How "contagious" would you say negative people are?

[Phoenix Wright]

~~snip~~

i was going to say, "yes, this is a discussion," but then i scrolled up. so fine.

it's okay that you conduct experiments and all that jazz, but it should be said that scale is not the only difference.

a scientific study is held to a certain rigor, wherein you and everyone involved in your study are all trying to find ways that disprove the hypothesis. in some ways, science isn't so much about proving one's hypothesis, it's more about disproving every other one. and, after months, if not years, of accrued data that show some specific thing, you can think of publishing, so that everyone else can tell you why you're wrong or right.

you retain the method, and i applaud that, but you don't retain any bit of the rigor (i'm assuming).

as an aside, the sample size also matters very, very much. in science, we have two different, but similar concepts: accuracy and precision. accuracy is how close you are to the desired answer (like a bullseye), whilst precision is how close your samples are to each other (by that i mean it's a gaussian distribution). having a larger, randomly chosen, sample size indicates--hopefully--a more precise result, something that is obviously very desirable.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Phoenix Wright

[Makaze]

i was going to say, "yes, this is a discussion," but then i scrolled up. so fine.

it's okay that you conduct experiments and all that jazz, but it should be said that scale is not the only difference.

a scientific study is held to a certain rigor, wherein you and everyone involved in your study are all trying to find ways that disprove the hypothesis. in some ways, science isn't so much about proving one's hypothesis, it's more about disproving every other one. and, after months, if not years, of accrued data that show some specific thing, you can think of publishing, so that everyone else can tell you why you're wrong or right.

you retain the method, and i applaud that, but you don't retain any bit of the rigor (i'm assuming).

as an aside, the sample size also matters very, very much. in science, we have two different, but similar concepts: accuracy and precision. accuracy is how close you are to the desired answer (like a bullseye), whilst precision is how close your samples are to each other (by that i mean it's a gaussian distribution). having a larger, randomly chosen, sample size indicates--hopefully--a more precise result, something that is obviously very desirable.

You have good points. I do not feel I require such rigor to answer this question, but I will do my best to disprove these biases, if I can.

Note: On my own time, not in this thread.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Makaze

[Loki Laufeyson]

Extremely. If someone is pissy and continuously pissy, its going to make other people pissy. If enough people whinge about something, its going to make others whinge about it. If someone sees something hyped up too much, they are going to be negative about it and others will follow suit. Hipster subculture revolves around a collective negativity of the mainstream. One can only like something mainstream out of irony.

[dondon151]

i am delighted by the suffering of others and chagrined by their exultation.

see, i can make bullshit pop-psychology statements, too, with a (fictional) sample size of 1. the specific concept above (or rather, half of it) has been observed and discussed in both philosophical and scientific literature.

Edited June 9, 2014 by dondon151

[peener weener]

Extremely. If someone is pissy and continuously pissy, its going to make other people pissy. If enough people whinge about something, its going to make others whinge about it. If someone sees something hyped up too much, they are going to be negative about it and others will follow suit. Hipster subculture revolves around a collective negativity of the mainstream. One can only like something mainstream out of irony.

Hipster subculture doesn't fucking exist.

[MercyWalk]

I don't actually know what a negative person is

[BANRYU]

Eeeuuyeh, I'd say it depends on both the negative nancy and the person being affected by the nancy... You can have someone who's perfectly content with him/herself be not at all bothered by someone who's negative, but I suppose most people are more likely to have their mood soured by someone being insistently negative.

Incidentally... ...that MIGHT be one of the reasons why I decided to be not as active here... ...might...

Edited June 9, 2014 by BANRYU

[Loki Laufeyson]

Hipster subculture doesn't fucking exist.

Yes it does. Deal with it. Want proof? Go to the Mission in San Francisco. A thriving hipster population if i ever saw one.

[AMCC4728]

I don't actually know what a negative person is

I am pretty sure it is someone who has more electrons than protons.

[MercyWalk]

Yes it does. Deal with it. Want proof? Go to the Mission in San Francisco. A thriving hipster population if i ever saw one.

What exactly is hipster about it

[BANRYU]

I am pretty sure it is someone who has more electrons than protons.

This guy knows what's up

[Loki Laufeyson]

What exactly is hipster about it

Hipsters. Lots of hipsters. So much lumberjack hat, beard and glasses combos, i wondered if i was even in real life. But i was. I even talked to a girl who said she'd never pay more than five dollars for clothes. Thats pretty hipster. In a good way though.

[peener weener]

Hipsters. Lots of hipsters. So much lumberjack hat, beard and glasses combos, i wondered if i was even in real life. But i was. I even talked to a girl who said she'd never pay more than five dollars for clothes. Thats pretty hipster. In a good way though.

Well, shit. I thought hipster subculture "revolves around a collective negativity of the mainstream." I guess it's apparently more of a lumberjack fashion statement though? Who knew.

Edited June 10, 2014 by fuccboi

[Fruity Insanity]

I dunno.

I'm pretty good at shrugging off negativism (because my brother was negative all the time, lol; great pratice), but in general, I'd say it does.

But honestly, as mentioned before, it really depends on whether you let yourself get affected by the negative attitude of others.

[Aizenberg]

i don't know how contagious i am

[Melissa]

AIDS is nowhere near as contagious as Eeyore

[mewyeon]

Very contagious. All it takes is one negative person to bring down the happy energy level of a group sometimes, especially if that negative person voices their negativity a lot. It's so annoying.

[jiodi]

Here in the US, and I'm sure many other countries, we are facing an epidemic of cynicism.

[Original Alear]

Here in the US, and I'm sure many other countries, we are facing an epidemic of cynicism.

I think I know what this is. You see, as you get older, things that you used to like start looking and sounding like shit, and things that seemed shitty as a child don't seem as shitty. With you, somehow the wires have gotten crossed, and everything looks and sounds like shit to you. It's a condition called being a cynical asshole.

[Lann La Mirah]

I would say that they're pretty contagious. At least with me; all it takes is for them to say one nasty, negative thing, and my mood goes down and then I'm negative, and then I make negative comments, and the cycle continues. I really shouldn't let the negative affect me, though.

And:

I think I know what this is. You see, as you get older, things that you used to like start looking and sounding like shit, and things that seemed shitty as a child don't seem as shitty. With you, somehow the wires have gotten crossed, and everything looks and sounds like shit to you. It's a condition called being a cynical asshole.

XD

[Tryhard]

Here in the US, and I'm sure many other countries, we are facing an epidemic of cynicism.

While cynicism may have an effect, I think the apathy found in the middle-class and otherwise around the world is more damning.

this from an apathetic cynical asshole, hooray

Edited July 3, 2014 by Tryhard

[Zeithri]

I'd say that positivist is more contagious than negativity.

Between that, it's all up to how emphatic you are and sensitive, as well as what the topic at hand would be about.

[Master Awesome]

Negativity is extremely contagious because people nowadays are so emotionally unstable it's pathetic.

I personally don't find it contagious because I don't give a shit about what other people do or act. (Something no one else seems to do)

People make it contagious themselves. There's a thing called "ignoring", and it is highly effective.

[Ercdouken]

Negative people are super mega ultra contagious. I hate seeing so much negativity because it just puts me in a negative mood.

[Draco]

Hella. I used to be at least a little friendlier than I am now.