Welcome back, friends. Exam weeks was long and harsh, but now it's over. Hooray!
As for the blog posts, they're starting again and this time, oh boy, free topic for days (at least I hope so). So fasten your seat belts as we explore more random topics for no apparent reason.
Today's Topic : Optimism/Pessimism Bias
"Great, another bias. What's next? K-Drama bias? Anime bias? Jeez, at least talk about something positive."
Well, positive things aren't always fun to write. So... cliche and boring. I rather dig into negative stuff just to find out what causes them and how we can solve them. Doesn't that sound positive to you? Either way, let's jump into today's topic. I'm going to cover both Optimism bias and Pessimism bias in the same blog post, because they usually are found together in a statement. But before that, let's ask ourselves this common question that is used to test optimism and pessimism.
Is the cup half full or half empty?
If your answer is half full, congratulations, you're an optimist. If your answer is the latter, you're a pessimist. I'm more of neutral, because the cup is filled with half water, and half air, so it's always full.
So, what exactly is the Optimism Bias?
I'm glad you asked. According to several websites, studies, and of course, our best friend, Wikipedia, I can conclude that the Optimism Bias, in general, talks about how our minds always think that we are less likely to suffer from a misfortune, or more likely to attain success than reality would suggest. In short, we have hope that we can do well under any circumstances, even though the chances are slim. Best part about the optimism bias is that not only humans have them, but certain animals do too. Our mammal friends are getting better in this thinking thing.
The Optimism Bias can occur in two different scenarios, one being in a positive setting and the other the complete opposite. In a positive setting, when the bias sets in, it gives us more confidence, hope, and with that, increased our chances in succeeding more in a task that was unlikely to succeed previously.
But, the optimism bias can occur in a negative setting too, say, a smoker thinking that they have less chance of getting lung cancer than other smokers, and thus smoking more, bringing more adverse effects. It'll lead to overconfidence, making us engage in foolish behaviours that will only harm ourselves.
I'm not saying that Optimism is bad. In fact, researchers have found that the Optimism Bias is actually crucial for our daily lives, giving us motivation, hope, confidence, self-esteem to move on, to pursue our goals. Under the right circumstances, it is, indeed, powerful. In the research, the scientists found out that a healthy brain always seeks out optimism, where attempts to lose the Optimism Bias ended up strengthening it. Optimists have a longer lifespan compared to people who aren't optimistic too.
"wait wait... what about the Pessimism Bias? It should be the complete opposite, right?"
I appreciate the enthusiasm, reader. The Pessimism Bias is, well, you said it, the complete opposite. While the Optimism Bias tends to overestimate one's achievements or underestimate one's risks, the Pessimism Bias frequently over-exaggerates the likelihood of negative things happening to oneself. Well, that was easy to explain.
The thing about both Optimism bias and Pessimism Bias is that, none of them are completely good. The Optimism bias is a thinking bias you want to have more, but this time, just with more consideration since it has downsides as well. The Pessimism Bias, however, is something that you don't want to have, though most people in today's society are bound to have struck a deal with the devil of depression.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this random post. Tell me what you want me to research/discuss about for the next blog post. I'm serious. Comment down below. look at me I'm a youtuber
Have a nice weekend, everyone.
Cheers,
Chua.
"Great, another bias. What's next? K-Drama bias? Anime bias? Jeez, at least talk about something positive."
Well, positive things aren't always fun to write. So... cliche and boring. I rather dig into negative stuff just to find out what causes them and how we can solve them. Doesn't that sound positive to you? Either way, let's jump into today's topic. I'm going to cover both Optimism bias and Pessimism bias in the same blog post, because they usually are found together in a statement. But before that, let's ask ourselves this common question that is used to test optimism and pessimism.
Is the cup half full or half empty?
If your answer is half full, congratulations, you're an optimist. If your answer is the latter, you're a pessimist. I'm more of neutral, because the cup is filled with half water, and half air, so it's always full.
So, what exactly is the Optimism Bias?
I'm glad you asked. According to several websites, studies, and of course, our best friend, Wikipedia, I can conclude that the Optimism Bias, in general, talks about how our minds always think that we are less likely to suffer from a misfortune, or more likely to attain success than reality would suggest. In short, we have hope that we can do well under any circumstances, even though the chances are slim. Best part about the optimism bias is that not only humans have them, but certain animals do too. Our mammal friends are getting better in this thinking thing.
The Optimism Bias can occur in two different scenarios, one being in a positive setting and the other the complete opposite. In a positive setting, when the bias sets in, it gives us more confidence, hope, and with that, increased our chances in succeeding more in a task that was unlikely to succeed previously.
But, the optimism bias can occur in a negative setting too, say, a smoker thinking that they have less chance of getting lung cancer than other smokers, and thus smoking more, bringing more adverse effects. It'll lead to overconfidence, making us engage in foolish behaviours that will only harm ourselves.
I'm not saying that Optimism is bad. In fact, researchers have found that the Optimism Bias is actually crucial for our daily lives, giving us motivation, hope, confidence, self-esteem to move on, to pursue our goals. Under the right circumstances, it is, indeed, powerful. In the research, the scientists found out that a healthy brain always seeks out optimism, where attempts to lose the Optimism Bias ended up strengthening it. Optimists have a longer lifespan compared to people who aren't optimistic too.
"wait wait... what about the Pessimism Bias? It should be the complete opposite, right?"
I appreciate the enthusiasm, reader. The Pessimism Bias is, well, you said it, the complete opposite. While the Optimism Bias tends to overestimate one's achievements or underestimate one's risks, the Pessimism Bias frequently over-exaggerates the likelihood of negative things happening to oneself. Well, that was easy to explain.
The thing about both Optimism bias and Pessimism Bias is that, none of them are completely good. The Optimism bias is a thinking bias you want to have more, but this time, just with more consideration since it has downsides as well. The Pessimism Bias, however, is something that you don't want to have, though most people in today's society are bound to have struck a deal with the devil of depression.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this random post. Tell me what you want me to research/discuss about for the next blog post. I'm serious. Comment down below. look at me I'm a youtuber
Have a nice weekend, everyone.
Cheers,
Chua.
This is very informative but I already know most of the things. Why? I listen to you in class, we talk and stuff like this comes up frequently. At least your blog is able to educate people instead of ranting about life. I like this blog as it is simple to understand but not too simple that it is boring, good job on producing quality content and subcribe.
ReplyDeleteI can understand what you mean. I found it was easy to get and sort of makes me think of how we feel
ReplyDelete