221. Why Are We So Pessimistic?

Are things really as bad as they seem? Has Gen Z given up hope for the world? And why was the father of positive psychology a lifelong pessimist? SOURCES:Albert Bandura, professor of psychology at Stanford University.David Brooks, author and opinion columnist. Andrew Grove, former C.E.O. and chairman of Intel Corporation.Kalev Leetaru, founder of the GDELT Project.Steven Maier, professor of behavioral neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder.Michelle Obama, attorney, author, and former first lady of the United States.Steven Pinker, professor of psychology at Harvard University.Amanda Ripley, journalist and author.Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University.Edward Zigler, professor emeritus of psychology at Yale University. RESOURCES:"Chicken Littles Are Ruining America," by David Brooks (The Atlantic, 2024).Generations, by Jean Twenge (2023).Enlightenment Now, by Steven Pinker (2018)."The Short History of Global Living Conditions and Why It Matters That We Know It," by Max Roser (Our World in Data, 2016)."Learned Helplessness at Fifty: Insights from Neuroscience," by Steven F. Maier and Martin E. P. Seligman (Psychological Review, 2016)."Short- and Long-Term Consequences of Stressor Controllability in Adolescent Rats," by Kenneth H. Kubala, John P. Christianson, Steven F. Maier, et al. (Behavioural Brain Research, 2012).The Better Angels of Our Nature, by Steven Pinker (2011)."Forecasting Large-Scale Human Behavior Using Global News Media Tone in Time and Space," by Kalev Leetaru (First Monday, 2011)."Motivational Aspects of Changes in IQ Test Performance of Culturally Deprived Nursery School Children," by Edward Zigler and Earl C. Butterfield (Child Development, 1968)."Failure to Escape Traumatic Shock," by Martin E. P. Seligman and Steven F. Maier (Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1967).Upworthy. EXTRAS:"Why Is U.S. Media So Negative?" by Freakonomics Radio (2021). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.