In 1913, author E. H. Porter published a novel titled Pollyanna, about a young child who was happy nearly all of the time. Even when faced with horrible tragedies, Pollyanna saw the positive side of things. Research on human perception suggests that some Pollyanna exists inside each of us (Matlin & Stang, 1978). Examples of Pollyanna effects include people believing pleasant events as more likely to happen than unpleasant ones or most people deeming their lives “happy” and describing themselves as “optimists” (Matlin & Stang, 1978; Silvera, Krull, & Sassler, 2002).

Pollyanna effects come into play when we form Gestalts. When Gestalts are formed, they are more likely to be positive than negative, an effect known as the positivity bias. Let’s say you’re at a party for the company where you just started working. During the party, you meet six new coworkers for the first time and talk with each of them for a few minutes. You form a Gestalt for each. Owing to the positivity bias, most or all of the Gestalts you form are likely to be positive. Although the positivity bias is helpful in initiating relationships, it also can lead us to make bad interpersonal decisions, such as when we pursue relationships with people who turn out to be unethical or even abusive.