Pollyanna principle Pollyanna principle The Pollyanna principle (also called Pollyannaism or positivity bias) is the tendency for people to remember pleasant items more accurately than unpleasant ones. Research indicates that at the subconscious level, the mind has a tendency to focus on the optimistic; while at the conscious level, it has a tendency to focus on the negative. This subconscious bias towards the positive is often described as the Pollyanna principle and is similar to the Forer effect. The name derives from the 1913 novel "Pollyanna" by Eleanor H. Porter describing a girl who plays the "glad game"—trying to find something to
The General (C. S. Forester novel) The General (C. S. Forester novel) The General is a 1936 novel by C. S. Forester, who is also known for his Horatio Hornblower novels and 1935's "The African Queen". "The General" follows the career of a professional soldier, Herbert Curzon, from his service as a junior officer in the Second Boer War through his experiences as a senior commander in the Great War. While personally courageous and dedicated, Curzon is otherwise unexceptional: an officer like many others, and it is the very ordinariness of Forester's character that serves to give the novel power. On mobilization in August 1914, Curzon