5.3 How “Bad Is Stronger Than Good” Carries Stereotype Consequences

Research suggests that we are more inclined to pay attention to and learn from negative information than from positive information (Baumeister et al., 2001; Fazio et al., 2004; Rozin & Royzman, 2001; Shook et al., 2006). This negativity bias carries clear benefits. For example, imagine you are on a hiking trail and encounter two different animals. First, you see a beautiful bird that makes you feel awe, joy, and even love. Then, later that day, you encounter an aggressive bear that charges you. As nice as it might be to reminisce about the gorgeous bird, by the end of the day, you will likely have forgotten about the bird, and the bear will define your experience of that trail. Later, when you’re deciding whether to return to that trail, the memory of the bear ought to stand out more vividly and carry greater weight than your memory of the bird, even if seeing the bird was an amazing positive experience. In short, the negativity bias in the learning process can be highly adaptive.

However, the negativity bias carries maladaptive consequences when we move from the world of birds and bears and into the world of human stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. For example, consider the finding that Black and Latine people in the United States are often characterized negatively (e.g., as hot-tempered, subservient, aggressive, lawbreaking, nonprofessional, or overly sexual) in media (Bailey, 2006; Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005; Mastro & Greenberg, 2000; Monk-Turner et al., 2014; Tamborini et al., 2000). These negative media depictions can have lasting impacts on the views of White people in the United States. Consistent with the negativity bias, research has shown that negative depictions of social groups carry extra weight in our perceptions of outgroup members (Ford, 1997; Tukachinsky et al., 2017). Furthermore, there seems to be a stronger implicit transfer effect for negative outgroup behaviors. For example, if a White person were to see a news story about a Black person robbing a store, the White person would be more inclined to implicitly generalize this behavior to other Black people than they would be if they had observed a Black person engaging in a positive behavior, such as donating to charity (Ratliff & Nosek, 2011).

In short, the negativity bias has likely helped humans survive for millennia, but it can lead us to emphasize negative experiences with outgroup members.