Running head: NEGATIVE THINKING: IS IT REALLY ALL THAT BAD?

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Negative Thinking: Is it Really All that Bad?

Nour Badawi

College of Business Administration

Academic Writing 102 – Section 02

Professor: Aisha Sayidina

Date: March 1st, 2021

Running head: NEGATIVE THINKING: IS IT REALLY ALL THAT BAD? 2

Argumentative essay: Is Negative thinking Really all that bad

Social media in recent years has seen a powerful surge in the promotion of positive

thinking. Positive thinking being a mental attitude characterized by an optimistic disposition.

Moreover, the Oxford dictionary describes it as “concentrating one’s mind affirmatively on the

good and constructive aspects of a matter so as to eliminate negative or destructive attitudes

and emotions” (“Meaning of positive thinking in English”, n.d). Positive thinking advocates

argue that positive emotions like happiness, love, and joy allow you to be more receptive and

open-minded in seeing possibilities in your life (Clear, n.d). Furthermore, they claim that

positive thinking plays a huge role in building your skillset since positive emotions prompt a

long list of experiences out of which you acquire skills such as social skills, creative skills, and

physical skills (Clear, n.d). In addition to that, they maintain that negative thinking can be bad

for your health, as the brain seems to prioritize supplying resources to body parts directly used

in fighting, leaving hardly any to the immune system and repair of organs (Labayen, 2017).

Despite the claim that that adhering to a positive mood is beneficial on various accounts,

evidence suggests that forcing yourself to look on the bright side incessantly can swiftly turn

into a toxic habit.

People in favor of positive thinking argue that negative emotions narrow your mind and

focus your thoughts exclusively on the direct threat at hand, rather than allowing you to

observe a multitude of diverse, viable courses of action that can be taken to alleviate the

impending menace. Barbara Fredrick, a psychology professor, decided to test the effect of

negative emotions on the brain through the following experiment. She began her investigation
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by dividing her research subjects into 5 groups (Clear, n.d). Each group was then shown clips

alluding to a specific emotion. Group 1 saw images that relayed feelings of joy. Group 2 was

shown images that communicated feelings of contentment. Group 4 were shown images that

conveyed feelings of fear, and Group 5 were shown images that expressed feelings of anger.

Group 3, on the other hand, was the control group, so they were administered neutral clips that

alluded to no particular emotion. After displaying the images, they were then asked to “imagine

themselves in a situation where similar feelings would arise and to write down what they would

do.” Each subject was then handed a piece of paper with 20 blank lines that started with the

phrase “I would like to……” The result of the experiment concluded that participants who saw

images that conveyed fear or anger wrote significantly less than participants who saw images

that relayed feelings of happiness and contentment (Clear, n.d). Nevertheless, this experiment

is extremely flawed on the account that the open-ended questions administered during the

process lacked coherence and specificity. Further research conveyed opposing attributes to

Fredrick’s flawed experiment. In fact, the researchers concluded that people make more well-

rounded, persuasive arguments and possess improved memory skills under negative thinking

(Mitchell, 2016). As it happens, even naïve recipients undergo a great attitude change under

the effects of negative thinking (Forgas, 2007). These conclusions illustrate that when employed

appropriately, negative thinking can be a fuel that lights a fire under its wielder, making

him/her push themselves to limits no one would think imaginable.

Moreover, positive thinking advocates maintain that the most significant advantage

provided by positive thinking is an amplified ability to build skills that will prove useful in the

long term (Clear, n.d). The anecdote employed to prove this argument looks at a child, who in a
Running head: NEGATIVE THINKING: IS IT REALLY ALL THAT BAD? 4

relatively good mood, opts to go outside, swinging from branch to branch and playing with his

friends. By doing that, the child is believed to have acquired communication skills from

interacting with his acquaintances, athleticism and physical skills from constant movement, and

creative skills from analyzing his/her surrounding environment. In the long run, these skills

could prove useful, for a particular athletic talent for a sport can quickly turn into a full-ride

scholarship, and competency in communication can transform into a job offer as a business

manager in a firm (Clear, n.d). Nonetheless, this anecdote falls in line with the description of a

slippery slope fallacy. The account asserts that because of the child's choice (to go outside), in a

relatively good mood, a chain of related events transpired that allowed him to culminate skills

that thus shaped his future. The chain of events does not conform with the concept of cause

and effect, and as a result, the account is invalid. Critical thinking is one of the most in-demand

skills in the global jobs market (Root, 2018). It involves stepping back from a situation, reflecting

on its pros and cons, and making judgments accordingly. Analyzing the cons have you directly

involved in a sector of Critical thinking called Critical analysis, which conforms with the values

associated with negative thinking (Macat, 2016). So, what makes critical thinking and analysis

advantageous in a business environment? They allow individuals and teams to effectively

diagnose potential problems that the firm could face and identify solutions ahead of time to

counteract the threat's effects (Root, 2018). Barbara Ehrenreich, the award-winning journalist

and author of Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America, imagines that if

critical analysis was an advertised skill in 2008 (Mitchell, 2016), and people had considered the

adverse outcomes that would come from handing out loans like candy may be the economic

crisis wouldn't have taken place.

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Positive thinking activists allege that engaging in negative thinking amasses to acquiring

adverse health conditions (Labayan, 2017). Furthermore, in the event of reflecting negatively

on a topic of sorts, the brain commands the cardiovascular system to send resources and

nutrients to areas in the body directly used in fighting, leaving hardly any to the immune system

(Labayan, 2017). A system whose primary function is to protect your body from harmful

substances such as bacteria and viruses (Murrell, 2018). Substances that if not combatted could

make you extremely ill (Murrell, 2018). This theory, however, does not take into account the

portion of the population who are “defensive pessimists.” Julia Norem, a psychology professor

at Wellesley College, defines them as people who flourish under negative psychology (Mitchell,

2016). Her studies maintain that by thinking of everything that could go wrong with a decision

or action and processing these negative possibilities, defensive pessimists alleviate their anxiety

(Mitchell, 2016). Gillian Fagan, a therapist, and counselor takes this study one step further by

arguing that instinctually humans have a negative bias and suggesting that “our brains are

hardwired for negativity” (Stokes, 2020). Fagan maintains that hiding negative feelings like

anger or sadness can cause a build-up of pent-up emotions that, in the long term,

metamorphose into depression or anxiety (Stokes, 2020). His outlook illustrates that accepting

your negative emotions and allowing yourself to process them is the starting line to the path of

healing.

“Life is never straightforward; it often throws curveballs at us, like losing one’s job or

suffering a period of ill health… Positivity is a good mindset to have but embracing the negative

moments in our lives is what keeps us real” (Stokes, 2020). Despite this, people assume that
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forcing yourself to look on the bright side of things continually allows you to skip past the act of

processing your negative emotions, analyzing where they stem from, and moving forward. They

claim that positive thinking helps you gain many skills that can prove useful in the long term

(Clear, n.d). This theory is invalid, however, since it coincides with the slippery slope fallacy.

They also studied the reactions of people to positive thinking and negative thinking. Reactions

proved that negative thinking narrows your mind regarding the viable options around you

(Clear, n.d.). This experiment has been disproven, however, due to its lacking concise open-

ended questions. Positive thinking activists also allege that negative thinking leads to bad

health (Labayan, 2017). On the other hand, this theory has been negated due to the existence

of a portion of the population who are defensive pessimists – meaning that they thrive best

under negative thinking (Mitchell, 2016). It is imperative to distinguish between pessimism and

negative thinking, for there is one crucial difference. When employing your negative bias, you

actively participate in critical thinking and analysis – which are essential skills to have in a

business environment (Root, 2018). In addition to that, you are acquiring a better attitude,

improved memory, and the ability to produce more persuasive arguments (Forgas, 2007).

Pessimism, on the other hand, is in line with the extremes of negative thinking. It allows those

thoughts to get a hold of your mind, rather than actively using them for your benefit. Don’t be a

pessimist; be a negative thinker!

Running head: NEGATIVE THINKING: IS IT REALLY ALL THAT BAD? 7

Reference list:

Clear, J. (n.d.). How Positive Thinking Builds Your Skills, Boosts Your Health, and Improves Your
Work. Retrieved March 01, 2021, from https://jamesclear.com/positive-thinking

Forgas, J. P. (2007). When sad is better than happy: Negative affect can improve the quality and
effectiveness of persuasive messages and social influence strategies. Retrieved March 01,
2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103106000850

Labayen, R. (2017). OPINION: Is positive thinking really a delusional thing? Retrieved March 01,
2021, from https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/03/14/17/opinion-is-positive-
thinking-really-a-delusional-thing

Macat. (2016, February 2). What is Critical thinking? [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved March 01,
2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnJ1bqXUnIM

Meaning of positive thinking in English. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2021, from
https://www.lexico.com/definition/positive_thinking

Mitchell, M. (2016). The 'Tyranny' of Positive Thinking Can Threaten Your Health and Happiness.
Retrieved March 01, 2021, from https://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/23/positive-
thinking-myth-498447.html?amp=1

Murrell, D. (2018). How the immune system works. Retrieved March 01, 2021, from
https://www.mediclnewstoday.com/articles/320101

Root, D. (2018). How to Promote Critical Thinking in the Workplace. Retrieved March 01, 2021,
from https://www.eaglesflight.com/blog/how-to-promote-critical-thinking-in-the-
workplace#:~:text=Critical%20thinking%20is%20important%20because,resolve%20conflic
ts%20in%20the%20workplace.

Stokes, V. (2020). The Positive Side of Negative Thinking. Retrieved March 01, 2021, from
https://www.healthline.com/health/positive-side-negative-thinking
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