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 chance of failure. However, because positive psychology is what

is currently catching all the attention, 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

benefit society?

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

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
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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 don not become reality. Additionally,

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

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

also show merit in the work place.

A common misconception about pessimists is that they mope around being sad and

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”. 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”. The ‘O’ and ‘P’ steps correlate with the ideals of defensive pessimism, in which

the require foreseeing possible obstacles and planning to take action against them.

Another benefit of pessimism, according to Good Therapy, is a possible increase in

longevity. 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.

The Argument Against Pessimism

Like all good things, pessimism also has a backfire. 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,
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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.” Additionally, she explains that pessimists show increased activity

in the right side of their brain versus the left, which is a similar symptom in those suffering from

depression. Finally, due to the workings and thought process of pessimism, its often thought to

be linked to anxiety as well.

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. 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.”

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
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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”.

Conclusion

From the sources I have now, it seems that I am able to keep moving in the direction I

originally intended with my capstone. The biggest problem that I am noticing with my research

is the conflicting points from both arguments. Although each has a side, positive psychology and

pessimism, some of the points they are making directly contradict each other, which is partially

to be expected because the ideas are somewhat abstract. Hopefully, I am able to sort through

these and discover which is more accurate with additional research; however, if I am not able to,

it is possible that I will have to slightly shift the focus of my capstone.

As of right now, my angle remains the same on my argument. I believe that there are

many potential benefits to pessimism that are being overlooked due the crave for being positive

and optimistic. In order for us to create a better society, we must look to different perspectives

such as pessimism to include and cover all possible angles.

Research List

(18 November 2015). Pessimism. Good Therapy. Retrieved from:

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/pessimism.

Celeiro, T. Pros and Cons of Positive Psychology. Academia. Retrieved from:

https://www.academia.edu/24507335/Pros_and_Cons_of_Positive_Psychology.

Hillman, Keith. (11 November 2014). The Psychology of Pessimism and Optimism.

Psychology24. Retrieved from: http://www.psychology24.org/the-psychology-of-

pessimism-and-optimism/.
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Khazan, O. (12 September 2014). The Upside of Pessimism. The Atlantic. Retrieved from:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/dont-think-positively/379993/.

Renehan, Mike. (28 July 2017). Are Pessimists More Productive Than Optimists? Hub Spot.

Retrieved from: https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/productivity-pessimism.

Tindle, Hillary. (21 June 2013). Why Pessimism Is Hazardous to Your Health. Next Avenue.

Retrieved from: https://www.nextavenue.org/why-pessimism-hazardous-your-health/.