Do people remember criticism or compliments more than the other?

Question

Which one has a greater impact over the other? Which one is remembered longer?

Answer 1

I think it's how they say it .

Answer 2

Compliments when accepted in humbleness,cause feelings of validation,when accepted without humbleness,simply add to ego.

Criticism when accepted by a humble person,stimulates reflection and change,if applicable...when accepted by one who is not humble,causes anger and rebellion.

I see both as being equal, in impact.

Answer 3

for me critcism is memorable-i 'm sensitive to what other people think of me, even though i nkow i can't always make everybody happy. when i do remember compliments , i tend to get conceited and arrogant

Answer 4

Everyone is different; however I believe that the impact of hearing criticism will last longer.  Unfortunately people in this day and age don't tend to give compliments as often as they should.  People tend to be quick to criticize before they will compliment.  I try to compliment as often as possible and even to strangers.  You just don't hear compliments as often as you should.

Answer 5

Criticism might affect people more than copliments,including me so I'd say criticism.

Answer 6

I read in Cosmopolitan magazine that if you harshly criticize someone 1 time, it would take an average of 5 compliments for them to forget that 1 criticism.

Harshly, being the key word.  Constructively criticizing someone is not near as painful as harshly doing so.

As you are probably well aware, it is much easier to criticize someone than to compliment them, so imagine the hurt egos of some people when all they hear is mainly harsh criticism, but no compliments to out-weigh or even them out.

In my opinion, criticism is definitely more remembered than compliments.

Answer 7

I think people remember criticism longer because it hits a cord within them and brings up there own insecurities. Maybe the criticism is about something they don't consider themselves good at or like about themselves so when someone else brings it up especially in a negative way it may cut deep because they believe it to be true. Or maybe they think the critical person speaking (such as a parent) knows more than they do so they tend to believe the other persons opinion over their own.

Answer 8

i think it depends on the character of the recipient.  if the person is insecure a compliment wont be beleived really and a criticism will be remembered. if it is a confident person a complimemtn will be believed and a criticism will be ignored. so Its always better to compliment. but if you know the person youll know the impact the statement will have.

Answer 9

It doesn't matter how many compliments you'll get, but if you get only one bad comment you'll remember that the most out of all the others, trust me.

Answer 10

I agree with Shamiha, but a also disagree cause i try to forget criticism then remember compliments

Answer 11

criticism i believe unless it is done correctly.

Answer 12

i always remember criticism over compliments. and even the most lavish compliments are over-shadowed by even the smallest critic, or insult. and i can never forget the bad, even with 10x more good...

Answer 13

It depends on how the person feels about their self.  If a person already feels like they have nice eyes and someone compliments them on their eyes, they will probably be happy but it won't make for a very memorable compliment.  But if someone tells you that your nose is way too big and you have never been told that before, it might stick with you for a long time.  It could also depend on who and how the compliment or criticism is dealt.

Answer 14

i remember criticism forever because it hurts =[

however i also remember compliments for a long time because i have low self confidence and so i try to believe the positive things people say to me... the negative ones will never be forgotten though...

i still remember a 'friend' criticizing me when i was only about 7! it hurt!

xxxxxx

Answer 15

The answer to this question is dependent upon who the person is.  Someone with a great deal of common sense, one who is secure within his own skin, will give equal weight to both.  Then, s/he will continue to live according to his/her own  truth.

Answer 16

I truly believe MOST people remember criticism more than compliments because most people whether they admit it or not hate to be critiqued on anything. that's human nature. Some people will say they can take constructive criticism, but when you try to give it to them, they act as if their feelings are hurt. And then you have people who say they want the truth about themselves and when you give it to them......all h**l breaks loose. It ***** up their whole world.

Answer 17

I think this one boils down to self-esteem and insecurity.

You'll find that the people who take criticism well are those who already feel good about themselves.  They are probably more likely to remember the compliments.

I would say that most people probably remember the criticism.

Answer 18

People remember harsh treatment much more better and longer than criticism and compliments, it's a survival instinct thing.

A negative treatment (harsh treatment) will cause a creature to avoid that negative treatment in order to survive.

Also since that actions speak harder than words, some people intentionally teach people with actions than words. For example, instead of just saying "high voltage electricity is bad if you touch it", high voltage is intentionally touch (with consent and very low ampere of course) in order to teach that 'high voltage electricity is bad if you touch it'.

"Critic" means something 'important', something that is needed to function.

Criticism isn't harsh treatment, unfortunately some people these days often called harsh treatment as criticism, that basically made some people to avoid 'criticism', including the 'critics'. In short, some people will never want to hear 'criticism', they done this for their own survival.

A few examples of real criticism, are:

- "This work is good, but do you think that you can improve it?" this is both compliment and criticism.

- "This thing need to be put in that place for the whole thing to function." this is criticism.

A few examples of harsh treatments falsely put as criticism, are:

- "You are bad."

- "What you are doing is bad."

- "You are doing things wrong, here's how to do it."

- "You are a terrible person."

- "I hate you."

And so on...

Answer 19

generally cristisms are remembered more than compliments critisism is remembered longer and has greater impact too.

Answer 20

I believe most will remember criticism more than compliments.

Answer 21

I remember criticism forever.