negativity bias
Bad outweighs good
Negativity bias is the psychological tendency to give more weight to negative experiences, information, or emotions than to positive ones.
A single criticism can outweigh multiple compliments; bad news captures attention more readily than good.
The bias likely evolved because noticing threats was more crucial to survival than noticing opportunities.
The negativity bias explains why one harsh review stings more than ten glowing ones.
- ruminationProlonged, repetitive thinking
- loss aversionSetbacks sting more than gains please
- pessimismExpecting unfavorable outcomes
- glass half emptyNegative perspective on situations
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
survival instincts · threat detection · fight or flight · catastrophizing · fear of failure · amygdala · fatalism · framing effect · overgeneralization · doom and gloom · worst case scenario · self-fulfilling prophecy · defeatism · learned helplessness · dwelling · cognitive distortion · defensive · anticipatory anxiety
- biaseshalo effect, horn effect
- cognitive biasesframing effect, halo effect, loss aversion, horn effect, Dunning-Kruger effect
- logical fallaciesfallacy, straw man, ad hominem, red herring, false dilemma
- thinking errorsad hominem, straw man, slippery slope, sunk cost fallacy, false dilemma
- thinking habitsoverthinking, rumination, catastrophizing, positive thinking, self-doubt
- Thinking Trapshalo effect, horn effect, anchoring, sunk cost fallacy, loss aversion
negativity biasoptimism
Tendency to expect good
positivity · positive outlook · hopefulness · sanguinity · rose-colored glasses
bias, negative, negate, negation, negativity, negatively, negates, negating, negated