So you’re a pessimist …How smart is that?

Monday, January 8, 2024. Getting ready for the next Nor’easter… it’s gonna be a doozy!

You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality. —Ayn Rand

We seem to admire humans who are aspirational, and optimistic, but is it always the best way to move through space and time?.

Being hard nosed and realistic, which tends to more closely resemble pessimism rather than optimism — is a clear sign of higher IQ, according to breaking research.

Compared with the optimists of this world, humans with the discipline of low expectations have better memories, better verbal fluency, and measurably strong numerical and fluid reasoning — all well-established components of an above average IQ.

Here’s a startling finding …overly optimistic people tend to have lower IQs…

Here’s the problem with glowing optimism. An optimistic nature may lead humans to render poorer decisions related to their money and wellness.

Dr. Chris Dawson, from the University of Bath, the study’s author, had this to say:

“Forecasting the future with accuracy is difficult and for that reason we might expect those with low cognitive ability to make more errors in judgments, both pessimistic and optimistic.

But the results are clear: low cognitive ability leads to more self-flattering biases—people essentially deluding themselves to a degree.”

The inherent risk of unrestrained optimism…

While the researchers posit that humans beings may be evolutionarily primed to be optimistic, this is not an optimal method for making decisions, quipped Dr. Dawson:

“…while humans may be primed by evolution to expect the best, those high on cognitive ability are more able to override this automatic response when it comes to important decisions.

Plans based on overly optimistic beliefs make for poor decisions and are bound to deliver worse outcomes than would realistic beliefs.”

The most dangerous optimism of all is financial…

Dr. Dawson again:

“Unrealistically optimistic financial expectations can lead to excessive levels of consumption and debt, as well as insufficient savings.

It can also lead to excessive business entries and subsequent failures.

The chances of starting a successful business are tiny, but optimists always think they have a shot and will start businesses destined to fail.”

How the study was conducted

The conclusions come from a survey of over 36,000 households in the UK. I’ve noticed that British social science research often enjoy large sample populations.

It compared these humans expectations concerning their financial future, as compared with what actually happened.

• The results revealed that those with the highest IQs were 22% more likely to be less hopeful, and more realistic about their financial futures.

• They were also 35% less likely to be extreme optimists.

Dr. Dawson summed it up:

“The problem with our being programmed to think positively is that it can adversely affect our quality of decision-making, particularly when we have to make serious decisions.

We need to be able to override that, and this research shows that people with high cognitive ability manage this better than those with low cognitive ability.”

“Unrealistic optimism is one of the most pervasive human traits and research has shown people consistently underestimate the negative and accentuate the positive.

The concept of ‘positive thinking’ is almost unquestioningly embedded in our culture—and it would be healthy to revisit that belief.”

Final Thoughts

We must cultivate our garden. This is an example of how different sorts of brains can approach the notion of what are reasonable expectations from the universe, and other humans.

Inherent in pessimism is a notion of the absurd, that is, we confront a seemingly uncaring universe. Those who happily believe we are living in the best of all possible worlds are eventually profoundly disappointed.

While this is an interesting study, this ground has been covered before, but perhaps not so thoroughly, with such a huge population of study subjects.

Cheer up… but not too much… LOL

Be well, stay kind and Godspeed.

RESEARCH:

Dawson, C. (2023). Looking on the (B)right Side of Life: Cognitive Ability and Miscalibrated Financial Expectations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672231209400