People don’t act the same way in solitary as they do in a group. Nor do we do it the same way when we’re with someone else.

In other words, the presence (real, imagined or implicit) of others influences how we think, feel and behave. Social psychology is concerned with studying and understanding these relationships and influences.

Within it, there are numerous phenomena that appear in the interrelationship of people and in the perception we have of them. Today we will talk about one of them: the MUM effect . We all like to give good news, but what about the bad news? Does the same thing happen with it? We will see it below.

What is the MUM effect?

When we have to communicate bad news , we often resist or distort it, even make it less negative. This happens even if we have nothing to do with the news.

The reason for this is that we do not want to be associated with the negative event, and as a consequence, be considered less attractive.

The MUM effect occurs in a wide variety of news, circumstances and possible receptors. Even so, although it is a very frequent and validated effect, it is not a universal phenomenon. Think for example of the news; we have the feeling that they “always” transmit bad news; or for example myths, rumours, etc.

It seems then that the MUM effect is associated with situations in which the news affects one’s own or the potential recipient’s well-being .

Why does he show up? Its causes

The MUM effect has to do in social psychology with theories of reinforcement. The theories of reinforcement (Lott and Lott, Byrne) tell us about the attraction towards people who are present or who do something that activates an affect, be it positive or negative .

On the other hand, people, either consciously or unconsciously, seek to please others, feel accepted, etc. This is a natural and human phenomenon, which occurs to preserve and enhance self-esteem.

In general, we can talk about various concerns that make it difficult or impossible for us to communicate bad news:

  • Concern for our own welfare, wanting to avoid a sense of guilt.
  • Concern for the welfare of the recipient (for empathy) when receiving bad news.
  • Use situational norms such as “do the right thing” as a guide.
  • Fear of being associated with bad news and consequently of being less attractive .

These four explanations have been evidenced by scientific experimentation to explain the causes of the MUM effect. In this way, and in relation to the first point, concern for one’s own well-being, we are talking about a fear of feeling guilty for communicating something negative to someone.

We can relate this to the “belief of a just world”, that is, believing that there are no injustices and that we all have what we deserve (both good and bad). This would be a cognitive bias of the vision of reality, which many people manifest.

Thus, communicating something that is not only wrong but also unfair would conflict with our beliefs about the world, and could also generate these feelings of guilt or even sadness. And, of course, people tend to avoid feeling unwell or sad.

Concerns about giving bad news

Going deeper into these concerns, we know that we do not want the receiver to feel sad “because of us” either , even if it is an irrational thought and we have nothing to do with the news. We are the mere transmitter, but nevertheless, when people are asked why they should or should not communicate good or bad news, they usually focus their attention on the receiver.

The MUM effect also occurs when we make a frequent mistake: assuming that the receiver will not want to hear the bad news.

Take doctors, for example; it has been seen in some surveys that many believe that patients do not want to hear bad news. However, the latter claim to want to hear it.

It is known that the better a message is, the more willing we are to convey it . But it doesn’t happen in the same way when the message is negative, since once it is bad; it doesn’t matter if it is bad to a greater or lesser extent, since the willingness to communicate it will always be low.

Social rules and receiver in the MUM effect

Often there are no clear rules about what to do with bad news, whether to communicate it or not. It seems that when the news is good, the rules are clearer than when it is bad.

Moreover, many times, when we say bad news, there are consequences in the receiver (sadness, anger, rage…) that we will not always know how to manage. This can cause fear, in addition to the concern for not wanting to seem like a meddler . To avoid these feelings, we hide the bad news.

The MUM effect is reduced when broadcasters know for sure that the recipient of the news (whether good or bad) wants to know about it. Thus, the fear or concern about giving bad news is dissipated, and we end up expressing it without distorting it.

Bibliographic references:

  • Tesser, A., & Rosen, S. (1975). The reluctance to transmit bad news. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.). Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 8, pp. 194-232. New York: Academic Press.
  • Hogg, B.A. (2010). Social psychology. VAUGHAN GRAHAM M. PANAMERICANA. Editorial: PANAMERICANA