Positivity/negativity Ratio

The positivity/negativity ratio (P/N) has been found to be a critical parameter to ascertain what kinds of dynamics are possible for a team (Losada & Heaphy, 2004). P/N is measured by counting the instances of positive feedback (e.g. "that is a good idea") vs. negative feedback (e.g. "this is not what I expected; I am disappointed"). In Marcial Losada's study, high performance teams had a P/N ratio of 5.6; medium performance teams a P/N of 1.9 and low performance teams a P/N of 0.36 (there was more negativity than positivity).

These ratios determine the level of connectivity that a team can reach (Losada & Heaphy, 2004). Connectivity is the control parameter in the meta learning model developed and empirically validated by Losada (1999), who found that high performance teams have dynamics that correspond to a complexor (complex order) which is mathematically equivalent to a chaotic attractor, representing the flexibility and creativity of these teams; medium performance teams have dynamics that correspond to a transient limit cycle that eventually settles into a fixed-point attractor, representing the inability to escape limiting routines; and low performance teams have dynamics that correspond to a fixed-point attractor, representing even less flexibility, and leading to a dead-end situation from which it's very hard to escape.

John Gottman (1994) found that similar ratios occur in marriages who flourish (P/N ratio of 5.1) and those who end up in divorce (P/N ratio of 0.77). Barbara Fredrickson and Marcial Losada found that individuals who flourish have a P/N ratio above the Losada line and those who languish have a P/N ratio below the Losada line (Fredrickson & Losada, 2005). Waugh and Fredrickson found that the Losada line separates people who are able to reach a complex understanding of others from those who do not (Waugh & Fredrickson, 2006). The Losada line establishes the minimum level at which a complexor is reached and is equal to a P/N of 2.9013 (Fredrickson & Losada, 2005; Fredrickson, 2009, chapter 7).