The Glass is Mostly Full, but the Empty Part Hurts More than the Full Part Feels Good

According to recent research, we are more likely to use positive words than negative ones, exhibiting a “universal positivity bias.”¹ Its not surprising that we would have evolved this way: making people feel good rather than bad is generally going to help your chances of finding someone willing to help you pass on your genes.² 

Less recent research (and posts), however, demonstrate that humans are biased towards negativity, that is, we react more strongly to bad things than good things. Losing $20 hurts more than winning $20 feels good.

Can We Be Biased Toward Positivity and Negativity at the Same Time?

In direct violation of Betteridge’s law³, the answer is yes, we can be biased towards both at the same time. We remember positive experiences and conversations more strongly than negative ones, viewing the past through rose colored glasses. At the same time, because negative words are relatively less frequent, each one resonates more powerfully than an equivalent positive expression.

Its good that negativity punches above its weight in terms of what we pay attention to. Ignoring negative messages (e.g. “there are crocodiles in that water,” “I’m angry at you because you forgot our anniversary.”) can sharply reduce your likelihood of surviving and/or procreating.

Evolution selected for us to take negative messages seriously, and we do. If people spoke in equally positive and negative terms to each other, the end result is not only that we would all feel worse, but also that there would be more “boy cried wolf” situations, where the negative sentiments were expressed so frequently that they lost their impact.

This suggests that when interacting with others, it is best to avoid negativity whenever possible. Not only will this have the side effect of making you pleasurable to be around, but it will also ensure others listen when you say something negative.

Footnotes:

1. The universal positivity bias is also known as the “Polyanna Principle” after the titular character of the 1913 bestseller about an optimistic orphan who constantly plays the “Glad Game,” which you win by finding something to be glad about in every situation. She almost loses after being struck by a car, but once she regains the use of her limbs is able to appreciate them much more. Not a bad game to play.
2. I’m very proud of that euphemism.
3. Betteridge’s law of headlines states “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.”