As the magnum opus of our creator, we humans are a quirky beast. All things being equal, given a series of events, we will always take less notice of, be less affected by, or more easily forget, the good things. But the bad things, well, they tend to stick. Like discarded chewing gum stuck on the sole of a favourite shoe, they persist. They can lead us to distraction, worry, perhaps sometimes to anxiety.
Bad things seem to have the power to affect human psychology more than good things. Wisely, psychologists, have given this oh so human characteristic a name, Negativity Bias. We notice bad stuff. In social settings the ten compliments about our hair or what we are wearing fade to nothing. Yet, the one insult, “you look better with long hair”, “that colour doesn’t suit you”, remains, spot lit in all its glory, centre stage.
In the workplace, appraisals containing affirmations and challenges are the stuff of normal corporate practice. The affirmations are nice, but the things that we aren’t doing right, the challenges, are what we tend to concentrate on. Yes, they are for us to improve on and get better at. No one said that Negativity Bias wasn’t useful, but the affirmations quickly disappear from our minds, discarded like a trivial thought.
In the media, particularly the news media, have you ever wondered why stories, bad news stories, tend to be more numerous at the top of a page? Notice the negative nature of a story always seems to be emphasised, with a sensational and tragedy implying headline. Journalists have long known and long capitalised on this “if it bleeds, it leads” aspect of our Negativity Bias.
I’ve heard that the origin of this idiosyncrasy in our psychological makeup, may be something we humans developed evolutionarily. Noticing ripe, brightly coloured fruit that tasted sweet and provided excellent nourishment was pretty good for our proto human ancestors on the ancient savannahs of Africa. But not noticing it was ok as well. They would live to eat the sweet, ripe, juicy fruit another day. On the other hand, not noticing the lion hiding in nearby grass, who was considering its own nourishment, could be a big problem. The logical conclusion, not noticing good stuff has nowhere near the fatal outcomes as not noticing bad stuff. Bring this forward a million years and there we have it, twenty first century Negativity Bias.
It’s easy to notice the bad stuff, after all we’re seemingly hardwired for it - the lost game in an otherwise successful season, the one wrong note in a majority faultless musical performance, the one shirt hanging out or the one bad haircut in amongst a crowd of blue clad students.
So, this week, let’s break the chain, go against evolution and natural psychological urges. This week we will counter the Negativity Bias and notice the good stuff -
- • The spectacle that was the final presentations by Year 11 students who participated in our Future Pathways Program. Over the last few months these students chose an industry they were passionate about and investigated it further. They were paired with professionals and mentored to create a presentation that demonstrated their passion and learning about this profession. The three finalists were magnificent with thoughtful, insightful and creative presentations. All participants lived up to the College motto they can because they see they can. The future is in good hands.
- • The young Eddies man who, while walking home, noticed an elderly gentleman, fallen and injured in his front yard. After calling an ambulance, our Eddies man remained with the gentleman until help arrived.
- • The camaraderie of Eddies and Padua men and the genuine care and support shown for teammates and opponents injured in a footy game. And indeed, the two mums from both Eddies and Padua who immediately and with sincere concern, rendered assistance to our young Eddies player experiencing the serious aftereffects of an on-field injury.
- • The fact that in the third week of mask wearing mandates, most of our students are still wearing masks, despite frustration and discomfort (are we there yet?).
- • The 1044 students who walk from these grounds each day, most of whom wear their uniform well - shirts tucked in, socks mostly up, polite and happy to have a chat. They mostly do their homework, study and complete assignments, commit to their cocurricular interests, even clean their rooms! Admittedly the last one is a stretch.
As a society we face many institutions who work hard to extract outrage as a default reaction, who take advantage of our propensity to notice the negative. In their book The Power of Bad, authors Tierney and Baumgartner posit the formula, it takes four goods to make up for one bad. As the term runs its course and the year begins taking its toll, falling prey to our Negativity Bias becomes effortless. It takes effort to notice the good stuff, yet there is so much good stuff all around us. There is more than enough good for our Eddies Team, our community and our world to make up for the bad. It takes a little work and a little time. All we need do, is notice.
Mothers’ Mass and Dinner
After a brief hiatus in 2020, next Friday 10 September we intend holding our annual St Edmund’s College Mothers’ Mass and Dinner.
The importance of mothers in the formation of young men can never be underestimated and this evening is a chance for Eddies Mums of every generation to take time out and celebrate together. The evening will commence with a 6:00pm Mass at St Mary’s Church followed at 7:30pm with a two-course dinner at Brothers Leagues Club. A shuttle bus will run from St Mary’s Church to Brothers Club.
As usual, the highlight of the evening will be the hotly contested Handbag Bingo. This epic challenge combines raw talent, resourcefulness and nostalgia in a ruthless battle for bingo supremacy.
Tickets can be purchased by phoning the College Reception on 3810 4400. Please see the flyer in this newsletter for details.
I look forward to seeing you there.
