Do Negative Attitudes Bring Us Closer To Others? Why It's Easier To Bond Over Shared Dislikes
Is the glass half full or half empty? If you said empty, you may find stronger friendships among others with pessimistic outlooks. Research has shown that people who have mutual dislikes create better connections when compared to those with shared passions.
Previous studies have supported the idea that having the same negative feelings create better friendships, and a new online dating app, Hater, just launched with the hope that the theory applies to romantic connections, too, according to Refinery29.
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A 2006 study suggested that interpersonal chemistry is made stronger if two people have a mutual dislike for a third person. Results showed that this negative connection was stronger than reciprocal likes.
“It’s not that we enjoy disliking people,” researcher Jennifer Bosson told The New York Times when the study was published. “It’s that we enjoy meeting people who dislike the same people.”
Five years later, a second study examined this same phenomenon.
Researchers worked with 77 college student participants. The group was told each had a partner in another room who either liked or disliked the same professor as them. Unknown to the study participants, this mystery person’s existence was fictitious. Refinery29 reported that those who were told they had a mutual dislike seemed closer with their “partners.”
"Hater" launched Feb. 8, according to The Cut, and it takes these psychological findings to the next level. The digital platform works by comparing potential dates based on mutual hates, instead of interests or passions.
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Source: Weaver JR, Bosson JK. I Feel Like I Know You: Sharing Negative Attitudes of Others Promotes Feelings of Familiarity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2011.
Bosson JK, Johnson AB, Niederhoffer K, Swann WB Jr. Interpersonal chemistry through negativity: Bonding by sharing negative attitudes about others. Personal Relationships. 2006.
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