Defensive pessimism: what is it, characteristics, and advantages and disadvantages?

What is defensive pessimism and how does it influence our way of interpreting the world?

When someone is going to face in the near future a complicated activity (e.g., a competitive examination, a sports competition) or a situation that is compromising (e.g., giving a speech in public), he or she may have an optimistic view or, on the contrary, a defensive pessimism view.

When one has a defensive pessimistic view of a future event, the person tends to think that something is going to go wrong when that dreaded moment arrives, so that he or she may suffer anticipatory anxiety and have negative expectations about it.

In this article we will see in more detail what the concept of defensive pessimism consists of.The consequences of having a pessimistic outlook and also how it influences people's self-esteem.

What is defensive pessimism?

When we use the concept of defensive pessimism in the field of psychology we are referring to the mechanism of action used by people on those occasions when they want to protect themselves from a certain future situation, so that they put themselves in the position of being pessimistic.In this way, they put themselves in the worst-case scenario and so, in the event that it is fulfilled, or things do not go as well as they would like, the person feels that they had previously prepared themselves to assume this negative result.

There are people who face certain situations that they consider complicated or compromising in some way (for example, a sports competition, an exam, a job interview, etc.) with a defensive pessimism. to avoid disappointment and disillusionment if things do not turn out as desired.In this way, they start from the idea that things will not go well for them in a situation that requires a certain effort, so they commit themselves less than necessary.

When a person uses the mechanism of being pessimistic about a future event in order not to be disappointed, as we have said, he usually makes less effort than he should to make things go well. Then it is most likely that his prediction that the situation he has to face will not turn out well will be fulfilled, so that what in psychology is usually called a negative self-fulfilling prophecy will be fulfilled. This fact can feed back their pessimism in the face of future similar situations.

It is frequent that a person who frequently shields himself in defensive pessimism also use excuses to justify yourself for not having made the effort or not having spent the time or not having spent the necessary time to make the feared situation come out well, because in his mind he could feel a kind of cognitive dissonance due to the fact that what he is doing does not fit in with the objectives he had set for himself some time ago.

Let us now give an example to better understand what the concept of defensive pessimism consists of, and also the excuses that the person makes to break with this cognitive dissonance that has formed in his mind.

Let us imagine the case of a student who is preparing for a very important exam, such as a competitive examination.such as a competitive examination to obtain a position in a public office. When you start preparing for the exam, it is normal to have an optimistic outlook and good intentions; however, as time goes by, defensive pessimism may emerge, so that thoughts will arise in your mind telling you that it is very difficult to pass, that nobody gets the exam on the first try, and many more of the same kind.

Then, it is probable that little by little you will make less and less effort, at the same time that your defensive pessimism will increase. So when he takes the exam, in case he does not get a place, he will feel that his pessimistic thoughts were true and, as a cognitive dissonance arises in his mind because deep down he knows that he has not worked as hard as he should to get that place, he will look for any argument to justify his lower performance, such as that it was too difficult, that it was not worth wasting time, etc.

Relationship of defensive pessimism with self-esteem.

In most cases, defensive pessimism is usually closely related to low levels of self-esteem..

Therefore, people who choose to focus on the negative and pessimistic side of some future event have a tendency to belittle themselves, so they go so far as not to face a series of situations that require a certain degree of effort and courage for fear of ending up failing. This causes that the person is disadvantaged with respect to others more optimistic.

• Related article, "Do you really know what self-esteem is?"

Defensive pessimism and optimism.

The opposite pole of having a vision from the defensive pessimism in front of a situation or next objective, would be to have an optimistic vision. Although it should be noted that people are not usually completely at one extreme or the other and that these perspectives can change throughout life depending on the experiences lived and the effort that the person has been able to make.

It can also happen that the same person has an optimistic outlook in certain areas (e.g., sports) and a pessimistic outlook in others (e.g., academics).

In contrast to pessimistic people optimists have a tendency to see things from a more global perspective.They always have in mind the virtues they possess and that will allow them to achieve their objectives and they are also aware that they have certain limitations, and it may be the case that they do not achieve the goal towards which they are heading; however, they do not throw in the towel and try to focus only on what is the only thing they can control, their day-to-day actions.

For example, in a situation where an optimistic person is preparing for a competitive examination, he will try not to lose sight of his goal and will try to maintain his positive outlook because he is aware that he has a chance, even though he knows that there is also a good chance that he will not get a place. However, He prefers to think that he can get the position and that what can lead him to it is to have an optimistic vision and to focus on working day by day, while continuing to make progress in the subject.without stopping progressing in the syllabus.

The useful side of defensive pessimism

Both a completely optimistic view, as well as a view from a defensive pessimism in most cases could be harmful to people.

An excess of optimism could cause the person to be overconfidentThis may cause the person to feel too little pressure and to make less effort than he/she should, so that the results may be worse than expected, leading to great disappointment.

On the contrary, having a mostly pessimistic view would cause a low motivation in the face of any challenge that the person would have to face in his life, so that he would not make enough effort and, therefore, the most common is that he would fail.

However, to a fair extent, although there is much disparity about it, it is worth noting that there is research in this regard that found that a certain degree of defensive pessimism may be a personal protection mechanism against suffering any disappointment, and by being prepared in advance for the and, by being prepared in advance for the possible future failure, the person can also get a head start in preparing to face the failure and look for a way to get out of the situation.

Seen in this way, a defensive pessimist tends to be prepared for the worst outcome, and may even have experienced higher levels of anxiety prior to the event than when the imagined failure actually occurs.

Likewise, a view from a defensive pessimism, by allowing the person to anticipate a possible failure, so that the tension that it can generate would cause the person to be alert at all times, would cause the person to use all kinds of strategies in order to avoid that possible failure and to devise some alternative plan and to devise some alternative plan to which he could opt when things do not turn out in a positive way. This could be called adaptive defensive pessimism.