GRATITUDE INTERVENTION, PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL OUTCOMES OF DEFENSIVE PESSIMISTS

Abstract

Defensive pessimism is a strategy where individuals set low expectations for their performance and engage in negative reflections about possible outcomes. Although positivity has been shown to impair performance of defensive pessimists, past research is insufficient to support the notion that positivity is inherently harmful for these individuals. This study fills the gaps by examining the effects of one specific aspect of positivity (i.e., gratitude) on defensive pessimists without interfering with their strategy. A between-subjects experiment with 119 undergraduates from the National University of Singapore was conducted to examine if gratitude can improve psychological outcomes of defensive pessimists without compromising their good performance. Results did not support our overall hypothesis; while the good performance of defensive pessimists was maintained, gratitude did not improve psychological outcomes. Contrary to past research however, this study demonstrated that positivity is not inherently harmful for defensive pessimists – gratitude did not impair performance when pessimists engaged in their usual strategy of negative reflection. This highlights the importance of not interfering with their strategy and the need to be cognisant about individual differences when advocating for positive psychology interventions.