Negativity Bias

Abstract
In the competitive aggression paradigm, 26 hostile and 26 nonhostile Japanese female subjects exchanged shocks with female opponents. 7he subjects delivered significantly more intense shocks against the opponent who used shocks in a wide range of intensity than the opponent who used shocks in a narrow range. This was interpreted as meaning that negativity bias, enhanced by the extension of shock range, led the subjects to evaluate the opponent as more malicious and to retaliate more aggressively.