How Pervasive is the Negativity Bias in Judgments Based on Character Appraisal?

Abstract

Two experiments examined the generality of the negativity bias, the tendency of perceivers to regard immoral behaviors as more informative or diagnostic about an individual’s personal traits than moral behaviors. Both experiments yielded results indicating that perceivers are prone to the bias when information about others is inconsistent in its moral implications but not when information is consistent. Two category-based explanations for the results were considered, one postulating a two-stage process and the other proposing a simpler process that emphasizes the activation of perceivers’ character schemas. The results of both experiments suggest that the negativity bias, although prevalent, is not as pervasive as sometimes thought to be and that character appraisals, once made, are not immutable.