After being exposed to negative news, people report more negative affect and less positive affect. This is true even of everyday news, according to a study published in The British Psychological Society.

In today’s world, news is everywhere. The authors explain, “People can be updated about the latest developments in the world during the entire day and seven days a week”. Not only is news almost inescapable, but it is predominantly negative. This is concerning since numerous studies have found evidence that negative news leads to unfavorable emotional states.

Much of the previous research has looked at reactions to extraordinary news events like terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The recent study wanted to look at whether the same effects would be found for everyday news. Furthermore, researchers wanted to examine why some people appear to be less affected by negative news. They questioned whether personal relevance or the personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion could explain this difference.

A longitudinal study took place where 63 Dutch adults (aged 18-82) recorded their responses to daily news reports in real-time using an app on their mobile phones. At the start of the study, subjects answered questions designed to measure the traits of extraversion and neuroticism. Participants were then prompted by notifications on their mobile phones at random moments throughout the day and questioned about whether they had seen any recent news reports. Subjects had to record these responses 5 times a day over 10 days.

The questionnaire measured positive affect and negative affect using the Maastricht Momentary Mood Questionnaire and cognitive appraisal using an adapted version of the Geneva Appraisal Questionnaire. The cognitive appraisal section included a dimension on personal relevance.

As expected, results showed that when everyday news was perceived as more negative, subjects experienced more negative affect and less positive affect. Researchers took this as evidence that news items don’t need to be extreme or shocking to affect people on an emotional level. Next, it was found that people reported more negative affect when negative news items were personally relevant.

Those who scored high in neuroticism reported more negative emotions and less positive emotions in response to news. This was not surprising since neuroticism is typically associated with anxiety and negativity in response to everyday stressors. Extraversion, on the other hand, is a trait associated with more positive emotion and less negative emotion across a range of experiences. Interestingly, those scoring high in extraversion reported more positive affect but not less negative affect. This suggests that extraverts experience the same negative emotions in response to negative news as everyone else, but that they don’t allow it to affect their positive emotions.

It is clear that news can negatively affect people’s emotions. Future research needs to look more at why some people are more affected by negative news than others. Researchers conclude, “We need to look more carefully at the way (negative) news is presented in the media, as well as the frequency of exposure to the news, in order to prevent people from being negatively affected by it”.

The study, “Is the news making us unhappy? The influence of daily news exposure on emotional states”, was authored by Natascha de Hoog and Peter Verboon.