What is an example of negativity bias in everyday life?

An example of negativity bias in everyday life is how we judge a person’s character. If someone whom we generally consider to be dishonest occasionally behaves in an honest way, this won’t change our negative opinion of that person.

However, if someone whom we generally view as honest commits a dishonest act, we will immediately change our evaluation for the worse. Due to negativity bias, we attach more weight to negative behaviors and these disproportionately influence our judgment.