remember a critical comment or upsetting interaction weeks or even years after the The is the term used to describe the fact that undesirable thoughts emotions and interactions have a greater impact on how we feel than do positive or neutral events In fact research shows that people are much better at remembering negative versus positive things including angry versus happy faces and take more time and mental energy processing negative events than positive ones This bias is part of our evolutionary wiring From a survival standpoint the cost of overlooking a negative is far greater than the cost of overlooking a positive Consider the early man who overlooks a bush loaded with edible berries He will probably survive the mistake but if he fails to look over his shoulder to see a stalking wolf pack he may not You can see how negativity bias helped our ancestors survive But in world when few of us face real threats in our daily lives this bias can result in lots of When we become overly anxious the negativity bias is often the culprit We scan our environment and ourselves for possible threats and then without thoughtful reflection make improbable forecasts of