Cognitive Biases That Convince You That the World Is Crumbling
The world seems to be in dire straits right now. If you turn on your TV or open your web browser, you are almost guaranteed to be bombarded with bad news. But is the world really doomed? Or is your animal brain tricking you? Lift your chin – things aren’t always as bad as they seem.
“Declinism” on the rise
First, most people think that the future of our country looks bleak. According to the American Psychological Association , 63 percent of Americans are worried about the future of the United States, and 59 percent believe that “this is the lowest point in the history of our country that they can remember.” This type of thinking is most likely caused by “ decadence, ” that is, the preconceived belief that a society or institution gets worse and worse over time – regardless of what the facts say. Basically, whenever you think that “things will never be as good as they used to be,” it’s a tendency to decline. I think I hear things like, “Wasn’t 2017 a terrible year?” or “It couldn’t be worse …” Wrong! It could definitely be worse, and it was. The further you go back in time, the worse it gets.
Of course, there are many problems that need to be addressed, but in reality the situation is gradually improving. If you look at the facts, the general welfare of the population is better than ever. You don’t need to look beyond the work of cognitive psychologist (and extreme optimist) Stephen Pinker . His works, such as Our Nature’s Best Angels and his forthcoming book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress , show how many “bad things” have been phased out ever since. , the dawn of history. So why does everything seem so bad now?
We look back with pink glasses
There are two main factors that contribute to our evasive attitude: biases known as flashbacks and positivity effects . The first, as clinical psychiatrist Dale Archer explains , is adults’ penchant for brighter, more enjoyable memories and nostalgia for events in adolescence and adulthood. Overall, when we look back at the good old days of our youth, the world tends to seem like a brighter and better place, but in reality we were less worried about work, perhaps we did not have to worry about money, and did not pay much attention to news.
On the other hand, the effect of positivity is that as we get older, we tend to remember more positive things than negative things. In one 2005 study , researchers found evidence of this brain trick in play, suggesting that older adults place more emphasis on regulating emotion by naturally retaining a higher percentage of positive memories. Basically, the older we get, the more we want to think only of the good from the past, and even when we try to look back with a critical eye that changes the way we see the world at these specific times.
According to Archer, the positive effect fits perfectly with the relief of memories:
As we age, the brain prefers not only to remember positive stimuli rather than negative ones, but also to emphasize positive and minimize negative memories. So if we are programmed to remember the past and highlight positive moments from those memories, is it any wonder that today seems so much worse than yesterday?
We cannot help but think about the past, present and future subjectively. But that’s not a flaw in our character, Archer observes, it’s just the way our brains work. You won’t be able to keep yourself from these biases, but knowing about them can help you stay objective.
We are drawn to the negativity in the present
Sometimes we forget that we, the powerful people, the conquerors of the planet, are just stupid animals, concerned about our own survival. This evolutionary drive for life has led our brains to be always on the lookout for threats, overestimate the dangers, and not dwell on positive things for too long not to calm down (which at some point would mean starving or being lunch for something else). ). This instinct is what we now call “ negative bias, ” which basically means that we pay much more attention to bad things than we do good things.
The bias mentioned may be good for our basic survival needs, but it gives us a rather pessimistic view of the modern world right in the womb. Not only are we programmed to look back with positive feelings, we are destined to see almost everything in the present with negative feelings. Thanks a lot, brain. Worse, people are aware of our negative bias, so marketers, politicians, and the media use this to their advantage. Have you ever wondered why the news is always terrible after terrible things? This is because they want ratings, and we love to stare at the world’s atrocities, whether we want to admit it or not. And if you are depressed, research like this in 2011 shows that negative bias can have an even stronger effect on you. It is a vicious circle of negativity that continues to feed itself, but this is how we are programmed.
We stick to our beliefs and that’s the problem
We all believe that we have a correct view of our country, the world and life itself. It’s okay to stick to your weapon – it’s natural. But when you add something like “ confirmation bias ” to the mix, we often become so deeply rooted in our beliefs that we miss the chance to break the endless chain of negativity. In case you’re unfamiliar, confirmation bias is our tendency to seek facts that only confirm our personal worldview and reject facts that challenge it. Basically, confirmation bias is selective withholding of facts, or a type of “wishful thinking”. We all do this, and therefore it is important to know about it.
Confirmation bias can be dangerous if left unchecked, but it is also the reason why we find it so difficult to shake off our pre-established cynical worldviews. We think that nowadays everything is terrible due to the bias towards negativity, we think that everything was better in the past due to the burst of memories and the effect of positivity, and we think that in the future things will get worse due to the decline. Confirmation bias is the cherry on top of our sad brain ice cream. Shoot, I’m sure right now you’re thinking, “No, it’s terrible. Let me find a few facts that I will show you. ” But here’s the problem! We need to stop looking only for the bad and try to find the good. There are more of them than you think.
None of this means the world is free of problems, but knowing these cognitive biases can help you see the world in a different light – or at least understand why you think things look so terrible. Never lose sight of the problems that need to be solved, but don’t let your brain’s gloomy view of the world freeze you in despair.