Why does your brain like bad news?
Have you ever found yourself dwelling on an insult or fixating on your mistakes? Criticisms often have a greater impact than compliments, and bad news frequently draws more attention than good news.
The reason for this is that negative events have a greater impact on your brains than positive ones. Psychologists called this negative bias and it can have a powerful effect on your behaviour, your decisions, and even your relationships. Now, let's dive deep into this.
What Is the Negativity Bias?
The negative bias is your tendency not only to register negative stimuli more readily but also to dwell on these events. This negativity bias means that you feel the sting of a rebuke more powerfully than you feel the joy of praise.
This psychological phenomenon explains why bad first impressions can be so difficult to overcome and we humans are more likely to notice negative things and later remember them more than the positive ones.
Okay, so let's see this by citing an example. Suppose that you might be having an awesome day at work but suddenly when a coworker makes an offhand comment that you find irritating and it makes you angry then you find yourself stewing over his words for the rest of the workday.
So, we all remember bad incidents more than good ones.
Isn't this concept Interesting? Haha! Without a doubt, it is.
What does Research say about Negativity Bias?
Many pieces of research have shown that across a wide array of psychological events, people tend to focus more on the negatives.
You tend to:
1. Pay more attention to negative events than positive ones.
2. Learn more from negative outcomes and experiences than positive ones.
Even, studies have shown that negative news is more likely to be perceived as truthful. Since negative information draws greater attention, it also may be seen as having greater validity. This might be the reason why bad news seems to get more attention. So, this is how Negativity Bias works.
Where Does Negativity Bias come from?
Negativity bias is thought to be an adaptive evolutionary function by Carpaccio & Berntson, in 1999. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors were exposed to immediate environmental threats that we no longer need to worry about like predators, and being more attentive to these negative stimuli played a useful role in survival.
It’s hard to argue that negative biases aren’t still helpful in some circumstances, but as we grow and society develops, this is not as useful as it once was, but you can't deny that it's not there. Negativity Bias helps all of us now too in some or the other way.
How to overcome Negative Bias?
Do you know about this thing that Negativity Bias is not good for your mental health? Like too much Negativity Bias is really not good for your mental health, it can take a toll on your mental health. So, it's important to overcome it to lead a healthy life.
Over Negativity Bias causes:
1. Dwell on dark thoughts.
2. Hurt your relationships with loved ones.
3. Make it difficult to maintain an optimistic outlook on life.
So, it's super important to overcome the Negativity Bias. But, you may be thinking that how to do it. Right? Then follow the below steps, this will really help you a lot as it did to me:
1. Stop Negative Self-Talk
Start paying attention to the type of thoughts that run through your mind. If it's mostly negative then just ignore it.
A better tactic is to stop those thoughts whenever they begin. Instead of fixating on past mistakes that cannot be changed, consider what you have learned and how you might apply that in the future to become successful in life. Do more positive self-talk.
2. Establish New Patterns
If you find yourself mentally reviewing some unpleasant event or outcome consciously then try to indulge yourself in some other activities.
Like:
1. Go for a walk.
2. Listen to music.
3. Read a good book.
So, when you indulge yourself in some other activities then your mind will not pay much attention to negative thoughts.
So, try doing that.
3. Savor Positive Moments
As it takes more for positive experiences to be remembered, it is important to give extra attention to good things that happen. Like we can remember negative situations very easily, in the same way, we need to put some extra efforts to remember good things too.
So when something great happens, take a moment to really focus on it. Replay the moment several times in your memory and focus on the wonderful feelings the memory evokes. Even you can write that great memory in your diary too daily so that when you read it you remember it.
So, these are the ways to remember positive events more than negative ones.
CONCLUSION
The negativity bias can have a powerful impact on your behaviour, but being aware of it means that you can take steps to adopt a more positive outlook on life. Taking a more mindful approach that involves being aware of your own tendency toward negativity and consciously elevating happier thoughts to the forefront of awareness—is one of the best ways to combat negative bias.
Ruminating on the negative can take a serious toll, so taking steps to combat this bias can play a role in boosting your mental well-being.
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