Do Our Fundamental Beliefs about the Nature of the World Shape Our Own Lives and Humanity's Path Forward?

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In our current cultural climate, negativity is widespread. We're experiencing low levels of social trust and confidence in institutions. Many Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the future. Much of our public discourse focuses on what's wrong with the world, often overlooking the significant progress we've made over centuries and even recent decades. In previous newsletters, I've discussed how these negative attitudes can hinder both our personal psychological flourishing and broader human progress. In this newsletter, I want to share additional research that further supports this idea. This research specifically examines how our fundamental beliefs about the nature of the world relate to outcomes we typically associate with successful living.

Many individuals I've encountered who hold a negative view of the world argue that their perspective, while potentially disheartening, actually prepares them better for life's challenges. They often view those with positive outlooks as naive, believing that a rosy perspective sets one up for crushing disappointment when reality inevitably falls short of expectations. They contend that by expecting the worst, they're either pleasantly surprised when things go well or adequately prepared when they don't. But when it comes to the outcomes we associate with a good life—such as personal happiness, professional success, and meaningful relationships—who is more likely to thrive: those with more positive or more negative beliefs about the world?

A comprehensive study by Dr. Jeremy Clifton and Dr. Peter Meindl examined this question across multiple samples, totaling over 4,500 people in 48 different occupations. These samples included a diverse range of individuals, from college students to professionals such as lawyers, doctors, police officers, and professors.

At the core of their research lie what the researchers call "primal world beliefs," or simply "primals" - our most fundamental beliefs about the world's essential nature. At the most basic level (the primary primal), they distinguish between those who score high versus low on their belief that the world is generally a good place. The idea is that high scorers on this primary primal tend to see the world as "a delightful place that's beautiful, fascinating, safe, abundant, meaningful, improvable, and getting better." In contrast, low scorers tend to view it as "miserable, dangerous, ugly, meaningless, barren, impossible to change, and getting worse." The researchers also propose secondary and tertiary primals that contribute to this overall worldview.

To assess these fundamental perspectives, the researchers used the Primals Inventory, a tool designed to measure various primal world beliefs. These include whether the world is seen as safe or dangerous, beautiful or ugly, improving or declining, just or unjust, interesting or boring, among others. The researchers then examined the relationship between these primals and a wide range of outcomes reflective of physical, psychological, social, and professional flourishing.

The results were unequivocal: Across the board, more negative beliefs about the world were associated with worse outcomes. People with more negative primals experienced lower job success and job satisfaction. They reported substantially lower life satisfaction and moderately worse physical health. These beliefs were also linked to much higher rates of negative emotions and depression symptoms, as well as a moderately higher likelihood of having attempted suicide.

Perhaps most notably, those with negative primals scored dramatically lower on measures of psychological flourishing. Psychological flourishing, in this context, refers to a state of optimal mental health characterized by positive emotions, engagement, good relationships, a sense of meaning, and feelings of accomplishment. It's a holistic measure of wellbeing that goes beyond the mere absence of mental illness to encompass thriving in various aspects of life.

These findings challenge the notion that maintaining a negative worldview is somehow protective or beneficial. They suggest that cultivating a fundamentally positive view of the world - seeing it as generally good, safe, and improving - may actually set us up for greater success and wellbeing across many areas of life.

But I suspect the implications of these findings extend beyond individual wellbeing. As I've discussed in previous newsletters, positive attitudes are crucial not just for personal flourishing, but also for driving human progress. For example, research has shown that happy people are more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors and take action on issues they care about. This challenges the belief that being happy makes us complacent or indifferent to the world's problems. Moreover, positive emotions can foster the kind of open-mindedness and creative thinking that leads to new solutions for complex problems. For instance, according to the broaden-and-build theory, positive emotions expand our cognitive and behavioral repertoires, making us more willing to explore, accept new information, and think creatively.

On the flip side, the rise in mental health problems, particularly anxiety and depression, can undermine progress by hampering cooperative problem solving, risk-taking, innovation, and entrepreneurship. These activities require an openness to new possibilities and a positive mindset about the future—qualities that are often diminished by anxiety and depression.

In light of this, we can see how our primal world beliefs might have far-reaching consequences. By shaping our individual wellbeing and attitudes, these beliefs could indirectly influence our orientation toward progress. If we believe the world is fundamentally good, safe, and improving, we will be more confident that progress is possible, and thus more likely to engage in the behaviors that drive societal advancement.

This doesn't mean ignoring real threats or problems. But it does suggest that our baseline assumptions about the world's nature may be more influential than we realize, not just for our personal lives but for the trajectory of human progress.

In a cultural moment marked by negativity and pessimism, consciously cultivating a more positive worldview could be a powerful tool for personal flourishing and societal advancement.

I encourage you to reflect on your own primal world beliefs. Do you tend to see the world as basically good or bad? Safe or dangerous? Progressing or declining? How might shifting towards a more positive worldview impact your life and your engagement with the world around you? And how can we balance a positive worldview with the very real challenges that exist in our world?

Have a great weekend!

Clay