The Positive Power of Negative Thinking: Using Defensive Pessimism to Harness Anxiety and Perform at Your Peak [Hardcover]

Julie K. Norem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2001

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. "Defensive pessimism," which involves imagining the worst possible outcomes to any action and everything that could go wrong in a given situation, actually helps millions of people manage their anxiety and perform their best work, all the while refusing to succumb to "oblivious optimism."Drawing on her own research and many vivid case histories, Norem shows how to use defensive pessimism and provides evidence and fascinating explanations of its powerful benefits. While there is no "one size fits all" prescription for confronting psychological roadblocks, Defensive Pessimism will help people identify the method that works best for them, and provide practical, proven advice on changing strategies.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Through individual case studies, Norem (psychology, Wellesley Coll.) here demonstrates her case for "defensive pessimism" as an effective tool for managing one's anxiety. For example, by imagining all of the worst-case scenarios, a speaker prepares better for a speech. Norem has developed a questionnaire to help readers determine whether they use defensive pessimism or strategic optimism (believing things will work out for the best) in daily life. She goes further to explain that much of the positive self-concept information preached since the 1980s is unrealistic and illusory. While admitting that defensive pessimism annoys other people, Norem argues that the strategy helps those who are anxious to curb their emotions and get moving toward their goals. Norem has published in Self, Men's Health, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, but her style here more resembles that of an academic journal article. Further, her arguments are not convincing. Of marginal value for academic libraries. Lisa Wise, Broome Cty. P.L., Binghamton, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

What would Norman Vincent Peale say? If Wellesley psychologist and professor Norem had her druthers, Mr. Positive Thinking, after reading her arguments and 18-year research results, would probably agree that negativism has its place. As a method to cope with anxiety, the construct of negative pessimism--setting low expectations, then reviewing and planning for all possible outcomes--certainly wins out over drugs and alcohol, as it does over two less visible anxiety-handling strategies: avoidance and selfhandicapping (unconsciously providing oneself with performance excuses, such as disorganization and procrastination, that will be less incriminating if situations go awry). In the author's helpful guide, disguised case histories help readers see the very real possibilities inherent in strategic optimism and its opposite--and ways to avoid clashes between these two personalities. Enlightening, if not energizing, to those anxiety-prone among us. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (September 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465051383
• ISBN-13: 978-0465051380
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful New Approach to Individual Differences, May 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Positive Power of Negative Thinking: Using Defensive Pessimism to Harness Anxiety and Perform at Your Peak (Hardcover)

The psychologist who wrote this book developed and validated a new measure of individual differences in personality: The Defensive Pessimism Questionnaire. 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 defensive 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 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.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book About The Other Half, January 14, 2003

By A Customer

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

What could be more All American than "the power of positive thinking" or "positive mental attitude"? Norman Vincent Peale, Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill sold millions of books in the twentieth century, and inspirational self-help books about happiness are a big trend today. So it may surprise many people that Dr. Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness, is just quoted in Time magazine saying that about half of us have the genetic predisposition that gives the pleasant state of simply feeling happy, and the other half of us do not. That other half has the tendency to experience anxiety, worry, and negativity more often, and perhaps more easily, than pleasantly happy feelings. A similar point is made by Dr. Lykken in his book about happiness. This research makes sense to me, in that it seems a sensible scientific generalization that also fits with my own life experiences with a variety of people. So my reading of Dr. Norem's book "The Positive Power of Negative Thinking" is that it is a book for the 'other half' -- those who often tend toward the negative -- as well as a book that explains pessimists and optimists to each other.

The idea of 'defensive pessimism' according to the author, is that it is "a strategy that can help anxious people harness their anxiety so that it works for rather than against them." That seems like a good thing to me -- adaptive and constructive -- since research shows that positive thinking exercises don't help everyone, and sometimes make things worse. Some people need a different strategy to be at their best. Being a defensive pessimist seems a lot better than being a depressed, hopeless pessimist, and it may be more natural for some people than unsuccessfully trying to be a "Don't Worry, Be Happy" optimist. Personally, I score near the middle of the optimism--pessimism test in the book, so reading it has helped me to understand people I know who are at opposite ends, better than I did before. The main point I got out of it is that the decision to be made is not "Is the glass half full or half empty?" but "Which half of people do you or the person you are dealing with belong to -- the optimistic or the pessimistic?" because different things seem to work best for different people. That is a new perspective that I find informative and useful, so I am positive toward this book about negativity.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nuanced look at different coping strategies, March 2, 2003

By 

Bukkene Bruse (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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

While billed as a "contrarian" view, Norem's book is really a more nuanced look at what constitutes pessimism, optimism and the difference between them and hope. Consequently, she identifies highly functional people who are none the less pessimistic. These individuals deal with their preexisting anxiety by using the strategy of "defensive pessimism." Norem discusses in detail the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy, but shows how those people predisposed to handling their anxiety via defensive pessimism can be harmed by being optimistic. Norem spends a good deal of time making the important distinction between the defensive pessimist and other forms of pessimism that are truly debilitating.

"The Positive Power of Negative Thinking" is not a 12-step program. Instead, it is a highly accessible discussion of personality types and strategies for dealing with the anxiety that modern society brings.