Reframing within Proverbs

For Condor web site. Many proverbs seem to convey wisdom because they help people reframe and adjust to life’s predicaments. Positive reframes, such as Every cloud has a silver lining, often draw positive implications from adverse circumstances (cf., “gain frames,” “positive reappraisals,” “emotion-focused coping”, “dispositional optimism”). In contrast, negative reframes, such as All that glitters is not gold, provide helpful warnings about difficult situations, and therefore encourage proactive coping (cf. “problem-focused coping,” “defensive pessimism”). Six judges evaluated 199 proverbs and categorized most of them as positive or negative reframes. (For some proverbs judges disagreed on the reframe category because they interpreted the proverb as relevant to different situations). Results showed that those proverbs categorized as positive versus negative reframes were rated by college students as more pleasant, conceptually simpler, and more familiar. Other results showed that positive and negative reframes occurred similarly often among the proverbs, and that positive and negative reframes did not differ consistently in rated truth, imagery arousal, or reading grade level. A later version of this paper appears in: Tracy, R. J., Greco, N., Felix, E., & Kilburg, D. F., III. (2003). Reframing and wisdom within proverbs. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 22(2), pp. 117-162. ! Proverbs, such as, Every cloud has a silver lining, are brief pithy sayings in frequent and widespread use that express a basic truth or practical precept (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000) ! In this paper we argue that many proverbs convey wisdom because they help people to reframe important life experiences and elegantly express those reframes to others.