If asked, most people could tell you whether they believe they are an optimist, or a pessimist. I was first told that I was a pessimist when I was around seven years old, after a tearful tantrum about how the tigers would all be dead by the time I grew up. The adult who told me this spoke about my pessimism as if it were something concrete and immutable, and so I believed it was. As it turns out, the very fact that I believed that my pessimism could not be controlled made it much less likely that I would bother trying to become more optimistic.
Pessimism can be defined as holding negative expectations for the outcomes of current and future endeavors (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). While an optimist may believe that expanded conservation efforts will cause tiger populations to rebound and thrive, a pessimist doubts that anything can be done about the matter. Because the pessimist doubts that anything can or will be done to save the tigers, it is more likely that they will become de-motivated and not even bother trying to find workable solutions.
While research is always in flight to determine how people become pessimists or optimists, it stands to reason that a person who repeatedly has their expectations dashed may become less than hopeful for positive future outcomes. This circumstance, I believe, bears a great deal of resemblance to “learned helplessness”. The term “learned helplessness” was first coined when researchers subjected dogs to repeated electrical shocks that the dogs had no way of controlling or stopping (Dingfelder, 2009). Eventually, these dogs stopped trying to end the shocks, and instead just laid there. Even when the dogs were given the means to stop the shocks, they didn’t make an effort to do so. The dogs had, presumably, learned that their efforts to stop the shocks were futile, and therefore stopped making any effort. In this way, the researchers created something resembling doggie pessimists.
The common thread between my belief that my pessimism was a concrete quality and the dogs receiving shocks is that we didn’t believe that we had any control over our outcomes. When we believe we have appropriate control over a situation, we feel hope that we can create better results. Two patterns of thought can cause hope to arise within people, and those who score above average in these patterns of thinking are more likely to also engage in optimistic thinking (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). The first pattern is called “pathway thinking” and is seen in people who know the ways in which they can reach their goals. They are flexible in their methods, in such that if one solution fails they can pivot to another solution. The second type of thinking is “agency thinking” and can be seen in people who truly believe that they will be able to attain their goals and believe that they have the willpower to do so. Both types of thinking reflect a strong sense of individual control over circumstances and outcomes. In other words, when we believe we are in control, we tend to expect better outcomes.
My favorite part of this revelation is that research indicates that actually being in control hardly matters at all, so long as we believe we are. When people were put in a room and subjected to random loud noises, those that had a button they could push that they believed controlled the frequency of the noise were much less stressed out than those who had no button (Sapolsky, 2004). This is important because if we can find ways to help people feel more in control of their circumstances, it would likely lead to higher rates of pathway and agency thinking, and from there hope would arise (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). One such way psychologists are trying to improve levels of optimism in society is through “attribution retraining interventions”, which focus on discrediting pessimistic beliefs or attributions, and increasing optimistic ones. This type of intervention has shown a great deal of success with improving various aspects of its subjects’ lives, and holds great future promise.
By giving people a greater sense of control over their lives, we can increase social optimism and hope in the likelihood of positive future outcomes. A more hopeful and optimistic population is a population that is more likely to take action to help themselves, their circumstances, and maybe even the tigers.
References
Dingfelder, S. F. (2009). Old Problems, New Tools. Monitor On Psychology,40(9), 40.
Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (3rd ed.). New York: Henry Holt and Company
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
I really like your ideas about how to improve optimism in society and how you have recognized that as a societal problem and not just an individual one. I wonder also if people are a “product of their own environment” or perhaps they are subjected to others in a way that supports the idea that “misery loves company”, the more pessimism grows maybe it also spreads to others. After a while, perhaps those that are more vulnerable fall into a negative way of thinking. Also, to coincide with that thought, does positivity breed positivity? Does the group you are subjected to or perhaps interact daily with, no matter through choice or perhaps assignment, think optimistically or pessimistically? How do we end the spread and create a more positive atmosphere? I liked your ideas about setting tones for people to believe they have control, even if they don’t actually have control over a situation. Just believing that they have some sort of rule over their environment might be a great place to start. Encouraging others to realize how many other choices they really do have, such as job placement, housing, everyday decisions that often are taken for granted like what to have for lunch, coffee consumption, how to spend the evening. Many of those are within our control and helping others to realize they have the ability to change those choices, even if they choose not too, may help to encourage some positivity and optimism. Interesting points of view, I really enjoyed your perspective on these ideas.