The upside of being an asshole…
Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
Correlating your asshole-ish behavior with a consoling “silver lining” of virtue is enough to stimulate that corresponding virtuous behavior according to recent research from glorious NYU.
For example, a human who is quite negativistic might believe that their negativity tends to make them more realistic (that happens to be somewhat true, BTW).
The study found that those who mentally endorsed the idea that being impulsive was linked to greater creativity, demonstrated greater creativity on a subsequent assessment.
Alexandra Wesnousky, the study’s lead author, summed it up:
“People know that a weakness can also be a strength, but these results show that if we actually believe it, we can use these beliefs to our advantage.”
How the study was conducted
In the study, the study subjects did not have to be impulsive themselves, but some of them were manipulated into believing they were impulsive by the design of the research.
One half of the research subjects were punked by being told told that there was a scientifically proven link between impulsiveness and creativity, while the other half were told the link was bullsh*t.
In fact, until this study was published, there was no conclusive research either way — the researchers fabricated the ‘science’ to manipulate the study subjects to see what would happen next. LOL.
The study showed that subjects who believed the silver lining that linked creativity with impulsiveness as a sort of compensatory “silver lining” actually performed measurably better on a subsequent creativity test than those in the group who were told otherwise.
While this research only tested the silver lining link between impulsiveness and creativity, the study subjects freely endorsed all sorts of other beneficial silver linings upsides to asshole behavior.
Belief has power…
Here are some of the other silver linings that people endorsed about themselves (negative trait first, then the compensatory silver lining):
Negative: Silver Lining:
Careless— Happy-Go-Lucky, Good-Natured.
Depressed — Pragmatic, Tough-Minded, Realistic.
Fear of Failure — Passion for Excellence, Driven to Excel.
Lazy Slacker — Patient, Careful, Prudent, not Impulsive.
Indecisive — Thorough, Meticulous Conscientious.
Pessimistic — Realistic. Good BS detector.
Shy — Modest, Gentle, Unassuming.
Final Thoughts on silver lining assholes…
The truth behind a compensatory silver lining behavior is not as powerful as the belief that it is true.
It seems most humans are somehow convinced that their asshole traits have a silver lining upside.
While this is obviously a piece of research on defensiveness, it’s noteworthy how our belief in our better angels does beckon them to visit us from time to time.
This can be a good thing when we pursue consistency in enhancing our compensating silver lining virtue.
And by the way, I’m not crass and vulgar… I’m blunt and plain-spoken. LOL!
Be well, stay kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
Holding a Silver Lining Theory: When Negative Attributes Heighten Performance VL - 57 DO - 10.1016/j.jesp.2014.11.001 JO - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology ER - TY - JOUR AU - Wesnousky, Alexandra AU - Oettingen, Gabriele AU - Gollwitzer, Peter PY - 2014/11/18 SP - T1 -
