Negativity bias: why the bad weighs more and how to balance it

He negativity bias It is a trend of the human brain to give more weight to the negative experiences than to the positive ones.

“The negativity bias is inherent in the human being. This is the instinct for which people focus on what is going wrong instead of what is going well,” explains the American psychotherapist Alina Kastner.

Also read: What are the keys to face our emotions

This bias can affect decision making, motivation and interpersonal relationships. According to studies, the negative experiences They generate a more intense and lasting emotional response compared to the positive ones. A criticism can affect more deeply than several praise.

Consequences of negativity bias

The tendency to focus on the negative It can lead to a distorted vision of reality, where positive aspects are minimized or ignored.

The Spanish psychologist Alejandra de Pedro González warns: “The idea of ​​a forced optimistic interpretation of our experiences along with the suppression of negative emotions can be very harmful and, in many cases, Invalidant and paternalistic.”​

In addition, the suppression of negative emotions can prevent adequate processing of difficult experiences, which in the long term can affect emotional and mental health.

The American professor Mariana Alessandri, in her book “Night Vision”, argues that avoiding dark emotions can be more harmful than feeling them.

According to Alessandri, anger “is not always irrational and pain unites us”, which highlights the need to integrate these emotions into everyday life.

Strategies to counteract negativity bias

Overcoming negativity bias requires conscious effort to rebalance attention to the positive. Some strategies recommended by experts include:

• Practice gratitude It can help focus on positive aspects of day to day, counteracting the tendency to focus on the negative.
• Accept negative emotions Instead of suppressing them, it facilitates their processing and reduces their long -term impact.
• Find the positive in daily interactions: Paying attention to acts of kindness and positive gestures in the environment can help reorient perception of constructive.

These practices, when integrating into the daily routine, can contribute to a more balanced perspective and to the Emotional well -being.