Pessimism Bias
bias
Summary: Expect negative outcomes despite reasonable prospects.
Threats and failures are overweighted, discouraging opportunity pursuit and shading judgments.
Pattern prevalence
- Authors: top 13.2%, bottom 2.6%, overall 2.2%
- Publications: top 3.4%, bottom 1.1%, overall 2.1%
- Articles: top 1.9%, bottom 1.3%, overall 1.6%
Recent example
say took control of the country. Uh I think that this country's finished. These people are sick. They suffer
Recent articles
Exploring the housing market 0%
ABC News - 5/30/2026, 5:49 PM
Ambiguity (Equivocation) 25.4% - Pessimism Bias 17.5% - Appeal to Emotion 17.3%
All right, thinking of buying a house in this economy? Well, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a 9-month high of 6.53% this week. Summer is a hot time to buy. So, what do you do if you're in the market right now? Let's go ahead and bring in Jake Cruemmel, a senior economist over at realtor.com, for some answers.... more
A broken economy and an emboldened regime: Iranians abandoned to endure fallout from war 0%
The Guardian - By Deepa Parent - 5/30/2026, 5:00 AM
Negativity Bias 50.2% - Unattributed Quote 25.8% - Post Hoc (False Cause) 23.7%
As Donald Trump swung this week between threats of new military action against Iran and predictions that a lasting ceasefire deal was imminent, many Iranians were left exhausted and gripped by uncertainty. Despite the partial lifting of an internet shutdown that began when the war started on 28 February, fears of worsening repression at... more
2026 summer will be worst yet for teen employment in decades, WSJ predicts 0%
CBS News - 5/30/2026, 12:59 AM
Hasty Generalization 34.9% - Negativity Bias 23.8% - Anecdotal 23.3%
You probably remember the good old days when you flipped burgers, bagged groceries, or scooped ice cream. Simpler times. Well, now getting a summer job just isn't what it used to be. The Wall Street Journal reports that this summer is expected to be the worst for teen jobs since 1948 when the federal government started tracking the data.... more
Is there any real progress on peace with Iran? 0%
CBS News - 5/30/2026, 12:54 AM
Pessimism Bias 28.3% - Negativity Bias 25.4% - False Dilemma 24.3%
We return now to our top story. The president met with top advisers in the situation room today to discuss the latest proposal with the Iranian regime and whether he's satisfied enough to extend the ceasefire and move forward with negotiations. His stated priorities are ensuring Iran is never has a nuclear weapon, opening the Strait of... more
NYC warns young adults could be hardest hit by SNAP benefit losses 0%
Gothamist - By Karen Yi - 5/28/2026, 10:00 AM
Optimism Bias 15.8% - Negativity Bias 13.7% - Anecdotal 13.4%
Nearly 43,500 New Yorkers are at risk of losing their food assistance benefits known as SNAP on Monday, as the sweeping work requirements enacted by the Trump administration reaches its first deadline, city officials told Gothamist. Officials warn those most at risk of losing the monthly aid are young people; about 40% of SNAP recipients... more
Trump wants a gas tax holiday. There's a much bigger problem looming 0%
NPR - By Camila Domonoske, Stephan Bisaha - 5/28/2026, 9:00 AM
Appeal to Authority 15.9% - Negativity Bias 13.2% - Post Hoc (False Cause) 12.1%
President Trump has called for a temporary waiver of the federal gas tax, which costs drivers 18.4 cents per gallon. It's one of several attempts to relieve pain at the pump as voters grow increasingly frustrated with gasoline prices, which have hit four-year highs thanks to the oil trade disruption triggered by the war with Iran. A... more
Trump’s War on ISIS Is Failing, No Matter How Gorka Spins It 0%
The Intercept - By Nick Turse - 5/27/2026, 10:00 AM
Negativity Bias 30.6% - Biased Writer Voice 22.8% - Appeal to Authority 14.3%
White House counterterrorism czar Sebastian Gorka was on a mission. He wanted someone dead, and he knew who could make it happen. It was eight days after Donald Trump took office for a second time, and Gorka, the senior counterterrorism director on President Trump’s National Security Council, walked into the Oval Office accompanied by a... more
Lake Powell’s cool water releases protect fish. That comes at a cost to hydropower 0%
KUER - By Associated Press - 5/26/2026, 7:37 PM
Negativity Bias 36.6% - Confirmation Bias 16.2% - Self-Serving Bias 16.2%
As the Colorado River and its once massive reservoirs shrink from overuse and climate change, officials are faced with a decision that pits conservation against ratepayer costs for electricity. To fight off predators of the humpback chub, a threatened fish native to the river, Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona would need to do what is... more
Pope Leo's encyclical warning about AI rocks tech industry 0%
CBS News - 5/26/2026, 2:21 PM
Negativity Bias 31.5% - Anecdotal 25.9% - Appeal to Emotion 24.6%
Pope Leo the 14th has entered into the debate around the use of artificial intelligence. The pontiff has talked a lot about AI in the past year. Now it's the subject of his first encyclical which is a papal declaration and it's full of warnings. I want to bring in CBS News foreign correspondent Chris Livce. He is live in Rome with more... more
Gunshots heard outside White House, male suspect taken down by Secret Service 4.7%
Fox News - By Alexandra Koch, Michael Sinkewicz, Michael Ruiz, Paul Mauro - 5/23/2026, 11:17 PM
Appeal to Authority 13.6% - Appeal to Emotion 9.3% - Post Hoc (False Cause) 7.1%
The White House was placed on lockdown Saturday after shots were fired near the executive mansion, prompting a response from the U.S. Secret Service. A male suspect, identified by multiple Fox News Digital sources as Nasire Best, 21, of Maryland, was fatally shot by U.S. Secret Service agents at about 6 p.m. ET Saturday after he... more