Motivation and emotion/Book/2023/Toxic positivity

Toxic positivity:
What is toxic positivity, why does it occur, and how can it be managed?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Case study: Figure 1. Image representing the masking of emotion that occurs within toxic positivity. Jane is going through a life-changing event that has left her feeling a range of negative emotions. Her long-term boyfriend of 10 years has just broken up with her, so she has been in bed for days and has not been taking care of herself. Her best friend Sarah came over to check up on her yesterday. She was happy to have someone to give her some support and a shoulder to cry on, however Sarah started making comments that didn't really make Jane feel much better. She just kept telling Jane to "Look on the bright side! You have to stay positive and realise that other people have it a lot worse than you do". Jane began to feel like she didn't deserve to feel this way when others have it much worse. When Sarah left, Jane just felt worse than she did before. Now Jane feels guilt and shame on top of the sadness she was already feeling.

Over the last couple of years, there has been a significant rise in the discussion of positivity and the so-called 'positivity movement', especially within the rise of social media where celebrities, influencers, and even friends might promote positivity by the content they share online (Lecompte-Van Poucke, 2022). This could be positive quotes, daily affirmations, promoting body positivity, etc. Social media has become a haven for positivity, being a kind of highlight reel for everyone in the world to share the best parts of their lives with their followers. Without knowing it, everyone who has social media is engaging in the promotion of positivity. However, there is a point where too much positivity can become toxic and unhelpful. This is referred to as toxic positivity (see Figure 1).

Toxic positivity and why it occurs can be explained by aspects of positive psychology, as well as theories such as impression management theory, Plutchik's wheel of emotion, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs. A number of studies provide evidence for the harms of toxic positivity to mental health, and discuss the need for toxic positivity to be properly managed so that it does not affect mental health in a significant way.

Focus questions: What is toxic positivity? In what ways is toxic positivity harmful? What do psychological theories and research suggest about why toxic positivity occurs and how to manage it?

What is toxic positivity?

Toxic positivity is "maintaining that one should have a positive mindset and exude only positive emotions and thoughts at all times, particularly when things are difficult" (Mallacci, 2021). It does not allow for feeling and sitting in emotions to properly process them, but instead encourages looking at the positive side of things. Suppressing emotions with toxic positivity can be detrimental to one's mental health, as it leads to poorer recovery from the negative effects of the emotion and whatever situation caused the emotion in the first place (Upadhyay, Srivatsa, and Mamidi, 2022). Everyone has most likely engaged in toxic psychology at one point in their lives, where they may have been comforting a friend or family member by encouraging them to be happy and not worry about the situation, without letting them experience and process the negative emotions. It is a relatively new concept with research only coming out in recent years about the harms of toxic psychology and where it manifests the most.

Origins

Figure 2: Data showing the rise in searches of the term toxic positivity.

The term toxic psychology was first seen in Halberstam's (2011) work on 'the queer art of failure', however the concept had been explored already in previous psychological studies. Weinstein (1980) looked at the concept of unrealistic optimism in a study where it was found that people with unrealistic optimism believed that "success happens to good people and failure is just a consequence of a bad attitude rather than structural conditions". The people studied believed this to the extent that they would not get a serious disease simply because they had a positive attitude about life, and others who did have serious diseases brought it onto themselves from a poor attitude (Lecompte-Van Poucke, 2022). The concept of toxic positivity is beginning to become more well-known as seen in Figure 2, with research on the subject steadily becoming more popular and needed in order to understand the consequences and issues that come with it.

Figure 3: A quote that resembles the ones posted on social media promoting positivity.

Where is it most often seen?

Toxic positivity doesn't just present itself in everyday conversations when tragedy strikes. There has been a significant emergence of toxic positivity within the rise of social media which has become a growing concern (Upadhyay, Srivatsa, and Mamidi, 2022). Social media has become the most prevalent place for toxic positivity to appear, simply because it was made for the purpose of sharing the highlights of your life. It is very rare to see negative content because the general public is less likely to engage with that content. This has spurred on a general positivity movement, with other movements like the body positivity movement branching from it. Influencers make this content because it helps their brand and their overall business to play the role of having a perfect life and always remaining positive (Bosveld, 2021). This is what everyone strives for, to live a perfect and positive life. Influencers are living up to their name and influencing their followers to strive to remain positive in all aspects of life. Body positivity influencers have begun to receive backlash as people are realising that they do not want to recognise the normal emotions everyone goes through when it comes to how they look. They push messages like 'love yourself no matter what', as seen in Figure 3, but it started to become so toxic to the point where other influencers or people with any sort of following received backlash for losing weight because it was seen to be pushing a negative message to their followers. People have began to recognise this behaviour as toxic positivity and are becoming more aware of how toxic positivity on social media presents itself, which is allowing them to recognise it more in everyday conversations.

Why does it occur?

There are many psychological theories that can explain why toxic positivity occurs and has become so prevalent with the rise of social media. Understanding positive psychology can explain why toxic positivity occurs, especially within this branch of psychology, with impression management theory further explaining what causes toxic positivity.

Positive psychology

Positive psychology focuses on psychology that promotes a healthy wellbeing, both physical and mental, and looks at human virtues and strengths for the "optimal flourishing and functioning of people, groups, and institutions (Gable & Haidt, 2005; p. 103). It is the study of what makes life living, focusing on things like happiness, hope, optimism, and creativity (Davis, 2023). Positive psychology grew from the recognition that most psychological studies only focused on negative concepts like mental illness, and can be dated back to 1902 with William James' writings on what he called 'healthy mindedness' (Gable & Haidt, 2005). Because of the growth of positive psychology, the field of psychology was able to learn about character strengths and virtues, as well as the conditions that contribute to high levels of happiness and community engagement (Gable & Haidt, 2005). However it can be said that positive psychology engages in and possibly contributes to toxic positivity, as it focuses solely on the study of increasing positive emotions and outcomes and ignores the fact that both positive and negative emotions need to be worked on in order to be happier (Davis, 2023).

Impression management theory

Impression management theory looks at the process in which individuals will control how they are perceived by others (Leary, 2001). It argues that individuals will control their impressions based on how much they believe their public image is important to the attainment of their goals or desires (Riggio, 2013). When trying to decide how they want to be perceived, people will look at "the roles that they occupy and the norms in social context, the values of the individuals whose perceptions are of concern, how they think they are currently perceived, their self-concepts, and their desired and undesired selves" (Leary, 2001; p. 7245). It is in this way that impression management causes toxic positivity. Within the context of social media, influencers will control how they are perceived by sharing only the positive sides of their lives as this means they get more engagement in their content. People can do this in everyday life too, where they might hide what they deem negative from the people whose perceptions are of concern, as well as the things that might go against the values of these people. In turn, this causes positivity to become a value, and the real emotions of everyday life are ignored and sometimes stigmatised.

Case study: example of impression management Jane's friend Sarah got her out of the house yesterday. Jane didn't really feel like going to the brunch Sarah had planned with their other friends, so didn't really try to make an effort in her appearance and just put on a tracksuit, and didn't try to hide her puffy eyes from crying with makeup. When Sarah arrived to pick up Jane, she was very concerned with what their friends would think if Jane showed up looking like she did. She made Jane change her clothes and put some makeup on her, and then told her not to bring up how sad she was to their friends because it might 'bum everyone out'.

What are the harms of toxic positivity?

Figure 4: Plutchik's wheel of emotions.

Plutchik's wheel of emotion and Maslow's hierarchy of needs both explain why toxic positivity is so harmful to the individual, as it can be detrimental to their mental health when their needs are not properly met. A study by Campbell-Sills et al. (2006) highlights the importance of regulating emotional states to social adjustment and overall well-being, and Ford & Mauss (2013) further argue that the more people pursue positive emotion, the less likely they are to experience positive outcomes.

Plutchik's wheel of emotions

Robert Plutchik's wheel of emotions was first theorised in the 1980s and divides emotions into eight main categories; half of which being positive emotions and the other half being negative (Abbasi & Beltiukov, 2019). These primary emotions are seen as opposites of each other, i.e. sadness and joy, anger and fear, expectation and surprise, and acceptance and disgust (Tromp & Pechenziskiy, 2014). Plutchik further divides these emotions into subgroups, which are secondary and tertiary emotions within the primary emotions (Abbasi & Beltiukov, 2019), as seen in Figure 4. In his psycho-evolutionary theory of emotions, Plutchik highlights that the primary emotions are "reactive patterns of cognition, thought, and behaviour which have evolved to deal with the four problems of life" (territoriality, hierarchy, temporality and identity) (TenHouten, 1996; p. 191).

Plutchik's work highlights the relationships between emotions and how they affect and influence each other by identifying their intensities and polarities (Abbasi & Beltiukov, 2019). In this way, Plutchik's wheel of emotions helps to explain why toxic positivity can be harmful. It highlights all emotions as normal and necessary for survival. Toxic positivity takes away all the negative emotions and only allows for the positive ones. Without properly feeling and recognising the negative emotions, the positive ones will not be felt to the fullest extent they can be, as the negative emotions are not being processed and will continue to linger around no matter how much they are ignored. This can be detrimental to mental health, as there is a significant link between psychopathology and emotion, as seen in the evidence that different psychological disorders have been linked to excessed in emotions as well as deficits in emotion (Keltner & Kring, 1998).

Figure 5: Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs highlights five categories of needs for humans to live happily and healthily. As seen in Figure 5, from the bottom to the top of the hierarchy these are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (health and security), love and belonging (friendship and a sense of connection), esteem (respect and status), and self-actualisation (the desire to become the best that one can be) (Crandall et al., 2020). It has been argued that the lower order needs in the hierarchy must be met in order for the higher order ones to be met. People need love and belonging in order to reach their fullest potential in life. Toxic positivity takes away this need, especially if it is coming from the people they receive their sense of love and belonging from such as friends, family, workmates, etc. Toxic positivity strips away the support system and does not allow one to feel loved and supported, but instead makes them feel guilty for their feelings and shameful. When this need is taken away, it takes away the opportunity for the higher order needs to be met (Crandall et al., 2020).

Research

Campbell-Sills et al. (2006) looked at the physiological effects of suppressing emotions. They conducted a study where people were asked to either suppress or accept their emotions while watching an emotion-provoking film (Mallacci, 2021). Sixty people who had an anxiety or mood disorder took part, and researchers monitored their subjective distress, skin conductance level, heart rate, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia before, during, and after watching the film (Mallacci, 2021). While the subjective responses were equal in both groups, those who had to suppress their emotions showed an increase in heart rate after the film. Campbell-Sills et al. (2006) concluded that poorer social adjustment and a decrease in wellbeing is associated with repeated suppression of emotions (Mallacci, 2021). Suppressing emotions leads to unsuccessful regulation of emotions, which can inhibit people from pursuing their goals and living their desired life (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006).

Ford & Mauss (2013) highlight an interesting paradigm in the consistent search for positive emotion. In their research, it was found that although people pursue positive emotion because they want to feel these emotions rather than negative ones, the more they actively pursued positive emotion, "the less likely they were to experience positive outcomes, including wellbeing, psychological health and feelings of happiness" (Ford & Mauss, 2013; p. 353). Cultural ideas that come from films, books, social media, etc., suggest that happiness is a common goal for most people as it is constantly advertised and is considered the highest level of positive emotions. However the constant pursuit of happiness can be detrimental to mental health when the individual places too much emphasis on it. This occurs when they set high standards for their happiness, they engage in specific actions to attain happiness, and they monitor their progress towards the goal of happiness (Ford & Mauss, 2013). This pursuit to happiness is seen as obsessive, which is why it can lead to a decrease in mental health. This obsessive pursuit to happiness can lead to engaging in toxic positivity, as one is less likely to want to feel negative emotions but instead brush them off with toxic positivity.

Case study: It is two months after her break up, and Jane has continued to see Sarah most days. She is her best friend after all. Jane was hoping she would feel much better by now, however she only feels like her mental health has taken a turn for the worse. She has tried to take Sarah's advice and keep being positive, but because of this Jane doesn't think she has properly processed the emotions that came from the break up. She feels like she is falling into one of the worst depressive episodes of her life, she is having panic-attacks everyday and has had to take so much leave from work because she has not had the motivation to do anything.

How can it be managed?

The best way that toxic positivity can easily be managed if the individual learns about it and is aware of its harms. This way, they will not engage in it themselves, and they will be able to recognise when other people are engaging in it towards them so they cannot be affected by it. According to research, "acceptance-oriented approaches to dealing with emotion allows people to experience their emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations without trying to change, avoid or control them" (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006; p. 1253). This means accepting that happiness is not an emotion they are going to feel all the time, and that negative emotions are part of the human experience and can be beneficial overall to our wellbeing. Learning about emotional regulation and acceptance-based coping is the key to not being influenced by toxic positivity. In this way the individual will be able to properly work through their emotions and process things with self-compassion, while being knowledgeable enough to not engage in toxic positivity towards other people but rather validate their feelings and be a system of support for them.

Toxic Positivity	What you might say instead
Look on the bright side.	Sometimes bad things happen, you are allowed to feel sad.
Stay positive!	I am here for you and will support you through this tough time.
Being negative isn't going to help.	Take however long you need to process these emotions.

Case study: Jane has had a lot of time to scroll on social media lately, as she has been deep into a depressive episode. She came across a headline on Instagram that said "Toxic Positivity: What is it?". Jane learned that Sarah has been engaging in toxic positivity towards her ever since the break up, meaning she hasn't been able to process her feelings properly. After this, Jane decided to go to a therapist, where she was able to learn acceptance-based coping skills to deal with all the negative emotions she has been feeling, and now she is slowly but surely coming out of her depressive episode. She has been able to go back to work and has even started playing the guitar again, something she hasn't done since the break up.

Conclusion

Toxic positivity has become a more prevalent issue with the rise of social media, although the concept is not a new one. Although it was first discussed in the early 1900's, the term did not appear in research until 2011 and has only grown more common ever since with the rise of social media. Social media is where toxic positivity is most often seen nowadays with influencers engaging in it and the general public preferring to see positive content rather than negative content. However it is still seen in everyday life where people want to remain positive but do not allow themselves or others to experience negative emotions. Positive psychology can be seen to have pushed the emergence of toxic positivity, with impression management theory explaining that it occurs because people want to be perceived as positive and happy. Plutchik's wheel of emotions explains the relationship between positive and negative emotions and why it is necessary to feel both, while Maslow's hierarchy of needs highlights the importance of satisfying the lower-order need of love and belonging by having people who are supportive in feeling and processing emotions instead of suppressing them. Toxic positivity can be managed by learning acceptance-based coping mechanisms where one learns to properly and efficiently process the negative emotions in order to eventually feel the positive ones.

See also

• Being too happy (Book chapter, 2019)
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Wikipedia)

References

Abbasi, M., & Beltiukov, A. (2019). Summarizing emotions from text using Plutchik’s wheel of emotions. Proceedings of the 7th Scientific Conference on Information Technologies for Intelligent Decision Making Support (ITIDS 2019). https://doi.org/10.2991/itids-19.2019.52

Bosveld, E. (2021). Positive Vibes Only: The Downsides of a Toxic Cure-All. Sandberg Instituut. https://sandberg.nl/media/document/original/positivevibesonly_evabosveld.pdf

Campbell-Sills, L., Barlow, D. H., Brown, T. A., & Hofmann, S. G. (2006). Effects of suppression and acceptance on emotional responses of individuals with anxiety and mood disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(9), 1251–1263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.10.001

Crandall, A., Powell, E. A., Bradford, G. C., Magnusson, B. M., Hanson, C. L., Barnes, M. D., Novilla, M. L., & Bean, R. A. (2019). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a framework for understanding adolescent depressive symptoms over time. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(2), 273–281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01577-4

Davis, T. (2023). Toxic positivity: Definition, research & examples. The Berkeley Well-Being Institute. https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/toxic-positivity.html?ck_subscriber_id=857320531&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Rising%2Bto%2Bthe%2BChallenge+-+7453376

Ford, B. Q., & Mauss, I. B. (2014). The paradoxical effects of pursuing positive emotion. Positive Emotion, 363–381. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199926725.003.0020

Gable, S. L., & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and why) is positive psychology? Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.103

Keltner, D., & Kring, A. M. (1998). Emotion, social function, and psychopathology. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 320–342. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.320

Lecompte-Van Poucke, M. (2022). ‘you got this!’: A critical discourse analysis of toxic positivity as a discursive construct on Facebook. Applied Corpus Linguistics, 2(1), 100015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acorp.2022.100015

Mallacci, T.S, Ph. D. (2023, March 10). Toxic positivity in psychology: Examples & research findings. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/toxic-positivity-in-psychology/#google_vignette

Riggio, R. E. (2013). The dangerous art of impression management. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201310/the-dangerous-art-of-impression-management

TenHouten, W. D. (1996). Outline of a socioevolutionary theory of the emotions. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 16(9/10), 190–208. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb013275

Tromp, E., & Pechenizkiy, M. (2014). Rule-Based Emotion Detection on Social Media: Putting Tweets on Plutchik’s Wheel, 1–6. https://browse.arxiv.org/pdf/1412.4682.pdf

Upadhyay, I. S., Srivatsa, K. A., & Mamidi, R. (2022). Towards toxic positivity detection. Proceedings of the Tenth International Workshop on Natural Language Processing for Social Media. https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2022.socialnlp-1.7

External links

• Toxic Positivity at Work: Examples and Ways to Manage It (betterup.com)
• What You Need to Know About Toxic Positivity (rightasrain.uwmedicine.com)