On a table sat a basket of strawberries. Most were fresh, but about 15% were spoiled. Children were divided into two groups. One group was asked to pick out the fresh strawberries, and the other group to pick out the spoiled ones. Afterward, they were asked how many spoiled strawberries they thought were in the basket. The children who picked the fresh ones gave almost accurate answers. But the children who picked the spoiled ones said there were more spoiled strawberries than fresh ones. They even thought some of the fresh ones were spoiled. The same result appeared when the experiment was done with adults.
This experiment, conducted by Austrian psychologist Elisabeth Lukas, demonstrates the Negativity Effect. The Negativity Effect is a psychological tendency where, when we focus on negative aspects, even the positive ones start to look negative. In other words, what we see depends on where we focus.
Each of us has a basket of strawberries. What kind of strawberries do you see in your hand right now? If they look spoiled, try looking again from a different perspective. They might have been fresh strawberries all along.