Dr Jamil Zaki is a psychologist, a professor at Stanford University, and an author. In a world filled with fake news, bad news and doom, it’s easy to become cynical. But what does science say about whether cynicism helps or harms us? Why is it so seductive, and how can we all learn to become more hopeful? Expect to learn why people are so tempted by cynicism, how scepticism is different, if cynical people are more or less happy, healthy, intelligent and successful, whether there is a reason to feel more hopeful, the role of optimism in your life, how to cultivate more positivity and much more…
Defining and Understanding Cynicism
- Psychologically, cynicism is a theory about people: the belief that individuals are generally selfish, greedy, and dishonest, leading to an unwillingness to trust them.
- Cynicism is considered the result of turning the "negativity bias" into an entire worldview. Negativity bias is the ancient, useful tendency of the mind to pay more attention to harmful or threatening information than positive information.
- A cynic not only focuses on negative information but elevates this bias into a philosophy, using it to predict a negative future.
- Cynicism acts as a "safety blanket" or preemptive strike against perceived threats, setting oneself up against disappointment and the pain of betrayal or failure. It is described as folding every hand in poker immediately to guarantee not losing in a big way.
- Comedian George Carlin’s quote, "if you scratch a cynic you'll find a disappointed idealist," suggests cynicism often stems from being hurt and seeking safety, not necessarily from contempt.
The Behaviours and Detrimental Effects of Cynicism
Unwillingness to Trust: Cynics are much less willing to trust in all settings, including strangers, public figures, and even friends and family. They view trust—decisions where one puts their well-being in another's hands—as "for suckers".
Preemptive Strikes: Believing everyone is selfish leads cynics to go on the attack first; they are more likely to spy on, threaten, or act selfishly themselves, as they assume others will do the same.
Negative Outcomes: Cynicism is immensely dangerous in the long term, causing individuals to slowly lose what makes life fulfilling (connection, friendship, collaboration). Cynics, over time, become more depressed and lonely, suffer from heart disease, and die younger (higher all-cause mortality).
Professional and Financial Harm: Cynics perform more poorly professionally and earn less money over their careers. They view leadership as taking advantage of others, which fails because rising to the top requires building teams and relationships based on trust and collaboration.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Cynicism can bring out the worst in other people, acting as a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, a fire chief who treated his entire staff like cheaters saw sick days double, as employees decided to live up to the selfish person their boss assumed they were.
Cynicism vs. Wisdom: The Cynical Genius Illusion
- The "cynical genius illusion" is the widespread belief that cynics are smarter, more sophisticated, and better able to spot lies than non-cynics.
- This belief is incorrect: data shows cynics do less well on cognitive tests and are worse at spotting liars than non-cynics.
- Cynicism is seen as a version of naivety, not its opposite. A gullible person unthinkingly trusts everyone, while a cynical person unthinkingly trusts no one; neither evaluates the evidence of each situation as it comes in.
- Cynicism can appear to be thoughtful, but it is often a replacement for genuine intellect and thinking. Societal acceptance often glamorizes the cynic, which encourages more cynicism.
- The high visibility of negative or critical commentary on platforms like YouTube means people are often learning from non-typical, "tail-end outcomes" and mistakenly assuming that is the average reality of the world.
The Contagiousness and Fragility of Trust
- Cynicism is highly contagious because if one person in a group expresses distrust, everyone else pulls back from vulnerability.
- Trust is fragile: it takes years to earn and seconds to lose. People exhibit "betrayal aversion," making highly risk-averse decisions when a social gamble is involved, even if the odds are positive.
- Negative gossip proliferates three times more easily than positive information. If one person cheats in a group of four, the three co-operators will all gossip about the cheater, making it appear as though the entire group is untrustworthy.
Drivers of Increasing Societal Cynicism
- Cynicism has been on the rise in the US for at least 50 years, contributing to a "trust recession".
Economic Inequality: Places and times with greater economic inequality tend to be less trusting because inequality fosters a "zero-sum mindset" (anything you gain, I lose).
Media Saturation: Constant media and social media saturation exploit the negativity bias. Content is designed to keep people clicking, often by being as negative as possible, rather than making them happy or wise. People who watch more news tend to have a bleaker, more inaccurate view of the world (e.g., believing violent crime is increasing when statistics show it is decreasing).
Upbringing and Attachment: Insecure attachment styles, often stemming from childhood experiences of feeling alone, unsafe, or that caregivers were unreliable, predispose individuals to becoming less trusting or cynical adults.
Shifting from Cynicism to Healthy Skepticism
- The truly wise philosophy is skepticism, where one approaches each person and situation as its own experiment, without a blanket assumption of good or bad.
- Practicing skepticism requires effort—it is easier to default to cynicism than to evaluate every new encounter.
- Compartmentalising cynicism, applying it only where appropriate (e.g., mistrusting a poker opponent, but trusting family members), transforms it into a much wiser, productive strategy.
- The belief that the average person is more trustworthy, generous, and friendlier than cynics realize can motivate this shift.
The Importance of Hope as an Active Strategy
- Hope is distinct from optimism. Optimism is the passive belief that the future *will* turn out well, which can lead to complacency and is fragile in the face of disappointment.
- Hope is the belief that things *could* turn out well. This uncertainty creates room for personal actions to matter, making hope action-oriented.
- Hope should be a plan, specifically involving three steps:
- Envisioning a precise, reachable future.
- Charting a specific map/pathway (actions needed) to reach that future.
- Taking the necessary steps to walk along that path.
- Hope is particularly useful for those facing adversity, transforming gigantic, overwhelming goals into smaller, manageable steps, which restores a sense of agency.
Practical Tools for Overcoming Cynicism
Be Skeptical of Cynical Thoughts: Treat internal cynical thoughts like a scientific hypothesis and demand evidence. Since most cynical thoughts lack evidence, this helps break the mental loop.
Adopt a Reciprocity Mindset: Realise that trust is a gift: when you trust people, they are more likely to step up and meet those expectations, creating virtuous self-fulfilling prophecies.
Encounter Counting: Use a notebook to record the details of significant daily conversations to compare reality to your memory (which is skewed negative). This helps counteract the negativity bias by bringing the "quiet goodness" into focus.
Take Leaps of Faith: Consciously take social risks, such as being more vulnerable or quicker to say when you are struggling, rather than suffering in silence. This often yields surprisingly positive results, although it counters the highly ingrained social risk-aversion many people have.
Balance Media Diet: Log off of social media whenever possible. Actively seek out the other half of the story by consuming "solutions journalism" (e.g., Solutions Journalism Network) that focuses on people solving problems, rather than solely consuming the toxic, empty calories of sensationalist news.
Cynicism and Personal Transformation
- Many scientists and experts, including Dr. Zaki, confess to struggling with cynicism; Dr. Zaki's research on the topic was partly an attempt to harmonise his inner life with his professional persona.
- Overcoming cynicism is framed as a long process akin to "rehabilitation".
- The feeling of discomfort and unsafety (tightness, tension) when faced with a social risk is common, but hope is the social equivalent of risk-taking required in high-performance or athletic domains.
- A willingness to take social risks is essential for the greatest achievements in life: friendship, collaboration, and love.
Chapters
00:06:10 The Cynicism Safety Blanket
00:15:11 How to Spot a Cynical Person
00:22:05 Is Cynicism Contagious?
00:26:58 Can Someone Be Universally Cynical?
00:30:51 How Cynicism Has Grown Over Time
00:37:09 Does Childhood Impact Cynicism?
00:41:28 Tools to Combat Cynicism
00:56:05 Why This Was Personal for Jamil
01:03:48 Advice for People Who Want to Take More Risks
01:07:27 Where to Find Jamil