“Stop being so negative!”: Negativity explained through unconscious bias

Biases are caused by a myriad of different factors, including social pressures, emotions, and heuristics (mental shortcuts used to simplify problems to avoid cognitive overload). They are a result of your brain trying to simplify the incredibly complex world we live in, and attempting to make sense of our place in it. However, as natural as biases may be, there is no denying that they can be unjustified, and sometimes even harmful: they are, by definition, tendencies to think in favour (or against) a group, idea, or thing, in a way that is usually unfair. There is also a distinction to be made between conscious and unconscious bias: with the former, you are aware of your intentions and the behaviours resulting from them; the latter can be dangerous when it materialises in the form of conscious stereotyping. It is therefore crucial to stress the importance of coming to terms with your own subconscious biases - below, we’ll explore some insights into how a greater awareness and understanding of our unconscious biases can help explain why we sometimes can’t shake our feelings of negativity.

We have an instinctive inclination towards thinking negatively about the world, according to the World Economic Forum. These natural negativity biases make sense once we consider them in an evolutionary context - for most of human history, if you had a more cautious, pessimistic approach towards our extremely threat-filled world, you were most likely to survive those threats long enough to pass your DNA down to future generations. A prehistoric hunter-gatherer optimistically curious enough to approach the bear lurking nearby would most likely be mauled to death. The remnants of this caution and negativity can thus be seen in how our brains are structured today.

As evolutionally beneficial as it may have been, is there a modern-day solution to this genetic curse? Experiments conducted using Positive Emotional Attractor (PEA) and Negative Emotional Attractor (NEA) approaches might give us a bit of insight. In short, it has been proven that when we focus our attention on positive themes, such as visualising and developing plans for the future, areas of our brain reduce our perception of threat, and considers it safer to take more time over decision-making. In addition to this, we give ourselves more flexibility to take into account new possibilities, as well as increasing our capacity for empathy. In contrast - focusing on negative approaches to situations, such as picking on the problems of our visualised future, activates the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism in our nervous system. This not only coaxes a physiological response in our bodies (increased heart rate and blood pressure), but also means we are more likely to make decisions based on instinctive, short-cut thinking, which can sometimes be faulty.

While there is no simple way to overcome our unconscious biases, an awareness of them most definitely helps us to increase our understanding of the decisions and mistakes we make, and why we make them. As emotional intelligence and behaviour change expert Dr Richard Boyatzis succinctly puts - ‘You need the negative focus to survive, but a positive one to thrive.’ Wise words to live by, indeed.

References:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-bias.html

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/humans-cognitive-bias-mistake/

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/you-are-naturally-biased-to-negative