Criticism and Praise

Here comes bad news talking this or that
Well, give me all you got and don't hold back
I should probably warn you that I'll be just fine, yeah
No offense to you, don't waste your time
--Pharrell Williams

Most people tend to dislike criticism more than they like praise. This can be explained in terms of loss aversion, where "losses loom larger than gains."

Criticism and praise can be seen as sources of psychic income. Criticism is a potential source of negative psychic income. It can make us feel angry, sorrowful, betrayed, resentful, etc. When viewed negatively, criticism damages our ego and view of the world.

Praise often forms the basis for positive psychic income. When people compliment us, we feel better about ourselves.

Because we tend to be fast thinkers, we feel threatened by the criticism--even though it can do us absolutely no harm unless we admit it to our thought processes. In classic fight-or-flight response mode, we will react in manners to protect ourselves. Praise, on the other hand, does not threaten us. It demands no self-protective response. As such, we 'value' the negative impacts of criticism higher than the positive impacts of praise.

One way to neutralize the negative effects of criticism is don't take it personally. When we ignore unwanted criticism, then we don't entangle ourselves in the problems of others. We don't waste energy worrying about what others think of us. It has no bearing on what we do.

Obsessing over negatives is reduced, which frees energy to focus on the positive.