American Psychologist Updated Thinking on Positivity Ratios

American Psychologist The Complex Dynamics of Wishful Thinking: The Critical Positivity Ratio

The complex dynamics of wishful thinking: the critical positivity ratio.

We examine critically the claims made by Fredrickson and Losada (2005) concerning the construct known as the "positivity ratio." We find no theoretical or empirical justification for the use of differential equations drawn from fluid dynamics, a subfield of physics, to describe changes in human emotions over time; furthermore, we demonstrate that the purported application of these equations con...

A perspective on judgment and choice: mapping bounded rationality.

Early studies of intuitive judgment and decision making conducted with the late Amos Tversky are reviewed in the context of two related concepts: an analysis of accessibility, the ease with which thoughts come to mind; a distinction between effortless intuition and deliberate reasoning. Intuitive thoughts, like percepts, are highly accessible. Determinants and consequences of accessibility help...

The analogical mind.

The use of analogy in human thinking is examined from the perspective of a multiconstraint theory, which postulates 3 basic types of constraints: similarity, structure, and purpose. The operation of these constraints is apparent in laboratory experiments on analogy and in naturalistic settings, including politics, psychotherapy, and scientific research. The multiconstraint theory has been imple...

Teaching critical thinking for transfer across domains. Dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring.

Advances in technology and changes in necessary workplace skills have made the ability to think critically more important than ever before, yet there is ample evidence that many adults consistently engage in flawed thinking. Numerous studies have shown that critical thinking, defined as the deliberate use of skills and strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome, can be lear...