The 3-to-1 "Positivity Ratio" just might be bull

Barbara Frederickson, associate editor of American Psychology, accepts the errors in the maths that Nick Brown pointed out, but still stands by her theory of positivity.

61 yr old grad student debunks widely quoted research published by co-editor of American Psychologist magazine.  

Co-authored by Barbara Fredrickson and Marcial Losada and entitled Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing, (2005)

The oft-repeated research claimed if you have 3 positive thoughts to any one negative thought, you will flourish.

It's been a mainstay "fact" for the the life coaching industry the past few years.

Suddenly a plethora of positive psychology books began to appear, written by eminent psychologists. There was Flow: The Psychology of Happiness by Mihaly Csizkszentmihalyi, who with Seligman is seen as the co-founder of the modern positive psychology movement; Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realise Your Potential for Lasting Fulfilment by Seligman himself. And of course Fredrickson's Positivity, approved by both Seligman and Csizkszentmihalyi. Each of them appeared to quote and promote one another, creating a virtuous circle of recommendation.

The student noticed the math wasn't just bad, it was bogus.   The 3:1 formula was used to generate the 3:1 results!   Story of the student's takedown of the research here.