The Negativity Bias

1. The Negativity Bias This causes people to think more seriously and frequently about negative things than positive things

2. How many mazes can you complete in five minutes? http://www.online-stopwatch.com/ • You must complete the mazes in sequence – you can’t move on until you have completed the one before Describe your experience of completing the mazes Was it easy or hard at the beginning? Are you remembering the easy or hard stuff more?

3. People who saw the twin towers fall on 9/11 were interviewed a year later. They were still deeply traumatised by the experience, and were much more unhappy than people who did not see the towers fall. People who won the lottery were interviewed a year later. They were not still happy. In fact, they were no happier than people who had never won the lottery. Why do you think this is?

4. Human beings are hardwired to focus on what goes wrong, rather than appreciating what goes well. • From an evolutionary point of view, this makes sense. Our ancestors who focused on avoiding danger (e.g. steering clear of lions) would have survived better than those who soaked up the sun appreciating the nice weather.

5. The Negativity Bias: • Natural selection has made us better at worrying than we are at appreciating. • The problem is that this limits our ability to feel happy about our life. • Psychologists have found that people who regularly “count their blessings” experience more happiness • Most people feel very stupid when they begin doing this…

6. Written reflection (choose 3 or 5) • Last week I noticed something beautiful. It was… • Last week I did something well. It was… • Last week I heard something that made me laugh. It was… • Last week I felt excited about something. It was… • Last week a friend did something nice for me. It was… • Last week a family member did something nice for me. It was… • Last week a teacher did something nice for me. It was…

7. Count Your Blessings • In an experiment, one group of people were given mood improving drugs, and one group were asked to write down three things they were grateful for every evening. • Guess which group felt happier after six months? • Why don’t you try this at home every evening, or in every pm registration? The people counting their blessings The happiest were those who took time to write about the reasons the good things had happened to them.