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The Negativity Bias — Why bad news sticks
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Body and Mind0028
The Negativity Bias
Why bad news sticks
The brain's habit of weighing bad news more heavily than good.
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The brain weighs negative events about twice as heavily as positive ones. One insult lands harder than five compliments. Evolution wired humans to remember threats. Remembering a poisonous plant mattered more than remembering a pretty one. The wiring has not changed. Modern life has.
- This bias affects how you read the news, how you remember your day, and how you judge other people.
- Noticing the bias is the first step. The second is asking: am I giving this event more weight than it deserves?
SourceBaumeister et al
(2001), "Bad is Stronger than Good." Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011)
(2001), "Bad is Stronger than Good." Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011)
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