Variations on a human universal: Individual differences in positivity offset and negativity bias

Abstract

The positivity offset refers to a tendency for the positive motivational system to respond more than the negative motivation system at low levels of evaluative input. The negativity bias refers to a tendency for the negative motivational system to respond more intensely than the positive motivational system when evaluative input increases. While there is evidence that these represent general aspects of evaluative responding, individuals also vary in their level of positivity offset and negativity bias. In two studies, we explore individual differences in these features of evaluative responding to determine if they are stable across time, internally consistent, only modestly related to self-report measures of affect, and have predictive validity. We found that individuals with stronger positivity offsets formed more positive impressions of targets described by only neutral information and individuals with stronger negativity biases formed even more negative impressions of targets described by negative information.