Negativity Bias - Is Bad Stronger Than Good?

Is Bad Stronger Than Good?

Roy F. Baumeister, a professor of social psychology at Florida State University, co-authored the idea of the negativity bias in a literature review in 2001 entitled, “Bad Is Stronger Than Good”. This review went through a whole gamut of psychological contexts from first impressions, close relationships, memory, self-identity and more, where a negative bias was apparent. Included was an experiment by Kahneman and Tversky where their participants gained or lost the same amount of money ($50). The findings concluded that people are more upset about losing money than are pleased gaining money. The review also found that negative events have longer lasting effects on emotions than positive events do. We also tend to think that people who say negative things are smarter than those who say positive things. This makes us give more weight to critical reviews and insights.

The tendency of bad being stronger than good reflects into almost every aspect of human existence. For example, if a person makes a bad first impression on another person, he will remember that far more easily than a good first impression. Furthermore, that same person who made a bad impression will have a harder time changing that impression to good. Additionally, when receiving feedback on a presentation or a finished job, negative feedback makes a much more profound impact on the person receiving the information. These are simply examples of everyday life in which negativity impacts humans greater than positivity. This tendency will play into most situations a person faces throughout his lifetime.