Insanity is often seen as a tendency to think irrationally, act unreasonably, and distort reality. But could these things actually be good for you? If distorting reality makes you happy, can you really be considered insane? And isn’t “going to your happy place” just the creation of a fictional reality to make us feel better?
I’m cringing a little as I post this bit of pseudoscience, because I know of at least two vocal grad-school psych students who read this blog regularly. But what the heck, I love this sort of thing.
Damn Interesting reports:
In 1988, psychologists Shelly Taylor and Jonathon Brown published an article making the somewhat disturbing claim that positive self-deception is a normal and beneficial part of most people’s everyday outlook. They suggested that average people hold cognitive biases in three key areas: a) viewing themselves in unrealistically positive terms; b) believing they have more control over their environment than they actually do; and c) holding views about the future that are more positive than the evidence can justify. The typical person, it seems, depends on these happy delusions for the self-esteem needed to function through a normal day. It’s when the fantasies start to unravel that problems arise.
[…] It has often been asserted that within every delusional system, there exists a core of truth—and in their pursuit of imagined conspiracies against them, these individuals often show an exceptionally keen eye for the real thing. People who interact with them may be taken aback as they find themselves accused of harboring some negative opinion of the person which, secretly, they actually do hold. Complicating the issue, of course, is the fact that if the supposed aversion didn’t exist before, it likely does after such an unpleasant encounter.
Image via boldspark.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Rawda // Mar 27, 2009 at 10:35 am
I don’t know if I would call it “insanity”, I mean what is the difference between this and power of intent? or self-fulfilling prophecy?
I wouldn’t go as far as “creating reality” to feel better every morning…
But I agree with it being extremely healthy for people to be “insane”; if all our dreams were as big as our realities, then humanity would have never achieved so many goals -that seemed so unattainable at the time- in this life.
2 Rawda // Mar 27, 2009 at 10:38 am
oh, just to clarify, what I mean by “insane” in my previous post is :
a) viewing ourselves in extremely positive terms
b) believing we have more control over our environment than we are told we actually do
c) holding views about the future that are more positive than the evidence can justify
(minor distortions of the definitions Taylor and Brown gave in the posted article)
3 maya // Apr 18, 2009 at 12:58 am
This work by Taylor and Brown has been both supported and challenged.
It’s really important to note that the basis of the existence of positive illusions rests upon the assumption of a basic need for high self-esteem.
it’s true that in north america (especially in the u.s.a.), there is a keen emphasis on positive evaluation of the self (i.e. high self-esteem), and there is a general tendency for individuals to view themselves and their self-relevant circumstances in a positive light. This can be adaptive for the reasons that Rawda has mentioned, and can also be detrimental in the way that high self-esteem and unrealistic positive evaluation of the self can lead to other less desirable qualities, like arrogance and self-absorbtion.
one of the main challenges to these kinds of theories surrounding illusions about the self surrounds the assumption of the universality of the need for self-esteem. (see Heine, Lehman, Markus, & Kitayama (1999). Is there a universal need for positive self-regard? Psychological Review, 106, 766-794.) This revealing review compares american and japanese society’s fundamental assumptions. The authors show that in japan, the values of constant self-improvement and effort are core to the individual, and to think of oneself in a very positive light and to be satisfied with oneself is arrogant and it ignores the possibility for improvement.
all this to say that, in north america, people tend to colour the reality of the self but (1) it’s not to the point of delusion and it can be adaptive to a certain extent, and (2) it is neither necessary nor universal
4 mark // Apr 18, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Thanks for that! It’s awesome having grad students around. : )
5 maya // Apr 18, 2009 at 5:47 pm
twas me pleasure!
6 Asher Vijay // Apr 18, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Yay grad students!
7 Jinryu // Apr 24, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I’m always lying to myself and it makes me a happier person.
8 maya // Apr 24, 2009 at 3:11 pm
oho! i reckon i’ll also take the opportunity to add that positive perceptions of the self can prevent people from achieving great things; instead of motivating people to work for greater goals, high self-esteem (namely, contingent high-self-esteem) results in the avoidance of activities that could potentially threaten one’s positive image of the self should they commit errors.
pow!
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