“What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing,“ wrote Oscar Wilde. A cynic is a callous, ruthless person who acts in a cold and calculated way, following only his or her own selfish motives with no respect for others. For many people, cynicism is not just an intellectual pose, but a real lifestyle. If you tend to behave cynically and consider it an advantage in your life, try to think again. The level of your cynicism is in fact inversely proportional to the amount of your earnings. Cynics simply earn less money.
That is the main finding of the study, Cynical Beliefs about Human Nature and Income which was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Its authors are Olga Stavrova and Daniel Ehlebracht, associate researchers from the Institute of Sociology and Social Psychology at University in Cologne, Germany. The study summarized a series of research studies based on analysis of data from the US and Germany.
Cynics lose about $300 a month
The first two sub-studies focused on cynicism and the amount of earnings in the US. Both of them proved that a higher level of cynicism was related to lower incomes. The third study analyzed a sample of more than 16,000 German respondents. It turned out that after nine years, people with a lower level of cynicism earn on average $300 more a month than their more cynical colleagues.
The reason may be that cynics trust others less and are less wiling to cooperate. They are suspicious and reluctant to ask for help when they need it. “For example, employees who believe others to be exploitative and dishonest are likely to avoid collaborative projects and to forgo the related opportunities,” explained Olga Stavrova. "Similarly, cynical individuals might be likely to over invest resources on protecting themselves from potential deceit, “covering their backs” at costs of focusing on their jobs."
The entire study is available for download at the website of the American Psychological Association here.
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