Final answer:
The provided references do not give a definitive ratio of articles focusing on negative versus positive emotions since 1887; they instead offer insights into specific situations and studies, such as political ads and positive psychology research.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question seeks to understand the ratio of articles covering negative versus positive emotions since 1887. While the references provided do not specify a precise ratio over such a long historical period, they offer insights into the prevalence of negative and positive content within certain contexts, such as political advertisements, the field of positive psychology, and public trust in journalism. For example, Stephen Ansolabehere and Shanto Iyengar's book Going Negative discusses the impact of negative political advertising.
Using the provided example of the study with 37 students, where the fraction of positives is 9 out of the 37, one could conclude that in this specific context, the ratio of positive to negative would be approximately 1:3. However, these examples are not comprehensive enough to determine a definitive ratio for articles focusing on negative versus positive emotions over the time period in question.