have you ever had the feeling that everyone else seems so sorted, so at ease? you look about you and see friends chatting over lunch, people laughing on their mobiles, others escaping contentedly through novels or newspapers. according to alexander jordan and colleagues, most of us have such a tendency to underestimate other people's experience of negative emotion. in turn the researchers think this skewed perception perpetuates a collective delusion in which we all strive to present an unrealistically happy front because we think that's the norm。
jordan's team began their investigation by asking 63 undergrads to describe recent negative and positive emotional experiences they'd had. as expected, the negative examples (eg had an argument; was rejected by a boy/girl)， more than the positive examples (eg attended a fun party; had a great meal)， tended to occur in private and to provoke emotions that the students had attempted to suppress。
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