Negative thinking refers to the specific cognitive organization of the human psyche and is thus a mode of perception of the environment and development of attitudes towards objects and phenomena. The present paper defines negative thinking, compares it to positivism and also sets a distinction between two obvious subtypes of negative thinking.
The actual definition of the term is the following: negative thinking is a mode of reasoning which includes noticing faults, weakest points and errors in the issues and either accentuating on them or approaching them with the willingness to fix or manage. The major examples of negative thinking are apathy and cynicism: “It is as pervasive as the common cold, but far more damaging. It mutilates, cripples, and corrodes the human spirit. Those infected by it are broken men and women aimlessly plodding along. The dark clouds brooding over them obscure their vision and cause them to become confrontational, apathetic, and cynical” (Peale, 1996, p.53). As one can understand, negative reasoning is manifested through the thorough search of imperfections so that the person is consumed by their efforts to either notice or anticipate adverse events.
Comparing negative and positive thinking, it is necessary to emphasize the major distinctions. Positivists, or individuals who think positively, tend to concentrate upon the situation itself (as a phenomenon); for instance, when they see the table breaking and falling, they approach the happening as a fact. Negativists, on the contrary, focus on the negative aspects of the situation and provide quite a melancholic evaluation of the happening: using the same example, the negativist would refer to such a domestic trifle as to a “disaster” (an exaggerated emotional evaluation) and anticipate the breakdown of all the furniture. Another difference between positive and negative thinking is the psychoemotional background of the modes: positivists are normally happier and more successful than negativists, as they are always able to distract to the strengths and resources. It is also important to note that negative reasoning has two subtypes: active and passive negativism. Passive negativism is manifested through complaints and accentuation on self-pity: for instance, the person who notes the first symptoms of an illness (e.g. cough) is likely to begin feeling miserable and complain about the others who have not prevented their disease. The person with active negativism, focusing on the negative sides, also tries to fix them. Such individuals are critical but industrious: when feeling a bit sick, they “slow down” (e.g. stay at home or leave the office earlier) and fix their health trouble in order to prevent the further development of the illness.
Negative thinking is also likely to develop because of the complexity of life events and upbringing. In order to exemplify this claim, I would like to use the following story. In the morning, when walking to the office, a person gets into a car accident and breaks a leg. After being taken to the hospital, this man, as opposed to their expectations, receives healthcare of extremely poor quality and suffers from terrible pain. Expecting to support from his wife, he calls her, but she shouts at him for his carelessness. The man naturally experiences stress and understands the difference between his expectations and reality. After several days of a similar pattern, this man is likely to become more suspicious, critical and melancholic and develop negative thinking concerning particular components of his life (family life, career and so forth).
To sum up, negative thinking is a specific outlook that involves focusing on the faults and failures instead of trying to find effective and usable aspects in the issues. It might be either inborn (an initial feature of the psyche) or acquired as a result of disappointments and frustrations. However, thinking positively, negativism might also be turned back into positivism after restoring the ability to trust or discovering new motivations and interests.
Works cited
Peale, N. The Power of Positive Thinking. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996.