Bright Side of Pessimism 1

RUNNING HEAD: BRIGHT SIDE OF PESSIMISM

The Bright Side of Pessimism

Dakari Audain-El

Glen Allen High School

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Introduction

The goal of positive psychology is to help people change negative ways of thinking in

order to change how they feel and function, and this goal is shared immensely throughout the

millennial generation. Increasing numbers of participation trophies and a larger focus on being

aware of people’s feelings mark this generation as one where everyone is supposed to be happy.

Although positive psychology does undoubtedly have its benefits, has the unfathomable focus on

this one mindset kept us from greater things? In this era of “good feelings”, being optimistic is

the norm, and anything else is generally looked down upon, which has kept us from reaping the

benefits that other mind sets have to offer.

Pessimism, the mindset that catches the most backlash, is a perspective in which you look

at the worst possible outcomes for a given situation. As distasteful as it may sound, there is a

benefit that comes from this. What is less known about pessimism is that the tendency to look at

the negatives tends to lead pessimists to take steps to prevent those bad outcomes from

happening, resulting in a lower likelihood of failure. However, because positive psychology is

what is currently trending, we would not have known about this. Seeing that there are benefits in

pessimism that we do not know should lead us to ask ourselves: how can pessimism prove

beneficial in day-to-day life? In order for pessimism, as well as other perspectives, to prove

beneficial in day-to-day life, we must assess its advantages as well as disadvantages, and allow

ourselves to let our emotions take their course.

The Benefits of Pessimism

In the article, “The Upside of Pessimism”, Olga Khazan explores the less known benefits

of pessimism as well as a type of pessimism which is uncommonly heard of, known as defensive
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pessimism. Defensive pessimism is “a strategy for dealing with anxiety and helping to manage

anxiety so that it does not negatively influence performance” (Khazan, 2014). How defensive

pessimism works is as follows: you look at some of the worst possible outcomes in a given

situation, then you take steps to ensure that these outcomes do not become reality. Additionally,

because you have taken measures against possible bad outcomes, defensive pessimism also

assists in dealing with and managing anxiety, which can improve performance. In fact, this

mindset can also show merit in the work place. For instance, Julie Norem, Ph.D., a professor of

psychology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and author of The Positive Power of Negative

Thinking, explains that “defensive pessimists — or those who typically approach a potentially

stressful event by envisioning what could go wrong — actually tend to perform well because of

their pessimism” (Pearson, 2017). Because defensive pessimists have a natural tendency to

envision the worst-case scenario, this motivates them to prevent that outcome, thus causing them

to try harder and get more done.

A common misconception about pessimists is that they fall victim to their own sadness

and are unproductive for the majority of their day, whereas optimists are somewhere near

machine-level in terms of productivity. According to Hub Spot, Gabriele Oettingen, who spent

20 years researching and testing her theories at New York University, came to the conclusion

that “optimism and positive fantasies did not help people reach their goals but instead got in the

way” (Renehan, 2017). In turn, she also found that some pessimism can be beneficial in the

workplace, and created the W.O.O.P. model to “harness the benefits of negative thinking for

maximum productivity” (Renehan, 2017). The ‘O’ and ‘P’ steps correlate with the ideals of

defensive pessimism, in which they require foreseeing possible obstacles and planning to take

action against them.

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Additionally, even in the face of failure, pessimism can still prove to be an efficient

coping method. Explanatory pessimism is defined by Julie Norem, Ph.D, as “the tendency to

explain bad things or events by looking inwards rather than blaming external forces.” While this

form of pessimism can help with facing failure, it can also aid in recovering from failure as well.

By having the tendency to look inward when encountering failure rather than external forces,

explanatory pessimism encourages self-improvement in order to ensure the same result doesn’t

occur again. This encourages a productive response to an undesired result rather than shifting

blame away from oneself or becoming unproductive due to the experience of failure.

Although being able to deal with failure after its occurrence is a benefit that explanatory

pessimism can provide, pessimism can also lessen the impact by preparing you for failure before

the fact as well. Also described by Dr. Norem, Ph.D., dispositional pessimism is “the chronic

tendency to have negative expectations.” By submitting their selves to low expectations for the

future, dispositional pessimists are more prepared to handle the impact should those low

expectations come to fruition. Similarly, these expectations can also lead the pessimists to

experience greater joy if the low expectations do not come true.

Another benefit of pessimism, according to Good Therapy (a website that disseminates

mental health news and information to the general public), is a possible increase in longevity

(2015). This is due to the fact that the pessimistic tendency to take precautions extends into all

aspects of life rather than certain events, meaning you are more likely to be more cautious all

around and avoid dangerous situations. For example, a study conducted by Fuschia Sirois, a

reader in health psychology at the University of Sheffield, asked two groups of people – those

with either inflammatory bowel disease or arthritis (both long-term health conditions that often

worsen) – to rate their future health on a scale from poor to excellent. It was found that optimists
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still rated their health as improving, whereas pessimists viewed their health as diminishing in the

future. This perspective may lead pessimists to engage in more health-boosting activities than the

optimists.

Additionally, in an investigation performed by the American Psychological Association,

it was found that some forms of optimism can actually put couples at risk of “marital

deterioration” due their lack of proactive problem-solving, which is a key component of

defensive pessimism (Neff & Geers, 2013). Another investigation found that couples who force

positivity on themselves in order to deal with marital distress actually end up hurting their

relationship. On the other hand, the Huffington post states that, according to Your Tango, that

investigation’s researcher concluded that “couples who approach marriage with a more

pessimistic attitude end up experiencing more success and satisfaction in the long run, since their

expectations were low to begin with” (Pearson, 2017).

Also, the negative emotions that coincide with pessimistic perspective are a natural part

of our human mental psyche and serve as the basis for societal morality. With the massive

emphasis being placed on positive psychology in recent years, many people consider our

negative emotions to be part of the problem that’s weighing down American society from

inching closer to perfection; however, it’s actually these emotions that keep society running

smoothly. For instance, in the case of guilt, which is seen as a negative emotion, this feeling

causes us to reflect on our past actions for which we have experienced guilt. This self-reflection

can lead us to either correct or work to improve what caused us guilt initially. This is just one of

many examples of how the negative emotions that tend to appear alongside a pessimistic

perspective can actually show merit.

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Lastly, it was found that pessimism can cause you to be a better gambler, and not in the

typical Las Vegas sense. WebMD conducted a study in 2004 that was posted to the Personality

and Social Psychology Bulletin that, ironically, involved a group of college students playing

blackjack and using simulated slot machines. What was found was that “the optimists were more

likely to say they believed they would win, and to reframe their losses into a positive… whereas

pessimists were more apt to reduce their bets based on poor past performance” (Warner, 2004).

The researchers in this study argue that this behavior has implications to extend beyond typical

gambling, and can influence the pessimists’ approach to the stock market and have a direct

impact on overall financial wellness as well.

The Argument Against Pessimism

Like all good things, pessimism also has a downside. Although defensive pessimism is

the pinnacle stage of pessimism one would hope to reach, that is not always the case. In an

interview Khazan, Norem, who is a pioneer of defensive pessimism as well as a published author

on it, states that “The more internal drawbacks are if instead of thinking of negative possibilities

in very specific terms, you start spiraling out of control. That is what clinicians consider

catastrophizing to be” (Khazan, 2014). In cases such as these, it is possible that pessimism can

lead to depression or sadness. In fact, if not used correctly, pessimism has a high chance of

leading to depression due to the interactions it causes within the brain. According to Psychology

24, in the book Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain, the author Professor Elaine Fox explains that

“pessimists had a weaker connection between their prefrontal cortex and amygdala. In other

words, they had weaker connections between their ‘logical, higher thinking’ processes and their

emotions and fight or flight” (Hillman, 2014). Additionally, she explains that pessimists show
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increased activity in the right side of their brain versus the left, which is a similar symptom in

those suffering from depression (Hillman, 2014).

Unfortunately, the health risks don’t conclude at depression. In a study released from

Finland, found in BMC Public Health, it was found that pessimism was “associated with an

increased risk of death from coronary heart disease” (Connor, 2016). In the study, of the 121

Finnish men and women who had died from coronary heart disease during the study’s 11-year

follow-up period – out of 2,267 participants – the researchers found a large number of the

participants were pessimists when the study began. Comparing the higher and lower quartiles, it

was found that those in the higher quartile had a 2.2 times higher risk of coronary heart disease

than those in the lower quartile. However, it was also found that there was no decreased risk of

coronary heart disease associated with optimism. From these two pieces of evidence, the

researchers concluded that “pessimism seems to be quite a significant risk factor for death from

coronary heart disease both in men and women, while optimism does not protect from it”

(Connor, 2016).

Lastly, according the David Hecht and the US National Library of Medicine, the view or

belief that “one’s ability or inability to control important aspects of life” plays a crucial role in

determining one’s attitude (Hecht, 2013). The lack of a feeling of control in one’s life can lead to

such a lack in motivation that it causes people to give up before even trying. This was tested in

an experiment designed by Martin Seligman as he and his colleagues were doing research on

classical conditioning. In his first experiment, he would ring a bell, then administer a light shock

to the dog that was being experimented on. After a while, the dog would react to the shock

before it was even administered following the sound of the bell. In his next experiment,

Seligman placed the dog in a crate where it would the floor was electrified on one side, but not
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the other. However, the dog laid on the electrified side as though it learned that the shock was

inescapable from the first experiment. This phenomenon is called learned helplessness, which

stems from the belief that any actions you take will not affect your fate. The belief, according to

Hecht, lies at the core of pessimism (Hecht, 2013).

Refutation

One point that people fail to realize is that positive psychology has its own drawbacks as

well. Emotional ups and downs are part of what constitute the human psyche, so forcing

happiness unto ourselves 100% of the time has the same emotionally draining effect as bottling

up emotions. Although the purpose of containing one’s emotion is usually an effort to forget or

ignore those emotions, the stress of not expressing your emotions actually causes more emotional

distress which, often times, is worse than the initial distress. In addition, being able to see the

problems in performance and what went wrong provides us the ability to reflect and better

ourselves. In her paper, “The Pros and Cons of Positive Psychology”, Tiffany Celeiro cites the

article “The Promise of Sustainable Happiness” which states that “Happy people are much less

likely than their unhappier peers to excessively self-reflect and dwell upon themselves” (Celeiro,

2018).

As much as an emphasis is being put on the positive psychology trend in modern

America, forcing positive emotions on yourself can actually be unhealthy. In her article,

“Negative Emotions Are Key to Well-Being,” Tori Rodriguez, a psychotherapist, explains that,

while positive thoughts and emotions can be beneficial to one’s mental health, when taken to an

extreme, “people's outlook can become so rosy that they ignore dangers or become complacent”

(Rodriguez, 2013). In contrast, Rodriquez states that experiencing and accepting the sadness,

anger, and other negative emotions that positive psychology shies away from is actually vital to
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our mental health. She furthers explains that attempts suppress or quash such negative emotions

can, in fact, lead to a diminishment in our sense of contentment or happiness.

Although pessimism is usually associated with sadness and depression, it can actually

help in dealing with negative emotions. According to Khazan, because of their tendency to

foresee and prepare, “[defensive pessimists] may be more prepared to deal with difficult

emotions than those who do not tend to consider possible negative outcomes” (Khazan, 2014).

Additionally, pessimism and depression actually branch off from one another past the

initial negative emotions. The stages proceed as follows: feelings of anxiety and/or stress

beginning to swell prior to a major event. This is the where the first break in pessimism vs.

depression occurs. Those who are pessimistic will begin to take counter-measures against the

possibilities of failure in order to reduce stress and/or anxiety and increase the self-confidence

going into the event. Someone who is depressed, however, will find themselves engulfed in these

negative emotions and become unable to put them to constructive use. Hypothetically, the event

ends in failure, this is where the second break occurs between pessimism and depression.

Following failure, it is likely that a pessimist will blame the lack of success on an intrinsic factor

that can be controlled and honed to prevent future failure, rather than on external forces that are

beyond control. Those who suffer from depression will be more likely to attribute the failure to a

factor beyond their control, which can lead to decreased self-confidence going into similar future

situations. All in all, the major common ground between pessimists and those who are depressed

is the embracing and experiencing of negative emotions; however, the major difference is how

each goes about handling and coping with those emotions.

Conclusion
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This capstone is in no way meant to persuade others to force pessimism on themselves or

those around. Rather, the goal of this paper is to encourage others to openly express their

perspective and have their thoughts and opinions valued, regardless of whether or not they fit

with the modern trends. However, due to the recent crave for optimism and positive psychology,

it has become common to ignore, passively or actively, other outlooks and perspectives.

Although there are downsides that come with each perspective, there are also merits that the

general population tend to ignore, whether that be with pessimism, optimism, realism, or any

other perspectives.

First, pessimism proves useful as a coping mechanism in the event of failure. Although

some believe that pessimism and depression are intertwined, this is merely a common

misconception. The large differentiator between pessimism and depression is what follows the

ensuing negative emotions. Those who are depressed will find difficulty in turning their negative

emotions into something productive, whereas pessimists, as explained previously by defensive

pessimism, are able to use their negative emotions and put them towards taking measures the

ensure that they will succeed. Or, in the event of failure, because of explanatory pessimism, its

often for pessimists to find what they personally could’ve done to prevent their failure, and work

to ensure that it doesn’t occur again. In these ways, pessimism could actually be more beneficial

than optimism when faced with failure because of the pessimistic tendency to face their negative

emotions and grow, rather than the optimistic tendency to hope for a better outcome.

Also, negative emotions are essential to our well-being and mental psyche. As far as our

well-being goes, it’s our negative emotions that cause us to be aware of danger or potential

threats to our safety. For example, in his article, “The Benefits of Negative Emotions: 3 Keys to

Wellbeing,” Diogo, major in psychology and master degree in organizational psychology,

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explains that fear, because of the fight-or-flight response that it causes, assists in reacting to

danger. In contrast, he also asserts positive emotions have the potential to make you aloof, and

being to carefree can lead to lower awareness or risks, less attention to detail in work, or a lower

concern of how your behavior negatively affects others (Diogo, 2015). In fact, the recent trend

for the pursuit of positivity is affecting us more negatively than our negative emotions ever

could. As psychologist Todd Kashan told the Huffington Post, the belief that one should always

feel good is toxic. (Gregoire, 2014). Kashan further explains that when we try to hide or quash

the distress we feel, we are less productive and less effective, and actually end up feeling worse

emotionally.

The latest trend in 21st century America is the crave for positive psychology, embracing

positivity and positive emotions while discarding the negative emotions in order to lead a

healthier and happier lifestyle. However, the key to health and happiness doesn’t come from

abandoning a major part of what makes us human. By embracing the pessimistic sides of our

personalities, as well as the negative emotions that follow suit, we are able to make development

in physical health, mental health, self-confidence, and so much more.

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