Comments on: Reporting Our Way to a Happier World: The Pollyanna Effect http://mprcenter.org/blog/2009/03/11/reporting-our-way-to-a-happier-world/ The psychology of mass media, social media, and emerging communication technologies Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:20:00 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Dr. Pamela Rutledge http://mprcenter.org/blog/2009/03/11/reporting-our-way-to-a-happier-world/comment-page-1/#comment-671 Dr. Pamela Rutledge Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:46:53 +0000 http://mprcenter.org/blog/?p=350#comment-671 Hi Wendy, Thanks for taking the time to comment on our blog. The “waiting for moderation” just means that one of us looks at all the comments before posting, just in case they are spam, like ads for poker games or something more colorful. This is common practice on many blogs. It doesn’t imply anything at all about your message which was a lovely (and positive) comment. I agree the world could use more Pollyanna's. The ability to look at things optimistically is a big contributor to our sense of well-being and our belief in our ability to get things done -- as well as makes us all much more pleasant and uplifting to be around. Positive attitudes create energy; negative ones drain it away from not only the "perpetrator" but those around him/her. Psychologists believe, based on cognitive and positive psychologies, that you can learn to be more optimistic and reap all the benefits that brings. Check out Seligman's "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400078393?ie=UTF8&tag=rutledgeinsti-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1400078393" rel="nofollow">Learned Optimism.</a>" Thanks! Pam Hi Wendy,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on our blog. The “waiting for moderation” just means that one of us looks at all the comments before posting, just in case they are spam, like ads for poker games or something more colorful. This is common practice on many blogs. It doesn’t imply anything at all about your message which was a lovely (and positive) comment. I agree the world could use more Pollyanna’s. The ability to look at things optimistically is a big contributor to our sense of well-being and our belief in our ability to get things done — as well as makes us all much more pleasant and uplifting to be around. Positive attitudes create energy; negative ones drain it away from not only the “perpetrator” but those around him/her. Psychologists believe, based on cognitive and positive psychologies, that you can learn to be more optimistic and reap all the benefits that brings. Check out Seligman’s “Learned Optimism.”
Thanks!
Pam

]]> By: uccelatore gina http://mprcenter.org/blog/2009/03/11/reporting-our-way-to-a-happier-world/comment-page-1/#comment-670 uccelatore gina Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:03:54 +0000 http://mprcenter.org/blog/?p=350#comment-670 what do you mean my comment is awaiting moderation? oops! I never intended to offend anyone what do you mean my comment is awaiting moderation? oops! I never intended to offend anyone

]]> By: uccelatore gina http://mprcenter.org/blog/2009/03/11/reporting-our-way-to-a-happier-world/comment-page-1/#comment-669 uccelatore gina Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:02:01 +0000 http://mprcenter.org/blog/?p=350#comment-669 the first books I borrowed at the library when I started to read at age 6 were two storybooks, "the story of disneyland" with pictures of the park, and "the secret of pollyanna" with pictures of the film living in europe I had to wait until the age of 20 something to finally see the movie (and read the novel) now at age 50 I still watch it all the time as well as all the extras on the dvd and I made other fans around me pollyannas of the world unite!! thanks for your site!!!!! the first books I borrowed at the library when I started to read at age 6 were two storybooks, “the story of disneyland” with pictures of the park, and “the secret of pollyanna” with pictures of the film
living in europe I had to wait until the age of 20 something to finally see the movie (and read the novel)
now at age 50 I still watch it all the time as well as all the extras on the dvd and I made other fans around me
pollyannas of the world unite!!
thanks for your site!!!!!

]]> By: Dr. Pamela Rutledge http://mprcenter.org/blog/2009/03/11/reporting-our-way-to-a-happier-world/comment-page-1/#comment-570 Dr. Pamela Rutledge Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:23:48 +0000 http://mprcenter.org/blog/?p=350#comment-570 Hi Hildy, Thanks for your comment! I agree that negativity is in the eye of the beholder, but media sources often emphasize the negative to trigger our biologically-based need to attend to things that are worrisome or threatening. Just like Pollyanna finding the positive, a continual negative skew even on benign stories must take it's toll on our mood, as you note, or on our generally state of heightened awareness to danger. In cognitive therapy techniques, we make a conscientious effort to redirect our thinking. It would be interesting spending a day "reframing" all the news stories we see. I don't hold out much hope for retraining mass media until we retrain the audience, because where the audience goes, mass media will follow. Instead of the Great American Smoke-Out, we need the Great American Psych-Out. Probably there's a better name :-) I'll look for your book! Pollyanna's of the world unite! Pam Hi Hildy,
Thanks for your comment! I agree that negativity is in the eye of the beholder, but media sources often emphasize the negative to trigger our biologically-based need to attend to things that are worrisome or threatening. Just like Pollyanna finding the positive, a continual negative skew even on benign stories must take it’s toll on our mood, as you note, or on our generally state of heightened awareness to danger. In cognitive therapy techniques, we make a conscientious effort to redirect our thinking. It would be interesting spending a day “reframing” all the news stories we see. I don’t hold out much hope for retraining mass media until we retrain the audience, because where the audience goes, mass media will follow. Instead of the Great American Smoke-Out, we need the Great American Psych-Out. Probably there’s a better name :-) I’ll look for your book! Pollyanna’s of the world unite!
Pam

]]> By: Hildy Gottlieb http://mprcenter.org/blog/2009/03/11/reporting-our-way-to-a-happier-world/comment-page-1/#comment-569 Hildy Gottlieb Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:10:47 +0000 http://mprcenter.org/blog/?p=350#comment-569 Thank you for this! I awoke yesterday feeling that anything was possible, but by the time I read my local paper's headlines, I felt that possibility draining. Every single headline included at least 2 negative words! Whether or not a story is “negative” is in the eye of the beholder. Is the story that my city is facing budget cuts, or that the City Council is doing a yeoman’s job of trying to ensure my community has the services it needs? Are they to be admired for their strength or berated for every action? Those are all reporting choices, and as you note, those choices affect both our world view and our very being. (Also, on a personal note, the Hayley Mills movie is a big reason my book is called The Pollyanna Principles: Reinventing "Nonprofit Organizations" to Create the Future of Our World. I feel myself to be in good company seeing that it is a favorite of yours as well!) Thank you again for this great post! Hildy Thank you for this! I awoke yesterday feeling that anything was possible, but by the time I read my local paper’s headlines, I felt that possibility draining. Every single headline included at least 2 negative words!

Whether or not a story is “negative” is in the eye of the beholder. Is the story that my city is facing budget cuts, or that the City Council is doing a yeoman’s job of trying to ensure my community has the services it needs? Are they to be admired for their strength or berated for every action? Those are all reporting choices, and as you note, those choices affect both our world view and our very being.

(Also, on a personal note, the Hayley Mills movie is a big reason my book is called The Pollyanna Principles: Reinventing “Nonprofit Organizations” to Create the Future of Our World. I feel myself to be in good company seeing that it is a favorite of yours as well!)

Thank you again for this great post!
Hildy

]]>