In the April 2011 issue of Psychology Today, Karen Wright writes about the effects of negative feedback and the most beneficial ways to deliver criticism.
The article begins by stating that negative feedback is essential for negotiating life and social relations. Human growth and development essentially relies on life’s negative experiences. Robert Sutton, an organizational psychologist at Stanford University, remarks that human beings are not trained in either giving or getting criticism.
Over the years, neurological research has provided evidence of an increase in electrical activity in the brain to negative stimuli versus equally potent positive ones. Hence, the negativity bias can seriously skew our interpretation of critical feedback. The factor that makes negative criticism unbearable is the fear of exclusion or the loss of connection with people. Neal Ashkanasy, professor of management at the University of Queensland in Australia, states that the threat of exclusion, abandonment and ostracism accompanying the negative feedback makes criticism hurtful.
As soon as we master the effective methods to deliver criticism in a mild manner, we can gain insight into the advantages of criticism. One way to reduce the negativity of criticism is to lead the criticism with questions. Also, human facial expressions associated with criticism are a key factor on how it affects the people. Therefore, warm tones would help in alleviating the negative effect of the criticism. The author concludes the article with the reminder for everyone to be prepared to admit the accuracy of the criticism and to work skillfully towards a positive effect.
Read the article, “A Chic Critique,” in the new issue of Psychology Today.
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