Positivenegative asymmetry in evaluation, cognition and behavior

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Positive-negative asymmetry in evaluation,
cognition and behavior

• Lecture 4

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The best life possible

My life now
My life 5 years ago
The worst life possible
My life in 10 years
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Positive-negative asymmetry - definition

• PNA Any asymmetry in cognitive representation
  of, or reaction to, positive as compared to
  negative stimuli which is not due to trivial
  differences in valence or intensity of these
  stimuli.

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BIAS vs. EFFECT

• BIAS
• Hypothesis a priori (assumption)
• Stimulus-independent
• default option of the brain software
• Subject-produced
• EFFECT
• Reaction to the stimulus or information (a
  posteriori)
• Triggered by the object

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Bias in evaluations

• Positive (positivity bias)
• Positive assumptions on world and life
• Negative (negativity bias)
• Negative assumptions on world and life

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Negative figures Positive background

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POSITIVITY BIAS
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Positive figures Negative background

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NEGATIVITY BIAS
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After Peeters, 1971
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Effects in evaluations

• Positive (positivity effect)
• Stronger reaction to positive than negative
  stimuli/information
• Negative (negativity effect)
• Stronger reaction to negative than to positive
  stimuli/information

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EFFECT
BIAS
Negativity effect
Positivity bias
Negativity bias
Positivity effect

• Positive expectations
• Negative reactions

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Positivity bias

• Positive evaluation of life (illusion of
  progress, pathetic illusion)
• Positive self-evaluation (positive self-esteem,
  egotism)
• Illusion of control/egocentric-unrealistic
  optimism
• Positive evaluation of others (halo effect,
  leniency effect)

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Positive evaluation of life

• Cantrils ladder
• Illusion of progress
• Pathetic illusion

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Paradise lost phenomenon in Poland
Study (2003) representative sample 1328 Ss
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In days of the woolf it was much better!
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Evaluation of life now
Study (2003) representative sample 1328 Ss
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Når du sammenligner deg med en gjennomsnittlig
medlem av din gruppe (samme alder, kjønn og
utdannelse) vurderer du dine sjanser til at noen
av disse tingene hender deg som 7 - langt større
sjanse 6 - større sjanse 5 - litt større sjanse 4
- samme sjanse 3 - litt mindre sjanse 2 - mindre
sjanse 1 - langt mindre sjanse
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1. å få tilfredstillende jobb 2. å eie eget
hus 3. å ha alkoholproblem 4. å reise til
Amerika 5. forsøke selvmord 6. å bli oppsagt på
jobben 7. å få begynnerlønn over 220 000 NOK 8. å
få lungekreft 9. å få et særlig begavet barn 10.
å få hjerteanfall 11. å bli over 80 år 12. å få
tidlig skilsmisse
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Unrealistic optimism (Neil Weinstein)

• Overstimating own chances for positive events
• Underestimating own chances for negative events
• Effect stronger for negative than positive
• Explanations
• Motivational - egotistic
• Cognitive (Y. Klar) any object which focueses
  attention has more of a compared quality than
  unspecified average object

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Unrealistic optimism Neil Weinstein
Unrealistic optimism stronger for negative than
positive events
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The golden section in evaluation of people and
events

• Golden section (sectio aurea) in architecture,
  sculpture, painting, harmony in music
• Divine proportion (divina proportione)
• Golden section (ab)/aa/b

X
0,38
0,62
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Golden section as principle of beauty

• Architecture
• Urbanism
• Paintings
• Nature
• Photography

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Golden section and photography
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Golden section and architecture The Greek
Parthenon
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Egyptian pyramids
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Golden section and paintings Leonardo da Vinci
paintings
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Golden section in nature
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Plan voisin of Le Corbusier for one of the
districts of Paris
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Golden section in social cognition

• J. Benjafield J. Adams-Webber positivity bias
  is a manifestation of of the golden section
• 62 - positive evaluations
• 38 - negative evaluations
• J. Adams-Webber 38 - maximum information

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Positivity bias in language

• Positive words score higher in frequency of use
  (Zajonc more frequent words ? more liked)
• Positive and negative words differ in markedness

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Linguistic markedness

• Unmarked categories
• more primitive (primary)
• More vague
• Name stands for the whole dimension
• Marked categories
• secondary
• More precise and narrow
• Name stands for part of the dimension

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Examples

• Non-marked Marked
• High Low
• Thick Thin
• Big Small
• Dog Bitch
• Man Woman

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Linguistic markedness how to diagnose it?

• Type of questions
• How long is it? Is it long? NOT How short is it?
  Is it short?
• How big is it? Is it big? NOT How small is it?
  Is it small?
• How good is it? NOT How bad is it?
• Comparing negations negation of unmarked member
  closer to the marked member than reverse
• Not-good bad
• Not-bad / good

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Positivity-negativity and linguistic markedness

• Positive words - linguistically primitive
  (nonmarked)
• Negative words linguistically secondary
  (marked)
• Open markedness
• Intelligent (Un)intelligent
• Responsible (Ir)responsible
• Exceptions Selfish (Un)selfsh
• Implicit markedness
• Good - bad

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Positivity bias observed

• Unknown stimuli and situations
• Ficticious task situations (.e.g, ficticious
  bets)
• Longer time perspective (distant future seems
  more positive than close future)
• Longer distances (.e.g., Millers gradients,
  grass is always greener on the othe other side
  of the fence)

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Approach gradient usually flatter than avoidance
gradient (after Neil Miller)
strong
Avoidance gradient
motivation
Approach gradient
Food el.shock
weak
far
close
vacilliation
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Negativity effect

• The chain principle strength of the whole chain
  depends on its weakest link, not on the strongest
• Negative stimuli and events more important for
  survival than positive stimuli

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Negativity effect

• (Czapinski Peeters, 1990) Two types of
  negativity effect affective and informational
• Affective negativity effect higher impact of
  negative than positive evaluations on judgments
  and behavior
• Informational negativity effect Higher
  informational value of negative than positive
  evaluations

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Affective negativity effect (1)

• Negativity effects in impression formation
• Single negative trait may outweigh several
  positive traits
• It is easier to lose a good reputation than to
  gain it back
• Negativity effects in attribution
• Negative (immoral) behavior leads to more
  dispositional attributions than positive (moral)
  behavior (Jones Davis, Reeder)

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Diagnostic behaviors
Intelligent behavior
Intelligent


Stupid behavior
Unintelligent
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Diagnostic behaviors
Honest
Honest behavior


Dishonest behavior
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-
Dishonest
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Affective negativity effect (2)

• Negativity effects in decision making
• Utility curve steeper for losses than gains
• Negative decisions taken before positive
  decisions

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Utility curve
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Decision making negative decisions precede
positive decisions
P R E F E R E N C E S
Screening stage eliminating negative options
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
B
D
E
F
Picking up the promising (potentially positive)
B
D
E
F
Turning the promising into positive
E
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Positivity bias and negativity effects on
psychological maps
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want- do not want to live
Like- dislike
Residents of Western and Northern Lands
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Like - dislike
want- do not want to live
Residents of the Eastern Wall
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Like - dislike
Want - do not want to live
Residents of Galicia
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Informational negativity effect

• Higher informational value of negative than
  positive evaluations

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Negative draws more attention than positive

• Journalists focus more on negative news
• Scientists interested more in negative than in
  positive issues (e.g., more theories about
  negative than positive emotions)

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- Som en henrettelse
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Negative judgments more sophisticated

• More differentiated language describing negative
  phenomena. More negative words in dictionaries
• Names for negative emotionsgtnames for positive
  emotions
• Negative judgments more elaborated and better
  justified than positive judgments
• E.g. Decisions to reject vs. accept a paper or a
  candidate
• More attributional activity invested in
  explaining negative than positive behaviors and
  outcomes
• Better knowledge on causes of negative than of
  positive

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More interpersonal agreement on what is negative
than positive

• Negative words less ambiguous
• Negative labels more diagnostic than positive
  labels
• Negative more objective status than positive

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Affective vs. informational negativity effect

• Affective
• strong stimuli
• distance impossible
• Informational
• weak stimuli
• distance possible

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How to combine positivity bias with negativity
effects?

• Opposite phenomena?
• Complementary phenomena?

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Negative figures Positive background

-
-

-



POSITIVITY BIAS
-

Positive figures Negative background

-
-


-
-

NEGATIVITY BIAS
-
After Peeters, 1971