From: Scientific American
Optimists Are Alike, but Pessimists Are Unique, Brain Scan Study Suggests
July 22, 2025
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Optimism and pessimism aren’t unchanging traits; they tend to shift with age, although the trajectories vary from culture to culture. Nor is optimism an unquestioned good. “Extreme optimism might not always be a good thing because we might not plan for the future as well as we should,” says Aleea Devitt, a psychologist at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, who studies future thinking. And “pessimism may be a useful ‘positive’ trait in some situations; there’s evidence that some people can be defensive pessimists, which can actually help them better prepare for the future.”
Read the whole story (subscription may be required): Scientific American
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