Negative (or Negativity) Bias

Negative (or negativity) bias, is the belief that negative events have a greater influence on the emotional and psychological state of an individual than do positive or neutral events.

For instance, a student with a good grade average may feel that a low or failing grade in one difficult class is an occurrence that overwhelms, or at least completely neutralizes, having received high grades in the remainder of their coursework. For some people this type of failure can negatively effect their self-esteem and self-confidence.