Cynics destined to be at bottom of wages pile

They are more likely to suspect the motives behind other people's behaviour, might be less likely to join collaborative efforts and may avoid asking for help. Photo / Thinkstock

They say pessimists are never disappointed, but they might be the next time they take a glance at their payslips.

Optimists earn nearly US$3000 ($4214) a year more on average than cynics, according to a nine-year study looking at how wages change based on positivity.

There was a clear downward trend of lost earnings as people became more sceptical of the motives of others.

After nine years, people who were the most cynical had not improved their wages at all. But in contrast, the most optimistic were earning an extra US$240 a month on average, equating to US$2880.

Although cynicism has been previously linked to poor physical and mental health, the study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was to find a correlation with wages.

"While previous research has associated cynicism with detrimental outcomes across a wide range of spheres of life - including physical health, psychological well-being and marital adjustment - the present research has established an association between cynicism and individual economic success," said Dr Olga Stavrova, from the University of Cologne.

One reason for these findings could be that cynical individuals were less likely to trust others and therefore forgo co-operation opportunities, said Stavrova.

They are more likely to suspect the motives behind other people's behaviour, might be less likely to join collaborative efforts and may avoid asking for help.

"For example, employees who believe others to be exploitative and dishonest are likely to avoid collaborative projects and to forgo the related opportunities," added Stavrova.

Similarly, cynical individuals might be likely to over-invest resources on protecting themselves by "covering their backs".

Steve Peters, a sports psychiatrist who has coached footballer Steven Gerrard, snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan and the British Olympic cycling team, believes that handling the negative part of the brain is the key to success.

He has claimed that everyone has an "inner chimp" - a part of the brain which tries to scupper success by negative thinking, laziness and aggression.

"You have to recognise when you are being hijacked by your brain," he said.

The researchers studied 16,000 people for nearly 10 years and rated their cynicism levels using a standard questionnaire. Particular life experiences, such as a negative family environment or economic hardship, may strengthen cynical beliefs about human nature.

A separate study found that the association between cynicism and lower income was more pronounced in countries with higher levels of altruistic behaviour and low murder rates such as Holland, Italy, Finland and Sweden.

However, they found that people in some countries like Macedonia actually earned more when they were more cynical. The study added: "These countries are those with pervasively high societal cynicism scores, rare pro-social behaviour [eg, charity donations] and widespread anti-social behaviour [as indicated by high homicide rates] - in other words, countries where cynicism might be justified."

- Telegraph Group Ltd