POLLYANNA HYPOTHESIS

The Pollyanna Hypothesis asserts that there is a universal human tendency to use evaluatively positive words (E+) more frequently and diversely than evaluatively negative words (E-) in communicating. Drawing on existing cross-cultural and developmental data, it was demonstrated that (a) across a sample of 13 language/culture communities E+ members of evaluative scales are used significantly more frequently and diversely than their E- opposites, (b) across 11 of these communities negative affixes are applied significantly more often to the E+ members of pairs (to make the E- opposite) than to the E- members (to make the E+ opposite), and (c) across age levels from 7 through 11 E+ members of evaluative pairs appear earlier, have higher frequencies and diversities of usage and take the negative affix more frequently than their E- opposites. Possible biases in the data and alternatives to the Pollyanna hypothesis are considered. © 1969 Academic Press Inc. All rights reserved.