According to a recent BBC radio programme on this topic, 80% of the population have a optimism bias, 10% doesn't have a systematic optimism bias one way or the another, and 10% have a pessimistic outlook.
Although I can't advise you how to think more optimistically, I can recommend this 30min podcast/programme on the topic. It is very informative and will give you lots of food for thought:
- The optimism outlook is a u-curve shape: high in young ages, drops in mid-life (the bottom of the U shape), then climbs again in older populations. How do we explain this? We don't know, but there are some theories e.g. mid-life can be a stressful time for many people.
- An optimism bias is good for people's mental health and physical health; optimists live longer.
- Pessimism can make some people work through lots of scenarios as a way of anticipating events and preparing for them i.e. stop those events from happening, manage the associated anxiety and take effective action. Also referred as 'defensive pessimism'.
- The Pessimist is less likely to be surprised or disappointed when things go wrong (because they anticipated different scenarios).
- There are nuances in different outlooks and it's too simplistic to say optimists do better.
- Are there cultural differences between countries? Can cultural norms particular to a country change our outlook? More research is needed, but the programme features a person's anecdotal experience from USA and Germany.
There is much more in the programme - it's a very stimulating listen.
Comments
According to a recent BBC radio programme on this topic, 80% of the population have a optimism bias, 10% doesn't have a systematic optimism bias one way or the another, and 10% have a pessimistic outlook.
Although I can't advise you how to think more optimistically, I can recommend this 30min podcast/programme on the topic. It is very informative and will give you lots of food for thought:
Which is better: Optimism or pessimism? https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1prd
Some points discussed in the programme:
- The optimism outlook is a u-curve shape: high in young ages, drops in mid-life (the bottom of the U shape), then climbs again in older populations. How do we explain this? We don't know, but there are some theories e.g. mid-life can be a stressful time for many people.
- An optimism bias is good for people's mental health and physical health; optimists live longer.
- Pessimism can make some people work through lots of scenarios as a way of anticipating events and preparing for them i.e. stop those events from happening, manage the associated anxiety and take effective action. Also referred as 'defensive pessimism'.
- The Pessimist is less likely to be surprised or disappointed when things go wrong (because they anticipated different scenarios).
- There are nuances in different outlooks and it's too simplistic to say optimists do better.
- Are there cultural differences between countries? Can cultural norms particular to a country change our outlook? More research is needed, but the programme features a person's anecdotal experience from USA and Germany.
There is much more in the programme - it's a very stimulating listen.
thanks for the link! I found your summary better than the programme itself. You picked the most important parts without the fluff.