical questions. Students learned self-regulation, critical inquiry, and advanced learning while providing relevant, accurate, and thorough knowledge through this guided process.

Learning-By-Doing

We witnessed a learning experience in which the students were active participants. They were engaged in dynamic discussions that provided them with first-hand encounters toward understanding. During this period, students actively engaged in observing phenomena and scientific processes. Through hands-on experiences, engaged learners assume responsibility for their own understanding. They skillfully implement acquired knowledge while effectively connecting theoretical ideas to real-life situations.

Epistemic Goals and Practices – Japan

Table 7 presents the EGs and ToK by incorporating behavior and condition . Japan has a standardized overall objective (goals) from elementary to lower secondary/junior high schools. The objective is to construct a layer: in elementary school science, each grade’s objectives fall under the subject’s overall objectives and that of lower secondary school science. Under the “objectives of science as a subject,” the first (energy and particles) and second (life and earth) fields have their own objectives, and each unit of the two fields has objectives based on the upper levels. This classification includes knowledge, abilities, and attitudes. We observed a comparable classification between the elementary and lower secondary levels. Within this categorization, there is remarkable uniformity in behavior, which illustrates the knowledge pattern. Students acquire knowledge, abilities, and attributes through higher cognitive learning, specifically in the form of creation. Each form of mck then contributes to the development of strategic knowledge, knowledge of cognitive tasks, and self-knowledge from G3–G9.

This condition entails a deeper understanding of living things, the structure of movement, the continuity of life, and the structure and function of the body. Various biology concepts facilitate scientific inquiry with the objective of advancing the understanding and acquisition of metacognitive knowledge. These objectives were designed to enhance proficiency in employing scientific methods, specifically in conducting scientific inquiry into natural objects, experiencing objects, and understanding phenomena. Furthermore, the process of developing student understanding is facilitated by their direct engagement with objects and phenomena, while honing their attitudes toward scientific inquiry.

Table 8 shows the degree-related EGs and PSs in Japan. The goals consist of knowledge, abilities, and attitude, and demonstrate the consistency of learning development across the elementary and lower secondary school levels. Irrespective of the concept being considered, skill development follows a standardized approach from G3 to G9. PSs are uniform across various learning domains, like all knowledge derived from active demonstration, including observations, experiments, and other scientific activities. Similarly, we noted that student abilities were centered around a repetitive mode of inquiry. The students employ and hone their skills to enhance their comprehension of biological principles. Furthermore, cultivating a positive attitude toward nature, life, and the environment requires consistent practice and refining one’s abilities. By employing observation, experimentation, and other practical work, students cultivate a positive disposition toward scientific inquiry and conducting scientific inquiries.

Our IATO in different schools, helped us determine recurring themes to indicate the EPs in Japan.

Cultivating Lasting Learning

Japanese teachers cultivate lasting learning. They began their lessons by writing the learning goals which are grounded on shared responsibility, to develop a sense of direction and purpose. They introduce real-world problems that allow students to connect their prior understanding. During active learning activities, the teachers gathered students’ observations and methodically arranged them on classroom boards. Such visual representations served as a valuable reference for ongoing discussions, reflection, and knowledge construction. It depicted patterns and variation that can elicit further scientific inquiries. Similarly, it promotes data-driven practice towards generating conclusions and generalizations. This approach bolstered students' capacity for analysis and cultivated a more profound comprehension of biology.

Observation, Investigation, and Experimentation

We observed learners utilizing their senses to examine organisms. They engaged in direct interactions under meticulously replicated conditions in the classroom or laboratory. They participated in a wide range of scientific activities and performed experiments. They diligently adhered to scientific methodologies and precisely recorded their discoveries to enhance understanding of diverse scientific phenomena and processes through practical activities.

Collaborative Discussion

All classes were encouraged to participate in micro-discussions. This allowed the students to ask questions, seek clarification, and enhance their understanding in a smaller and supportive environment. It was crucial for students with advanced understanding to take the lead and facilitate the discussion. Collaborative discussions were instrumental to learning from peers and affirming understanding, while expressing their thoughts and beliefs leading to collective empowerment and collaborative learning.

Reflective Thinking

The classes were adept in reflective thinking. This method encouraged students to carefully review what they had learned and evaluate if their present experiences met the learning objectives. Teachers designed purposeful queries to prompt reflection. While the students were provided ample time to ponder and participate in creating a tranquil environment for introspection.

Epistemic Goals – the Philippines and Japan

In the Philippines, EGs focus on transmitting fk . Both fk and ck are crucial for cognitive proficiency advancement (Schraw, 2006 ) and for helping students perform better in school (Idrus et al., 2022 ). Having a solid foundation of fk is essential for comprehending biological concepts. Thus, these goals aid in the development of critical thinking skills and enhancing students’ self-confidence. Moreover, this knowledge helps individuals navigate their surroundings, make informed choices, and contribute to a knowledgeable and enlightened society. Fk leverages ck , in contrast to the mere acquisition of information; fostering critical thinking skills and facilitating the transfer of learning, adaptability, and effective problem-solving.

The Philippines’ EGs mainly involve transmitting scientific skills essential for establishing scientific literacy and active participation in scientific investigations. Individuals with such skills can confidently observe, communicate, measure, hypothesize, analyze data, solve issues, and navigate the life sciences. Improving and refining these skills increases scientific comprehension and builds crucial life skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication.

In contrast, EGs in Japan center on transmitting mck , which is critical for cognitive development and learning. This knowledge can govern and regulate all aspects of knowledge or processes and can be applied to any cognitive pursuit, including learning (Flavell, 1979 ). This enables individuals to control their learning, adjust their strategies, participate in metacognitive processes, and apply their knowledge to new situations.

Japan’s EGs transmit highly integrated skills that provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to scientific inquiry. Such skills foster a holistic comprehension of broader issues and the cultivation of analytical and reasoning abilities, ideation, and advanced learning. Padilla ( 1990 ) posits that acquiring expertise is imperative for the development, experimentation, and execution of scientific research. Acquiring integrated scientific processing skills enables individuals to proficiently address complex challenges, contribute meaningfully to scientific advancement, and have a considerable impact on their understanding of biology.

Epistemic Practices – the Philippines and Japan

Epistemic practices in the Philippines capitalize on timely and relevant learner-centered pedagogy. The strategic integration of AVM resulted in an engaging and interactive classroom. AVM are designed to cater to diverse learning styles and stimulate learners’ auditory and visual faculties. AVM or multimedia inside the classroom consists of more than one medium aided by technology (Kapi et al., 2017 ; Abdulrahaman et al., 2020 ) and is used to improve understanding (Guan et al., 2018 ). Shaojie et al. ( 2022 ) found that AVM input can enrich learners' understanding of the content and motivate them to actively participate in listening comprehension activities by providing more authentic language input that is richer in multimodal cultural and situational contexts. Moreover, AVM promotes inclusivity by accommodating diverse learning preferences and enhancing comprehension and retention. This drives students’ eagerness to learn, while simplifying and adding excitement to the learning process (Rasul et al., 2011 ). AVM found to enhance student motivation and engagement (Dichev & Dicheva, 2017 ), as well as improve positive learning outcomes (Zainuddin, 2023 ), thus positively impacting student focus and concentration. Integrating gamified elements proved effective in capturing students' attention and foster a higher level of engagement.

It was also evident that the students exhibited a proactive and experiential approach toward scientific exploration. According to Kong ( 2021 ), this educational phenomenon promotes engagement and eventually leads to classroom success. The students demonstrated genuine and inherent curiosity and displayed a sincere interest in biology. Wang et al. ( 2022 ) argue that inquiries and epistemological beliefs form the foundation of scientific literacy. The teachers' adept organization and support effectively nurtured this curiosity. Students’ inherent inquisitiveness, under the guidance of the teacher's intentional mentorship, fostered an atmosphere conducive to purposeful inquiry and thus a heightened comprehension of biology. Based on Lin et al. ( 2011 ) and Jack et al. ( 2014 ), advancing toward scientific understanding and the application of scientific knowledge promotes interest in learning science.

Finally, educators' ability to pose thought-provoking questions has become important in the classroom. Each teacher's inquiries shaped classroom dynamics and fostered students' curiosity, critical thinking, and academic growth (Salmon & Barrera, 2021 ). Hilsdon ( 2010 ) states that insightful inquiries can lead to critical thinking by efficiently probing comprehension. Students actively participate in dynamic discussions and take responsibility for their learning.

Conversely, EPs in Japan use advanced methods to create a highly engaged and learning environment, outperforming traditional education. Teacher techniques included collaborative conversations, reflective thinking, and strategic use of thought-provoking questions throughout our classroom visits. This fostered active participation that encouraged students to critically engage and reflect on their learning. Higher-order thinking skills are essential for conceptual and disciplinary understanding (Heron & Palfreyman, 2023 ). These skills enable students to examine, synthesize, and evaluate information beyond fundamental knowledge.

Barlow et al. ( 2020 ) noted that in extensive research, empirical evidence is consistent, indicating that students who actively engage with learning materials and participate in the educational process demonstrate increased levels of engagement and achieve significantly greater learning outcomes. Similarly, Wang et al. ( 2022 ) argue that metacognitive skills help students learn and perform better. Furthermore, metacognition, or higher learning, also prepares learners for higher education (Stanton et al., 2021 ).

Reflective breaks were thoughtfully included in classroom immersion. Teachers set aside times for students to reflect. It reflects Japan's educational philosophy, which emphasizes learning, internalizing, and synthesizing knowledge to improve metacognition (Hanya et al., 2014 ). Kolb ( 1984 ) successfully linked reflection to experiential learning. The Japanese way of active learning transfer incorporates collaborative discussion and reflective dialogue. Dewey ( 1993 ) argues that reflective thinking examines beliefs, requiring careful examination of reporting, relating, reasoning, and reconstructing knowledge (Ryan, 2013 ).

We conducted ethnographic research examining two iterative cases of EGs and EPs of biology curriculum in the Philippines and Japan. We analyzed how these curricula effectively transmit valuable knowledge and skills. We found that the EGs in the Philippines were primarily grounded in disseminating factual knowledge with a specific emphasis on enhancing health and environmental awareness. Knowledge acquisition transitions from factual to conceptual as students progress to junior high school. EGs emphasize the utilization of basic science skills , particularly for exploring and comprehending various biological concepts. Alternatively, EPs prioritize learner-centered approaches that are both timely and relevant. These EPs include using AVM, gamified instruction, guided inquiry, thought-provoking questions, and hands-on learning experience.

However, EGs in Japan differed, focusing on a reliable means of imparting meta-cognitive knowledge . Students are equipped with problem-solving abilities and empowered to acquire integrated science skills to effectively engage in scientific inquiry. Implementing EPs fosters a sustainable learning environment and cultivates lasting learning, observation, investigation, experimentation, collaborative discussion, and reflective thinking.

Our findings shed light on the distinct and prioritized elements of biology standards and its EGs and EPs, making it a valuable addition to the current body of literature. Examining the realm of curriculum can improve comprehension, spark significant conversations, and enable informed decisions across cultures and borders. This research invites educators, policymakers, and stakeholders to embrace varied educational approaches to build a global community exploring knowledge and skills across national lines.

Limitations and Implications

The scope of this study is limited to a DA of the EGs and an ICA of the EPs. Our study provides insights into the development of policies and interventions that can address gaps in EGs and Eps. They can be used as a foundation for improving the biology curriculum in line with educational objectives and societal needs. Educators can also derive advantages from the findings of this study by engaging in professional development programs specifically designed to equip them with the essential skills and knowledge required to effectively implement learner-centric methodologies and integrate innovative teaching practices seamlessly. In addition, this study's cross-cultural benchmarks provide the potential for collaborative initiatives among educational institutions. Gaining insight into both commonalities and distinctions in EGs and EPs can foster cooperative endeavors aimed at improving global educational benchmarks.

Data Availability

The data have been made accessible in the results.

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Open Access funding provided by Hiroshima University. This research was financially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI program under Grant Number 22KF0274.

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Denis Dyvee Errabo

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Denis Dyvee Errabo, Keigo Fujinami & Tetsuo Isozaki

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• 08 May 2024

Illuminating ‘the ugly side of science’: fresh incentives for reporting negative results

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The editor-in-chief of the Journal of Trial & Error , Sarahanne Field wants to publish the messy, null and negative results sitting in researchers’ file drawers. Credit: Sander Martens

Editor-in-chief Sarahanne Field describes herself and her team at the Journal of Trial & Error as wanting to highlight the “ugly side of science — the parts of the process that have gone wrong”.

She clarifies that the editorial board of the journal, which launched in 2020 , isn’t interested in papers in which “you did a shitty study and you found nothing. We’re interested in stuff that was done methodologically soundly, but still yielded a result that was unexpected.” These types of result — which do not prove a hypothesis or could yield unexplained outcomes — often simply go unpublished, explains Field, who is also an open-science researcher at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Along with Stefan Gaillard, one of the journal’s founders, she hopes to change that.

Calls for researchers to publish failed studies are not new. The ‘file-drawer problem’ — the stacks of unpublished, negative results that most researchers accumulate — was first described in 1979 by psychologist Robert Rosenthal . He argued that this leads to publication bias in the scientific record: the gap of missing unsuccessful results leads to overemphasis on the positive results that do get published.

Careers Collection: Publishing

Over the past 30 years, the proportion of negative results being published has decreased further. A 2012 study showed that, from 1990 to 2007, there was a 22% increase in positive conclusions in papers; by 2007, 85% of papers published had positive results 1 . “People fail to report [negative] results, because they know they won’t get published — and when people do attempt to publish them, they get rejected,” says Field. A 2022 survey of researchers in France in chemistry, physics, engineering and environmental sciences showed that, although 81% had produced relevant negative results and 75% were willing to publish them, only 12.5% had the opportunity to do so 2 .

One factor that is leading some researchers to revisit the problem is the growing use of predictive modelling using machine-learning tools in many fields. These tools are trained on large data sets that are often derived from published work, and scientists have found that the absence of negative data in the literature is hampering the process. Without a concerted effort to publish more negative results that artificial intelligence (AI) can be trained on, the promise of the technology could be stifled.

“Machine learning is changing how we think about data,” says chemist Keisuke Takahashi at Hokkaido University in Japan, who has brought the issue to the attention of the catalysis-research community . Scientists in the field have typically relied on a mixture of trial and error and serendipity in their experiments, but there is hope that AI could provide a new route for catalyst discovery. Takahashi and his colleagues mined data from 1,866 previous studies and patents to train a machine-learning model to predict the best catalyst for the reaction between methane and oxygen to form ethane and ethylene, both of which are important chemicals used in industry 3 . But, he says, “over the years, people have only collected the good data — if they fail, they don’t report it”. This led to a skewed model that, in some cases, enhanced the predicted performance of a material, rather than realistically assessing its properties.

Synthetic organic chemist Felix Strieth-Kalthoff found that published data were too heavily biased toward positive results to effectively train an AI model to optimize chemical reaction yields. Credit: Cindy Huang

Alongside the flawed training of AI models, the huge gap of negative results in the scientific record continues to be a problem across all disciplines. In areas such as psychology and medicine, publication bias is one factor exacerbating the ongoing reproducibility crisis — in which many published studies are impossible to replicate. Without sharing negative studies and data, researchers could be doomed to repeat work that led nowhere. Many scientists are calling for changes in academic culture and practice — be it the creation of repositories that include positive and negative data, new publication formats or conferences aimed at discussing failure. The solutions are varied, but the message is the same: “To convey an accurate picture of the scientific process, then at least one of the components should be communicating all the results, [including] some negative results,” says Gaillard, “and even where you don’t end up with results, where it just goes wrong.”

Science’s messy side

Synthetic organic chemist Felix Strieth-Kalthoff, who is now setting up his own laboratory at the University of Wuppertal, Germany, has encountered positive-result bias when using data-driven approaches to optimize the yields of certain medicinal-chemistry reactions. His PhD work with chemist Frank Glorius at the University of Münster, Germany, involved creating models that could predict which reactants and conditions would maximize yields. Initially, he relied on data sets that he had generated from high-throughput experiments in the lab, which included results from both high- and low-yield reactions, to train his AI model. “Our next logical step was to do that based on the literature,” says Strieth-Kalthoff. This would allow him to curate a much larger data set to be used for training.

But when he incorporated real data from the reactions database Reaxys into the training process, he says, “[it] turned out they don’t really work at all”. Strieth-Kalthoff concluded the errors were due the lack of low-yield reactions 4 ; “All of the data that we see in the literature have average yields of 60–80%.” Without learning from the messy ‘failed’ experiments with low yields that were present in the initial real-life data, the AI could not model realistic reaction outcomes.

Although AI has the potential to spot relationships in complex data that a researcher might not see, encountering negative results can give experimentalists a gut feeling, says molecular modeller Berend Smit at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne. The usual failures that every chemist experiences at the bench give them a ‘chemical intuition’ that AI models trained only on successful data lack.

Smit and his team attempted to embed something similar to this human intuition into a model tasked with designing a metal-organic framework (MOF) with the largest known surface area for this type of material. A large surface area allows these porous materials to be used as reaction supports or molecular storage reservoirs. “If the binding [between components] is too strong, it becomes amorphous; if the binding is too weak, it becomes unstable, so you need to find the sweet spot,” Smit says. He showed that training the machine-learning model on both successful and unsuccessful reaction conditions created better predictions and ultimately led to one that successfully optimized the MOF 5 . “When we saw the results, we thought, ‘Wow, this is the chemical intuition we’re talking about!’” he says.

According to Strieth-Kalthoff, AI models are currently limited because “the data that are out there just do not reflect all of our knowledge”. Some researchers have sought statistical solutions to fill the negative-data gap. Techniques include oversampling, which means supplementing data with several copies of existing negative data or creating artificial data points, for example by including reactions with a yield of zero. But, he says, these types of approach can introduce their own biases.

Computer scientist Ella Peltonen helped to organize the first International Workshop on Negative Results in Pervasive Computing in 2022 to give researchers an opportunity to discuss failed experiments. Credit: University of Oulu

Capturing more negative data is now a priority for Takahashi. “We definitely need some sort of infrastructure to share the data freely.” His group has created a website for sharing large amounts of experimental data for catalysis reactions . Other organizations are trying to collect and publish negative data — but Takahashi says that, so far, they lack coordination, so data formats aren’t standardized. In his field, Strieth-Kalthoff says, there are initiatives such as the Open Reaction Database , launched in 2021 to share organic-reaction data and enable training of machine-learning applications. But, he says, “right now, nobody’s using it, [because] there’s no incentive”.

Smit has argued for a modular open-science platform that would directly link to electronic lab notebooks to help to make different data types extractable and reusable . Through this process, publication of negative data in peer-reviewed journals could be skipped, but the information would still be available for researchers to use in AI training. Strieth-Kalthoff agrees with this strategy in theory, but thinks it’s a long way off in practice, because it would require analytical instruments to be coupled to a third-party source to automatically collect data — which instrument manufacturers might not agree to, he says.

Publishing the non-positive

In other disciplines, the emphasis is still on peer-reviewed journals that will publish negative results. Gaillard, a science-studies PhD student at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, co-founded the Journal of Trial & Error after attending talks on how science can be made more open. Gaillard says that, although everyone whom they approached liked the idea of the journal, nobody wanted to submit articles at first. He and the founding editorial team embarked on a campaign involving cold calls and publicity at open-science conferences. “Slowly, we started getting our first submissions, and now we just get people sending things in [unsolicited],” he says. Most years the journal publishes one issue of about 8–14 articles, and it is starting to publish more special issues. It focuses mainly on the life sciences and data-based social sciences.

In 2008, David Alcantara, then a chemistry PhD student at the University of Seville in Spain who was frustrated by the lack of platforms for sharing negative results, set up The All Results journals, which were aimed at disseminating results regardless of the outcome . Of the four disciplines included at launch, only the biology journal is still being published. “Attracting submissions has always posed a challenge,” says Alcantara, now president at the consultancy and training organization the Society for the Improvement of Science in Seville.

But Alcantara thinks there has been a shift in attitudes: “More established journals [are] becoming increasingly open to considering negative results for publication.” Gaillard agrees: “I’ve seen more and more journals, like PLoS ONE , for example, that explicitly mentioned that they also publish negative results.” ( Nature welcomes submissions of replication studies and those that include null results, as described in this 2020 editorial .)

Journals might be changing their publication preferences, but there are still significant disincentives that stop researchers from publishing their file-drawer studies. “The current academic system often prioritizes high-impact publications and ground-breaking discoveries for career advancement, grants and tenure,” says Alcantara, noting that negative results are perceived as contributing little to nothing to these endeavours. Plus, there is still a stigma associated with any kind of failure . “People are afraid that this will look negative on their CV,” says Gaillard. Smit describes reporting failed experiments as a no-win situation: “It’s more work for [researchers], and they don’t get anything in return in the short term.” And, jokes Smit, what’s worse is that they could be providing data for an AI tool to take over their role.

Ultimately, most researchers conclude that publishing their failed studies and negative data is just not worth the time and effort — and there’s evidence that they judge others’ negative research more harshly than positive outcomes. In a study published in August, 500 researchers from top economics departments around the world were randomized to two groups and asked to judge a hypothetical research paper. Half of the participants were told that the study had a null conclusion, and the other half were told the results were sizeably significant. The null results were perceived to be 25% less likely to be published, of lower quality and less important than were the statistically significant findings 6 .

Some researchers have had positive experiences sharing their unsuccessful findings. For example, in 2021, psychologist Wendy Ross at the London Metropolitan University published her negative results from testing a hypothesis about human problem-solving in the Journal of Trial & Error 7 , and says the paper was “the best one I have published to date”. She adds, “Understanding the reasons for null results can really test and expand our theoretical understanding.”

Fields forging solutions

The field of psychology has introduced one innovation that could change publication biases — registered reports (RRs). These peer-reviewed reports , first published in 2014, came about largely as a response to psychology’s replication crisis, which began in around 2011. RRs set out the methodology of a study before the results are known, to try to prevent selective reporting of positive results. Daniël Lakens, who studies science-reward structures at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, says there is evidence that RRs increase the proportion of negative results in the psychology literature.

In a 2021 study, Lakens analysed the proportion of published RRs whose results eventually support the primary hypothesis. In a random sample of hypothesis-testing studies from the standard psychology literature, 96% of the results were positive. In RRs, this fell to only 44% 8 . Lakens says the study shows “that if you offer this as an option, many more null results enter the scientific literature, and that is a desirable thing”. At least 300 journals, including Nature , are now accepting RRs, and the format is spreading to journals in biology, medicine and some social-science fields.

Yet another approach has emerged from the field of pervasive computing, the study of how computer systems are integrated into physical surroundings and everyday life. About four years ago, members of the community started discussing reproducibility, says computer scientist Ella Peltonen at the University of Oulu in Finland. Peltonen says that researchers realized that, to avoid the repetition of mistakes, there was a need to discuss the practical problems with studies and failed results that don’t get published. So in 2022, Peltonen and her colleagues held the first virtual International Workshop on Negative Results in Pervasive Computing (PerFail) , in conjunction with the field’s annual conference, the International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications.

Peltonen explains that PerFail speakers first present their negative results and then have the same amount of time for discussion afterwards, during which participants tease out how failed studies can inform future work. “It also encourages the community to showcase that things require effort and trial and error, and there is value in that,” she adds. Now an annual event, the organizers invite students to attend so they can see that failure is a part of research and that “you are not a bad researcher because you fail”, says Peltonen.

In the long run, Alcantara thinks a continued effort to persuade scientists to share all their results needs to be coupled with policies at funding agencies and journals that reward full transparency. “Criteria for grants, promotions and tenure should recognize the value of comprehensive research dissemination, including failures and negative outcomes,” he says. Lakens thinks funders could be key to boosting the RR format, as well. Funders, he adds, should say, “We want the research that we’re funding to appear in the scientific literature, regardless of the significance of the finding.”

There are some positive signs of change about sharing negative data: “Early-career researchers and the next generation of scientists are particularly receptive to the idea,” says Alcantara. Gaillard is also optimistic, given the increased interest in his journal, including submissions for an upcoming special issue on mistakes in the medical domain. “It is slow, of course, but science is a bit slow.”

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Our brains trick us into thinking consciousness can reside outside the body, new Northeastern research proves

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Our brains trick us into thinking consciousness can reside outside the body, new Northeastern research says

In the Neuroscience of Consciousness, psychology professor Iris Berent argues that the debate stems from the delusional biases in the way humans think about the separation, or lack thereof, between body and mind.

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The origins of consciousness have been debated by philosophers for centuries.

Each conscious person has a sense of “being me,” which invariably gives rise to the question of where that sense originated — from within or outside the body, says Northeastern University psychology professor Iris Berent .

“How do human brains give rise to this experience? That’s the big mystery, right?” she says.

Influential philosopher David Chalmers famously won a bet in 2023 for claiming consciousness exists beyond the merely physical, Berent says.

But she says the question of where consciousness exists is a false one — and she has a new paper that presents her position.

In the Neuroscience of Consciousness journal she argues that the debate stems from the delusional — albeit natural — biases in the way humans think about the separation, or lack thereof, between body and mind.

“One of the biases is dualism, intuitive dualism — the fact that we perceive minds as separate from our bodies.”

“The extent to which we look at consciousness and think that it is this really mysterious thing could very well arise from how we see it rather from what consciousness really is,” Berent says.

“Consciousness isn’t hard. Psychology is,” she says.

Mary and the zombie 

Berent points to an experiment in perception she conducted in her lab that used the well-known Mary and the zombie hypothetical exercise, but with a twist.

According to the experiment, when people are asked to think of a zombie twin of themselves, they describe a creature with their physical features but without their thoughts or feelings.

“They intuit that the mind, consciousness included, is really separate from the physical,” Berent says.

In the other thought experiment, Mary is a neuroscientist who knows everything about color and how the brain perceives color, even though she lives in a black-and-white world. 

When Mary sees a red rose for the first time, people participating in the experiment say she learns something outside the bounds of physical, scientific explanation.

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Berent says she decided to challenge these conclusions with two additional questions.

“The first question is kind of a reality check question, which is do they think Mary’s case is significant? Is it transformative? And everybody said, ‘Sure, it’s super transformative,’” Berent says.

“We also asked how likely is it that this experience will actually show up in her brain? If we scan her brain, will it light up? And it turns out that that’s exactly what people said. It will significantly register in the brain.”

“The point being, in the condition of the zombie people say, ‘no,’ (consciousness) is not physical,” Berent says. “And in Mary’s condition, people say it’s physical.”

“If people change their mind in this way, it can’t possibly be that in reality consciousness has changed. It must be that there is something within the human psyche that colors how we see consciousness.”

“For me, this means that we need to be really careful before we assume that there is any real mystery going on.”

The evolutionary roots of dualism 

Berent blames what she calls “delusional attitudes about bodies and minds” to “the same old psychological biases that I’ve been studying in my lab for years.”

She calls the separation of mind and body dualism Previous research by Berent shows that autistic people are less dualistic than neurotypical people and that males are less dualistic than females .

Evolution is responsible for the fact people hold two different systems of perception in their mind, Berent says.

“Animals have an evolutionary advantage to be able to perceive objects, say, the bodies of their mothers,” she says.

It’s also important to be able to perceive objects that have agency as separate from other objects, Berent says. “You want to follow the mother and not a body that is inanimate” to receive nurturance and protection.

This type of dualism, she says, “primes us to think about people and their minds and bodies as separate from each other. That’s one reason we think about consciousness as this ethereal thing separate from the body.”

“The point is that our perception of consciousness changes depending on the situation. And if that’s the case, there’s no way that we can trust it to reflect what our consciousness really is. It must be that our brain plays tricks on us.”

An intimate understanding of who we are

“Every psychology student that has ever come into my class asks if we’re going to talk about consciousness,” Berent says.

“This is considered to be super important. This is our intimate understanding of who we are.”

Berent says the thought experiment outlined in her paper provides “the smoking gun” that intuitions about consciousness existing outside the body are manufactured by humans’ dualistically inclined brains.

Consciousness likely comes down to electrochemical functions in the brain, she says. “It’s hard for psychological reasons.”

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