Editing Pessimism (section)

==As a psychological disposition==
In the [[ancient world]], psychological pessimism was associated with [[Melancholia|melancholy]], and was believed to be caused by an excess of [[black bile]] in the body. The study of pessimism has parallels with the study of [[Depression (mood)|depression]]. Psychologists trace pessimistic attitudes to emotional pain or even biology. [[Aaron Beck]] argues that depression is due to unrealistic negative views about the world. Beck starts treatment by engaging in conversation with clients about their unhelpful thoughts. Pessimists, however, are often able to provide arguments that suggest that their understanding of reality is justified; as in [[Depressive realism]] or ([[Cultural pessimism|pessimistic realism]]).<ref name="ben" /> Deflection is a common method used by those who are depressed. They let people assume they are revealing everything which proves to be an effective way of hiding.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kirszner |first=Laurie |url=https://archive.org/details/patternsforcolle0000unse/page/477 |title=Patterns for College Writing |date=January 2012 |publisher=Bedford/St.Martins |isbn=978-0-312-67684-1 |location=United States |page=[https://archive.org/details/patternsforcolle0000unse/page/477 477]}}</ref> The pessimism item on the [[Beck Depression Inventory]] has been judged useful in predicting [[suicide]]s.<ref>{{citation |last1=Beck |first1=AT |title=Hopelessness and eventual suicide: a 10-year prospective study of patients hospitalized with suicidal ideation |journal=American Journal of Psychiatry |volume=142 |issue=5 |pages=559–563 |year=1985 |citeseerx=10.1.1.462.6328 |doi=10.1176/ajp.142.5.559 |pmid=3985195 |last2=Steer |first2=RA |last3=Kovacs |first3=M}}</ref> The [[Beck Hopelessness Scale]] has also been described as a measurement of pessimism.<ref>{{citation |last1=Beck |first1=AT |title=The measurement of pessimism: the hopelessness scale |journal=Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=861–5 |year=1974 |publisher=Journal of Consulting and Clinical |doi=10.1037/h0037562 |pmid=4436473 |last2=Weissman |first2=A |last3=Lester |first3=D |last4=Trexler |first4=L}}</ref>

Wender and Klein point out that pessimism can be useful in some circumstances: "If one is subject to a series of defeats, it pays to adopt a conservative game plan of sitting back and waiting and letting others take the risks. Such waiting would be fostered by a pessimistic outlook. Similarly if one is raking in the chips of life, it pays to adopt an expansive risk-taking approach, and thus maximize access to scarce resources."<ref>{{citation |last1=Wender |first1=PH |title=Mind, Mood and Medicine |year=1982 |publisher=New American Library |last2=Klein |first2=DF}}</ref>

The leading causes of pessimism are [[genetics]], past experience, and social and environmental factors. One study of 5,187 teenage twins and their siblings suggests that genetics may account for one-third of the variance in whether someone leans toward pessimism vs. [[optimism]], with the remaining variance due to their environment, and [[twin studies]] suggest that, when it comes to personality, about half the differences between us are because of genetic factors. But Spector points out that throughout our lives, in response to environmental factors, our genes are constantly being dialled up and down as with a dimmer switch, a process known as [[epigenetics]].<ref> {{Cite journal |last1=Mavioğlu |first1=Rezan Nehir |last2=Boomsma |first2=Dorret I. |last3=Bartels |first3=Meike |date=2015-11-01 |title=Causes of individual differences in adolescent optimism: a study in Dutch twins and their siblings |journal=European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry |language=en |volume=24 |issue=11 |pages=1381–1388 |doi=10.1007/s00787-015-0680-x |issn=1435-165X |pmc=4628618 |pmid=25638288}}</ref><ref> {{Cite news |date=2013-07-10 |title=Can science explain why I'm a pessimist? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23229014 |access-date=2024-09-05 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} </ref>