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News + Trends

Extreme optimists are simple-minded

Spektrum der Wissenschaft
7.2.2024
Translation: machine translated

Overly optimistic people perform worse in cognitive tests than those who are more realistic or even pessimistic about their own progress.

Decisions on important financial issues such as investments, employment or savings were particularly susceptible to this effect and sometimes had serious consequences for the individual. The author surmises that intelligent individuals are more capable of suppressing automatic optimistic reactions when existential matters are at stake.

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Originalartikel auf Spektrum.deTitelbild: © kieferpix / Getty Images / iStock (Ausschnitt) Extreme Optimisten überschätzen etwa, wie viel sie zukünftig verdienen oder wie lange sie leben werden. Eine solche rosarote Brille kann zu systematischen Entscheidungsfehlern führen.

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