American psychologists from Columbia University in New York studied the impact on the human psyche of positive and negative information, which for some reason had to be kept secret. They concluded that it is better to make bad news public as early as possible, while good news can be kept secret and receive emotional benefits from it. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP).
“While negative secrets are much more common than positive secrets, some of life’s most enjoyable events, like marriage proposals, pregnancy, unexpected gifts, and exciting news, begin with secrets. The positive secrets people choose to keep should make them feel good, and positive emotions are a known indicator of feeling energized,” said lead author Michael Slepian.
According to the scientist, the positive effect of keeping something pleasant or joyful a secret stems from two reasons. First, experiencing a good and important event for us improves our mood. Secondly, the reason for keeping positive secrets often remains personal and relates to the so-called internal locus of control, that is, the ability to control events that depend on our will.
At the same time, keeping negative secrets is often due to external motivations and factors that we often cannot influence. These secrets are often associated with shame and other dark emotions. Psychologists have concluded that hiding such information gradually depletes the human psyche.
In this context, scientists recommend that when you are given the choice of hearing good or bad news first, choose the bad one; This way you will help your interlocutor relieve emotional pressure and increase the positive effect of delivering the good news.
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