Do You Want the Good News or the Bad News First ?

Giving bad news can be anxiety-provoking. When faced with a bad news delivery situation, people may use prosodic techniques such as mixing good news with the bad. In these events, people may ask, “Do you want the good or the bad news first?” In this study we examined whether news order has affective, cognitive, and behavioral consequences. Participants completed a personality test and received fake results in either a ‘good then bad,’ ‘bad then good,’ or ‘bad only’ order. Participants completed questionnaires about how they felt about their results and chose whether to watch a personality improvement video. Results revealed that news order has consequences. People who received good news last reported better mood and appraisal of the results. Additionally, people who received bad news last reported greater intentions for behavioral change and were more likely to watch the improvement video. Our findings suggest that there is no correct approach to delivering news and that instead newsgivers should consider the optimal outcomes for the recipient. To buffer negative affect they should relay good news last, but if the goal is behavior change then ending with bad news may be best. Our findings have important implications for the bad news delivery process and its consequences between news-givers and recipients.