Holding cynical beliefs about human nature can be detrimental to your income, suggests a study by Olga Stavrova and Daniel Ehlebracht at the University of Cologne. In three longitudinal studies that analyzed nationally representative samples of the United States and Germany across different time spans and using different measures of cynicism and income, the researchers found that individuals who were classified as more cynical at baseline earned comparatively lower incomes both two and nine years later. They posit that cynical individuals might lack the ability (or willingness) to rely on others, as they are likely to suspect other people’s motives and to avoid asking for help. However, these negative effects disappeared in sociocultural contexts with low levels of pro-social behavior, high homicide rates, and high overall societal cynicism levels, which suggests that being cynical has negative economic outcomes unless such beliefs hold true.
Source: Cynical Beliefs About Human Nature and Income: Longitudinal and Cross-Cultural Analyses
