Biased Behaviour of our Brains
Have you ever wondered why our mind tends to always slide down to the negative slope of the thought graph until subjected to positive or optimistic conditions? Such phenomenon is termed as negativity bias by psychologists. According to this, a person's mind has more inclination towards negative thoughts than the positive outlook of the same situation. Let us check out with an example.
Your father gives you $20 for a shopping expedition but you mistakenly lose it somewhere. Will you get upset? Of course, it's a depressing situation for anyone. But if your father, under love and empathy, gives you another $20 for shopping, what will be your thoughts now?
1. Happy and immediately forget the $20 loss.
2. Still sad for the $20 loss.
3. Thinking how good it would have been if I had lost the money as then I would have $40 for shopping.
Which option do you resonate with? There are seemingly higher chances of our answer matching with 2nd and 3rd points, isn't it so? Well, that simply goes to say that our brain is suffering from a negativity bias.
Learned Helplessness or Just Give Up
It is a condition in which we succumb to the tough situations. It is due to the tendency of our mind to rely on the future consequences based on the past experiences. This phenomenon was highlighted by Martin Saligman and Co. through a study conducted on dogs in the University of Pennsylvania. The experiment involved administering electric shocks to some dogs for a few days as soon as the bell was rung. This conditioned their brain to such an extent that as the bell rang they all behaved like ones affected by electric shocks, even if they weren't...
What is the experience all about? Read the complete article of monthly magazine of English Akhand Gyan July'2018.
