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Surely an additional factor is that criticism is actionable, and praise is not? If someone tells me they like my shirt, it feels good, but there's nothing to be done about it. If someone tells me there's a hole in my shirt, then I actually have a new thing I need to deal with. Why would our brains remember comments that are not actionable over ones that are?

I'm not disagreeing with the article, but I suspect this multiplies with the psychological factor.

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I'd disagree that's intrinsic to criticism or praise (the phrase "constructive criticism" is distinct from just normal criticism). Consider:

Constructive praise: "I like when you wear different t-shirt colours than you usually do."

Non-constructive criticism: "I don't like your shirt."

We might find the non-constructive criticism to have more force to effect change than the constructive praise. I know I would be more reactive to the latter comment even though there is less constructive detail in it. But I think that's just because we're hardwired to be more sensitive to criticism, as per the article.

Not all criticism is actionable. Most of it is not. Like "this is boring", "this is ugly", "that color is too sad".

If someone tells you they like the shirt, you can wear shirt more often or buy similar one.

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