THUNAI‘ Negativity Bias’ refers to our proclivity to “attend to, learn from, and use negative information far more than positive information”.
You may remember that your teacher made you stand on the bench for not doing homework. You may forget the same teacher praising you to your parents! This is an example of negative bias.
As humans, we tend to be impacted much more by negative events than by positive ones. Even when we experience numerous good events in one day, negativity bias can cause us to focus on the sole ‘bad thing’ that occurred, ruminate on small things, worry over having ‘made a bad impression,’ and linger on negative comments and the like.
This negativity bias can influence how we feel, think, and act, and can have some less than desirable effects on our psychological state.
Among other things, it can explain why we often:
Recall and think about insults more than compliments;
Respond more – emotionally and physically – to negative stimuli;
Dwell on unpleasant or traumatic events more than pleasant ones; and
Focus our attention more quickly on negative rather than positive information.
Where Does it Come From?
Negativity bias is thought to be an adaptive evolutionary function. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors' attention towards negative stimuli such as predators played a useful role in survival.
Infants do not have a long life experience to draw upon. They learn to anticipate and avoid negative stimuli. As we grow up, our brain may have become more sensitive to negative events as a result.
3 Examples of the Negativity Bias:
Our brains respond more intensely to Negative Stimuli:
Scientists measured electrical activity in the brain when participants were presented with negative, positive, and neutral photos. Findings showed more brain activity when participants viewed negative, as opposed to positive images.News Coverage is Predominantly Negative:
Newspapers and TV channels know the magic of negative news to grab your attention! Our brains are more aroused by and attentive to negative news and media exploits this.We Think About Negative Events More:
Negative emotions last longer than positive ones. We tend to spend more time thinking about negative events, and that we often talk about them more. As a result, we remember them more!
Becoming aware of this negative bias of our brains is a good tool to improve our mental health.