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
Eleanor Rigby better song written than 'Eleanor Rigby'." Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees once said that their 1969 song "Melody Fair" was influenced by "Eleanor Rigby". America's single, "Lonely People", was written by Dan Peek in 1973 as an optimistic response to "Eleanor Rigby." The song's apparent criticism of the pre-1960s order of British society has attracted the opprobrium of some conservatives; Peter Hitchens, for example, has attacked what he describes as its "dismissal of faith and mockery of quiet lives". Eleanor Rigby "Eleanor Rigby" is a song by the Beatles, released on the 1966 album "Revolver" and as a 45