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The Positive Power of Negative Thinking: Using Defensive Pessimism to Harness Anxiety and Perform at Your Peak (Paperback)

by Julie K. Norem (Author) "The positive power of negative thinking? ..." (more)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Basic Books; New edition edition (15 Aug 2002)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0465051391
ISBN-13: 978-0465051397
Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 14 x 1.8 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 96,941 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

A psychologist challenges the tyranny of optimism by claiming that negative thinking is often a far better way to deal with anxiety than striving to stay positive . How often are we urged to "look on the bright side"? From Norman Vincent Peale to the ubiquitous smiley face, optimism has become an essential part of American society. In this long-overdue book, psychologist Julie Norem offers convincing evidence that, for many people, positive thinking is an ineffective strategy--and often an obstacle--for successfully coping with the anxieties and pressures of modern life. Drawing on her own research and many vivid case histories, Norem provides evidence of the powerful benefits of "defensive pessimism," which has helped millions to manage anxiety and perform their best work.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Individuality in Positive Thinking and Optimism-Pessimism, 1 Nov 2002

By A Customer

The psychologist who wrote this book developed and validated a new measure of individual differences in personality: The Defensive Pessimism Questionnaire. It also can be called 'constructive pessimism' or 'adaptive pessimism' or even 'realistically positive thinking.' The key is the different strategies that individuals use to manage or harness anxiety, moods, and motivations (adaptively or not). The theme is "No one size fits all people." Are you a constructive pessimist, a hopeless pessimist, a self-handicapper, a strategic optimist, or an unrealistic optimist? How do these different types of people get along at work, in love, as family and friends, or at play? Drawing on original psychological research and interesting case studies conducted 1985-2001, Professor Norem helps us answer these questions about personality and individual differences.

I really liked the way the concluding chapter talks about prospects for change and growth, with a focus on tolerant understanding of self and others, and on optimal psychological health for different individuals. For people like me who value diversity and growth, The Positive Power of Negative Thinking is an impressively helpful contribution. I suppose this book is a bit controversial in the way it challenges the "everyone should be an optimist" chant of the American 'positive psychology movement' but that is what makes the book so creative and original. I find the author's realistic approach to recognizing and valuing individual differences to be insightful and even liberating. So I recommend this book because it is real psychology that is helpful for real people as we seek to live better and be happier.

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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for some, harmful for others, 24 Feb 2006

By	M. T. Allenby (Northampton, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is going to be incredibly useful for a certain type of person. That person is someone who meets these criteria.
1) Tends to see the potential pitfalls and dangers in situations
2) Uses this awareness to plan effective strategies to minimise those dangers in advance
3) Carries out these plans with low levels of fuss and distress and so manages to be productive and effective in what they do
4) Is sick of being told to 'stop worrying' or to 'look on the bright side' by those around them
For people in that situation this book is well researched, tightly argued and an effective tool.

The people who may find this book harmful are those or meet the following criteria.
1) Whenever something bad happens they think it will last forever, ruin al their life and be their fault or totally beyond their control
2) When thinking the way decribed in 1) become highly distressed or paralysed into inaction
For those people this book runs a serious danger of reinforcing their disabling thinking and may result in a significant danger in thinking style becoming seen as a virture.
Probably the best way to read this book is to read it alongside something like 'Learned Optimism' by Martin Seligman and to personalise the mixture of realistic optimism and constructive pessimism that suits you.
As you read this book please be careful. It does parody the 'positive psychology' movement as a Polly-Annaish way of thinking. True positive thinking doesn't say that everything will be wonderful, it simply says that even if the worst happens you have the skills and resources to limit its duration and extent of impact, and you can get many of the things that are important for you by applying strategies of realistic optimism.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic Psychology for Real People, 26 Feb 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Positive Power of Negative Thinking (Hardcover)

The psychologist who wrote this interesting new book provides significant understanding and help for those of us who just are not the naturally upbeat type of "American-style" optimists. Finally a book that truly respects and values the wide range of individual differences that exist for optimism and pessimism. The concept and quiz for the personality style "Defensive Pessimism" support a positive interpretation of the adaptive value of being a person who thinks through worst-case scenarios and uses anxiety to motivate and carry out effective actions. I like the balanced approach in this book that helps the reader understand both the dangers of unrealistic optimism and the virtues of constructive pessimism. This is a welcome relief from the one-sided optimistic bias of the American positive psychology movement; here we can find realistic psychology for real people.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Positive Power of Negative Thinking
This book was published in USA September 2001 with the title "The Positive Power of Negative Thinking" and is currently available from the US amazon. Read more

Published on 31 Dec 2001

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