Mind Over Matter: The Impact of Positive Thinking on Health Outcomes
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper from the journal Health Psychology analyzes the connection between positive outlook and beneficial actions in young adults. Two hundred people between the ages of 18 and 25 participated in the poll that measured optimistic outlook and healthful actions. Positive thinking was found to be correlated with health-enhancing behaviors, indicating that encouraging positive thinking could be an effective method of encouraging healthy lifestyles and lowering the prevalence of chronic diseases. The research had some flaws, such as a small sample size and the fact that it relied on participants' own reports for its findings. To confirm these results and discover interventions that effectively promote healthy thinking and living, more study is required.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Boehm, J. K., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2012). The heart's content: The association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health. Psychological Bulletin, 138(4), 655-691. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027448
Cheng, C., & Lau, H.-P. B. (2014). The role of positive psychology in promoting positive health outcomes in cancer patients: A review of the literature. Open Journal of Medical Psychology, 3(1), 23-30. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojmp.2014.31004
Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindsets and human nature: Promoting change in the Middle East, the schoolyard, the racial divide, and willpower. American Psychologist, 63(8), 614-622. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.63.8.614
Feldman, D. B., & Dreher, D. E. (2012). Can hope be changed in 90 minutes? Testing the efficacy of a single-session goal-pursuit intervention for college students. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(4), 745-759. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9293-9
Feldman, D. B., & Dreher, D. E. (2012). Can hope be changed in 90 minutes? Testing the efficacy of a single-session goal-pursuit intervention for college students. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(4), 745-759. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9293-9
Hanssen, M. M., Legger, E., & Legger, F. (2018). A systematic review of the relationship between objective stressors and positive thinking. Stress and Health, 34(2), 169-179. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2785
Huppert, F. A. (2019). Positive emotions and health. Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750
Huppert, F. A. (2019). Positive emotions and health. Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750
Liu, Y., Wang, M., Teng, Z., Zhang, M., & Lan, Y. (2019). Positive thinking and chronic disease management: Evidence from the HeartMath and Diabetes 3.0 programs. Journal of Health Psychology, 24(10), 1395-1407. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105317710811
Luo, Y., Ye, S., Zhang, Y., Xie, Y., Liu, X., Jiang, Y., ... & Song, Y. (2020). The relationship between positive thinking and healthy lifestyle behaviors in college students: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08847-w
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). The concept of flow. In Flow and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 239-263). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_14
Segerstrom, S. C., & Sephton, S. E. (2010). Optimistic expectancies and cell-mediated immunity: The role of positive affect. Psychological Science, 21(3), 448-455. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610362063
Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410-421. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410
Wang, J., Li, X., Zhao, Y., Li, H., & Li, Y. (2019). Positive thinking is associated with better physical health: Evidence from Chinese male survivors of rectal cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 28(3), 567-573. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4981