Being Optimistic about Pessimism

When was the last time someone told you to cheer up or look on the bright side? Did these words irritate you? Being told to cheer up is probably the last things you want to hear when you are feeling down. And according to some psychologists, it may even make you feel worse.

First of all, you feel bad about the thing that is getting you down (e.g. you’re out of work or your pet dog just died). Then you feel bad because you can’t seem to cheer yourself up.

Clinical Psychologist Barbara Held argues that American culture has become obsessed with being positive and optimistic. It’s become so obsessed that some individuals now have difficulty being in the company of someone who is in a negative mood.

I would argue it’s not just America that has gone slightly extreme and obsessed with positivity. Western consumer cultures in general has gone crazy about positivity. No one likes a Debbie Downer. Being positive and upbeat is what’s expected. And if you’re not chipper all the time, then perhaps you need to get some help? That’s how many people are made to feel.

Extreme forms of negative thinking can be problematic, but research has found in some cases negative thinking can help people to function better.

Norem and her research team performed several experiments where they made people who had a tendency to think negatively (defensive pessimists) think more optimistically by raising their expectations, stopping them from mentally rehearsing possible negative outcomes, making them relax and cheer up (Norem & Illingworth, 2004, Norem & Illingworth, 1993, Spencer & Norem, 1996). The point of these experiments was to see if positive thinking and relaxation would lead to an improvement in their ability to function.

Interestingly, the researcher found that forcing these people to think more optimistically caused their performance to suffer. Norem (2001) concluded that defensive pessimism is a strategy that helps anxious individuals to confront and work through their anxious thoughts rather than deny them.

This research on defensive pessimists illustrates that positive thinking isn’t for everyone. Force a defensive pessimist to think more positively and you could cause their performance to suffer. Subsequently, these individuals may end up feeling worse about themselves.

So how can you tell if positive thinking may not be for you when performing difficult tasks (e.g. preparing for a talk or a big project)?

First of all, you could take Julie Norem’s simple questionnaire to workout if you’re a defensive pessimist. It will take you less than a minute to do.

Ultimately, I believe both positive and negative forms of thinking have an important role to play. We need a balance of the two in order to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

Afterall, if you never confront stressful situations, how can you grow and develop? How can you fully appreciate the wonderful experiences you have? As the famous saying goes, ‘Without the bitter baby, the sweet ain’t as sweet’.

References

Held, B.S. (2002). The tyranny of the positive attitude in America: observation and speculation. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(9), 965-992

Norem, J.K. (2001). The positive power of negative thinking. Cambridge: Basic Books

Norem, J.K. & Illingworth, K.S.S. (2004). Mood and performance among defensive pessimists and strategic optimists. Journal of Research in Personality, 38, 351-366

Norem, J.K. & Illingworth, K.S.S. (1993). Strategy-dependant effects of reflecting on self and tasks: Some implications of optimism and defensive pessimism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(4), 822-835

Spencer, S.M., & Norem, J.K. (1996). Reflection and distraction: Defensive pessimism, strategic optimism, and performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(4), 354-365

3 thoughts on “Being Optimistic about Pessimism

  1. I used to have a friend who was obssesed with optimism. I´m a doubting Tomas and even being optimistic is seen as good, you can get tired of it, when it is too much.When she needed to take extra money out of the bank; she was going to travel and took out more just in case. She stated that she was not being negative for taking out some extra money to travel. In my point of view she was just being cautious. I´m a cautious person and sees that as negativism. Finally her obssesion for optimism broke our relationship.Things were either positive or negative and nothing in between.

  2. You need to be able to experience the full range of emotions! If you never experienced any negative emotions, you wouldn’t be able to appreciate the positive ones as much 🙂

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