Baumeister's Beliefs on Good vs. EvilThis is a featured page

Is there more to life than the constant struggle between the every day forces of good and evil? Do "good" and "bad" dictate our lives and our every day actions? Is one of these forces more powerful than the other? What implications does this have for human nature? Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5, 323-370.
Baumesiter et al. (2001) operate under the assumption that bad is stronger, or more powerful, than good. The bad or negative events in our life affect us more negatively than the good or positive events in our life affect us positively. Essentially, Baumesiter states that "when equal measures of good and bad are present... the psychological effects of bad ones outweigh those of the good ones" (p. 323). What implications does this idea have for human nature and the innateness of good or bad within humans? Baumesiter states that negative, bad actions or events affect the human psyche more than positive, good actions or events.

Why is this? Why does it affect me more negatively when I or someone does "bad" than it affects me positively when someone does "good"? Is this simply human nature? Does this imply that human nature itself is "bad" or "good"?

Maybe it's a toughness thing. The more you are affected by bad events, perhaps the more tough you are, the stronger you are, and the more you can learn and grow as a person. This way, one is more likely to survive and to evolve, within one's own life and in the effort towards produce offspring (which is really what everyone wants deep down anyway, right?).

If bad is stronger than good, and bad affects you more than good does, then perhaps bad affects you more (or you allow bad to affect you more) in an effort to make you stronger. Perhaps, through the power of bad, you become stronger, too...


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