Category: Happiness

Around 80 percent of people are thought to be optimists, but does that make you happier?

Realists are significantly happier than both pessimists and optimists in the long-run.

Pessimism and optimism are personality traits that lie at opposite ends of a spectrum.

Realists, meanwhile, sit halfway in between, occupying the middle ground.

Optimists may suffer in the long-term because they are often disappointed.

The regular disappointment can end up being a stronger emotion than the pleasure gained from anticipating positive outcomes.

The most optimistic people are 13.5 percent less happy than realists, the study found.

Around 80 percent of people are thought to be optimists.

The problem for pessimists is perhaps more obvious: they are constantly dreading the worst.

This dread can overtake any benefits gained from things turning out better than expected.

The most pessimistic people are 21.8 percent less happy than realists, the study also found.

Both optimists and pessimists make decisions based on biased false beliefs.

Dr Chris Dawson, study co-author, said:

“Plans based on inaccurate beliefs make for poor decisions and are bound to deliver worse outcomes than would rational, realistic beliefs, leading to lower well-being for both optimists and pessimists.

Particularly prone to this are decisions on employment, savings and any choice involving risk and uncertainty.

I think for many people, research that shows you don’t have to spend your days striving to think positively might come as a relief.

We see that being realistic about your future and making sound decisions based on evidence can bring a sense of well-being, without having to immerse yourself in relentless positivity.”

The study included 1,601 people who were tracked for over 18 years.

They reported their life satisfaction and any psychological distress each year.

People were also asked about their finances and their tendency to over- or under-estimate them.

The results showed that realists were most satisfied with their lives (life satisfaction is a measure of overall happiness, in contrast to momentary pleasure).

The study was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (de Meza & Dawson, 2020).

Acting out this personality trait makes people feel happier.

Acting like an extravert makes people feel happier — even natural introverts.

Both extraverts and introverts report greater well-being after a week spent being more talkative, assertive and spontaneous.

It is the first study to report the benefits of acting like an extravert over such an extended period.

The study also demonstrates that people who are naturally introverted can enjoy this exercise as much as extraverts.

‘Faux’ extraverts (people who are really introverts) reported no problems acting as extraverts.

Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, the study’s first author, said:

“The findings suggest that changing one’s social behavior is a realizable goal for many people, and that behaving in an extraverted way improves well-being.”

For the study, 123 people were asked to act like extraverts for one week and introverts for another week.

During the extravert week, participants were told to be talkative, assertive and spontaneous.

During the introvert week, they were told to be more deliberate, quiet and reserved.

People were informed that acting like an introvert and like an extravert is beneficial.

This was to try and dampen the effects of participants’ expectations.

The results showed that people felt better after a week acting as an extravert and worse after the week as an introvert.

The positive effect on well-being is the largest known among happiness interventions.

Surprisingly, acting like an extravert seems to cause people’s personality to shift in that direction.

Professor Lyubomirsky said:

“It showed that a manipulation to increase extraverted behavior substantially improved well-being.

Manipulating personality-relevant behavior over as long as a week may be easier than previously thought, and the effects can be surprisingly powerful.”

Related

• Happiness Hacks: 20 Simple Strategies For A Brighter, Joy-Filled Life (P)
• The Happiness Paradox: 7 Ways Pursuing Pleasure Backfires (P)

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (Margolis & Lyubomirsky, 2019).