There’s a lot of literature on the benefits of positive thinking, and there’s certainly some evidence behind it: Many studies suggest that being optimistic brings a number of positive rewards, including better health and well-being. But what about people who tend to see the glass as half empty? Is being pessimistic always such a bad thing? Well no.
Recent research suggests that some forms of pessimism can have benefits. And is that pessimism is only about negative thinking. The science of personality has revealed that it also includes a focus on results – it ‘s what you hope will happen in the future.
While optimists expect positive results more often, pessimists expect negative results to be more likely in this case.
Defensive pessimism
There is a particular type of pessimist, called a “defensive pessimist ,” who takes this negative thinking to a whole new level that you use as a means to achieve your goals. Research has shown that this mindset can not only help them be successful, but it can also bring unexpected rewards.
How does defensive pessimism really work and what benefits can we get from it?
Experts suggest that defensive pessimism is a strategy anxious people use to help them control their anxiety, which might otherwise make them want to run in the opposite direction of the goal instead of chasing it.
The crucial factor is setting low expectations for the outcome of a particular plan or situation, such as hoping that you won’t be hired after a job interview, and then visualizing the details of everything that could go wrong to present these worst-case scenarios. the cases. This gives the defensive pessimist a plan of action to ensure that no mishaps occur, such as practicing for the interview and arriving early in the face of being late or having a poor interview.
Specifically, a study published in the journalPersonality and Individual Differences It showed that everything has to do with negative mood. When the experiment participants were asked to be in a good mood, the defensive pessimists fared poorly in a series of word puzzles. However,when they got in a bad mood, being instructed to imagine how a scenario could have negative results, their results were significantly better. This suggests that they take advantage of their negative mood to motivate themselvesto achieve a better outcome.
Pessimism can also be more beneficial than optimism in situations where news about an outcome is expected and there is no opportunity to influence that solution (such as waiting for the conclusion of a job interview).
When the outcome is not as good as optimists hoped, they have a greater impact on their well-being and experience greater disappointment and negative mood than pessimists.
Strangely,This kind of pessimism can even help boost confidence.In a study that followed students throughout their college years, those who were defensive pessimists experienced significantly higher levels of self-esteem compared to other students. In fact, their self-esteem rose to almost optimistic levels during the four years of the study.
This may be due to the increased confidence of defensive pessimists to successfully anticipate and avoid negative outcomes that they had previously imagined.
The defensive pessimist strategy may also have some health benefits. So, for example, while they are more likely to worry about falling ill during a virus outbreak, they are also more likely to take preventive measures. For example, how often they wash their hands or seek immediate medical attention when they experience unusual symptoms.
Also, when pessimists become chronically ill, their negative views of the future can be more realistic and encourage the kinds of behaviors that health professionals recommend to manage the disease.
The key is that defensive pessimists use their negative expectations to motivate themselves to take active steps in order to feel prepared and have more control over the situation. Hence, being a pessimist is not necessarily a bad thing, even though you may irritate others. Ultimately, what matters is what you do with that pessimism.
Reference: The effects of negative reflection for defensive pessimists: Dissipation or harnessing of threat? Mark D. Seery, Tessa V. West, MaxWeisbuch, JimBlascovich. Personality and Individual Differences DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.06.004
