So it was with great interest that I read an article that’s been making the cyber-rounds lately about a new study that says: Negativity can be good for you.
The study, by psychology professor Joseph Forgas of the University of New South Wales, observed:
"Positive mood is not universally desirable: people in negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions and are better at producing high-quality, effective persuasive messages.”
This article was a timely find for me, because lately I’ve been considering the larger question: Are there limits to positivity?
Right off, I’d say: Yes! And here’s one example – involving the “Yes And” principle itself.
As I’ve mentioned before, I see “Yes And” as consisting of the following:
1) Accepting the Person
2) Acknowledging the Possibilities
3) Advancing with Positive Purpose
But “Yes And” does not necessarily mean Agreeing with the Position or Adopting the Proposal! “Say Yes And” does not mean “Say Yes to Anything.” In fact, if the other person puts forth a view that runs up against a firmly held conviction of yours, then “Yes And” would counsel you to say an emphatic “NO!” – followed by 1, 2, and 3 above.
Unfortunately - to paraphrase Dizzy Dean - a lot of people who ain’t sayin’ "Yes" ain’t doin’ the other three either. A flat "NO!", without more, stops all progress in its tracks and inevitably leads to unproductive conflict – for both the performance improviser and the Daily Improviser.
So, viewed in this way, the "Yes And" concept illustrates that, yes, there is a limit to positivity - and yet the alternative is not negativity but a demilitarized zone somewhere in the middle where Yes and No can coexist.
(For a further discussion of "Yes And" as applied to conflict resolution, see my earlier article on the And Stance.)
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