Editing Positive psychology (section)

==== Positive illusions ====
In 1988, psychologists [[Shelley E. Taylor]] and Jonathan D. Brown co-authored a ''[[Psychological Bulletin]]'' article that coined the phrase [[positive illusions]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Shelley E. |last2=Brown |first2=Jonathon D. |title=Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. |journal=Psychological Bulletin |date=1988 |volume=103 |issue=2 |pages=193–210 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.193 |pmid=3283814 }}</ref> Positive illusions are the [[cognitive processes]] people engage in when they [[Self aggrandizing|self-aggrandize]] or [[Self-enhancement|self-enhance]]. They are unrealistically positive or self-affirming attitudes that individuals hold about themselves, their position, or their environment. They are attitudes of extreme optimism that endure in the face of facts and real conditions.

Taylor and Brown suggest that positive illusions protect people from negative feedback that they might receive, and this, in turn, preserves their [[psychological adaptation]] and subjective well-being. However, later research found that positive illusions and related attitudes lead to psychological [[Maladaptation|maladaptive]] conditions such as poorer social relationships, expressions of [[narcissism]], and negative workplace outcomes,<ref>{{Cite news|first=Nancy|last=Luksch|date=2010-02-27|title=Positive Illusions and Positive Psychology: Do Positive Illusions Foster Mental Health?|url=http://positivepsychology.org.uk/positive-illusions/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331204615/http://positivepsychology.org.uk/positive-illusions/|archive-date=2017-03-31|access-date=2020-11-29|website=PositivePsychology.org.uk|language=en-US}}</ref> thus reducing the positive effects that positive illusions have on subjective well-being, overall happiness, and life satisfaction.

[[Kirk J. Schneider|Kirk Schneider]], editor of the ''[[Journal of Humanistic Psychology]]'', pointed to research showing high positivity correlates with positive illusion, which distorts reality. High positivity or [[flourishing]] could make one incapable of psychological growth, unable to self-reflect, and prone to holding racial biases. By contrast, negativity, sometimes evidenced in mild to moderate depression, is correlated with less distortion of reality. Therefore, Schneider argues, negativity might play an important role: engaging in conflict and acknowledging appropriate negativity, including certain negative emotions like guilt, might better promote flourishing. Schneider wrote: "perhaps genuine happiness is not something you aim at, but is... a by-product of a life well lived—and a life well lived does not settle on the programmed or neatly calibrated."<ref>{{Cite news|first=Kirk J.|last=Schneider|date=2010-11-29|title=Toward a Humanistic Positive Psychology: Why Can't We Just Get Along?|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/awakening-awe/201011/toward-humanistic-positive-psychology-why-cant-we-just-get-along|access-date=2020-11-29|website=Psychology Today|language=en-US}}</ref>