Why You Actually Love Negativity

Who in their right mind would love negativity? Contrary to intuition, negativity is a very attractive word for human beings. We remember negative childhood experiences stronger than the positive ones; we are affixed to negative news when it’s on the TV or social media; we love to gossip something negative about our colleagues or relatives. Of course, one might deny that he or she does not have a negativity bias, but the majority of the human beings do. Hence the ‘we’. Now, let’s move onto the more important question: Why are we like this? This article tries to explore answers to this question.

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Our Evolutionary Roots

According to the evolutionary theory of natural selection, we strive for survival and reproduction. So, we instinctively try to avoid risks and seek for positive and pleasurable experiences. This is quite understandable and natural. Thus, we tend to see the negative events and feelings stronger than the positive ones. We tend to remember negative childhood experiences stronger than the positive ones. We are affixed to negative news when it’s on the TV or social media; we love gossiping something negative about our colleagues, etc.

The Challenges with Negativity Bias

The problem with the negativity bias is that it is often not helpful in our modern day-to-day lives. People who are more sensitive to bad news tend to overestimate risks and become pessimistic about their future. Consequently, they make poor decisions and experience more regrets in life. For example, a student who got a poor grade on his math test tends to be more worried about failing the course than a student who got a good grade on the same math test. Furthermore, people who have high anxiety sensitivity have a tendency to think that even small things will upset them. In fact, this makes them anxious as they cannot foresee what might be bothering them in the future, as well as what might lead to disaster. This happens in turn because they have too many possibilities of being upset in mind all the time, which is stressful. As a result, they become overly sensitive towards physical sensations such as heartbeats, sweating, dizziness etc., which later on may lead to panic attacks or panic disorder.

Another important thing about negative thinking is that it may hinder one from finding solutions of problems objectively. In these cases, people do not know how good things could be for them if only they change their mindsets from negative to positive. In addition, pessimistic people tend to see flaws in others’ opinions and judgements which makes them less likely to listen to others’ ideas or suggestions wholeheartedly – hence they miss out on opportunities of learning new things from others’ perspectives or experiences – which may help them make better decisions in life. For example, a student who failed his math test had already decided that he will never learn math again because he hates math – but had he listened to his teacher’s advice about how he can learn better next time by taking advantage of the principle of commutativity (or whatever principle his teacher tried to explain) – he might have done better on his next math exam!

Is There a Positive Side to Negativity?

Of course, evolution has made us this way for a reason. But how do we benefit from negativity bias in our modern day-to-day lives? Let’s look at two prominent benefits:

Decision-making under uncertainty

This theory was proposed by Daniel Kahneman in his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”. According to Kahneman, when our brains are presented with a decision problem, it will be drawn towards the most likely outcome that has been programmed into our minds through evolution. Basically, negative outcomes are more likely to occur than positive ones – as the latter requires a lot of good luck and good conditions to happen. Hence it makes sense for us to focus on those negative outcomes which we will encounter more often than not. This way we become more prepared for them and hence can react more quickly and effectively when they do happen.

Avoidance of ‘undesirable’ situations

Negative feelings such as pain and loss are often associated with situations we wish to avoid – such as spiders, snakes and heights. We try to avoid situations that might lead us to experience those negative feelings. Some of this fear is coded into us genetically. However, it is also important to note that our subjective experiences also contribute to the reason why we tend to see an object negatively, i.e., because we have seen it causing harm or danger in past instances – such as a snake or spider (for reference, see: Epigenetics).

Spiraling Out of Control

Now that we have looked at both the positive side and the negative side of the negativity bias, a bigger issue needs to be looked at. In the evolutionary setting, the negativity bias serves its role appropriately. However, we are densely interconnected on a global scale in this day and age. With technological developments such as social media, we have exposure to what’s happening on every corner of the globe. If every human being has a negativity bias, the social media and the like are expected to output a strong negativity bias as well. This leads to more and more people getting exposed to negative content, which in turn leads to a spiral of negativity which could lead to global pathological issues. Of course, governments and organizations all over the world are trying to combat such a potential situation spiraling out of control, but as of now, the threat remains.

Conclusion

It is important for us to understand the roots of the negativity-bias, and not over-villainize it for what it is. At the same time, it is important for us to be aware of global network effects that could significantly amplify one’s negativity-bias, which in turn could spiral out of control. If we are constantly aware of our situations, and keep our negativity bias in check, it could very well be an asset in tackling tough decisions under uncertainty, and help us move towards a more positive future.

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Further reading that might interest you: Are Negative Emotions Bad For You.