Naïve cynicism is a philosophy of mind, cognitive bias and form of psychological egoism that occurs when people naïvely expect more egocentric bias in others than actually is the case.
The term was formally proposed by Justin Kruger and Thomas Gilovich and has been studied across a wide range of contexts including: negotiations, group-membership, marriage, economics, government policy and more.
History
Early examples from social psychology (1949) The idea that 'people naïvely believe they see things objectively and others do not' has been acknowledged for quite some time in the field of social psychology. For example, while studying social cognition, Solomon Asch and Gustav Ichheiser wrote in 1949:
"[W]e tend to resolve our perplexity arising out of the experience that other people see the world differently than we see it ourselves by declaring that those others, in consequence of some basic intellectual and moral defect, are unable to see the things “as they really are” and to react to them “in a normal way.” We thus imply, of course, that things are in fact as we see them and that our ways are the normal ways."
Formal laboratory experimentation (1999) The formal proposal of naïve cynicism came from Kruger and Gilovich's 1999 study called "'Naive cynicism' in everyday theories of responsibility assessment: On biased assumptions of bias".
Theory The theory of naïve cynicism can be described as:
I am not biased. You are biased if you disagree with me. Your intentions/actions reflect your underlying egocentric biases.
A counter to naïve realism As with naïve cynicism, the theory of naïve realism hinges on the acceptance of the following three beliefs:
I am not biased. Reasonable people are not biased. All others are biased. Naïve cynicism can be thought of as the counter to naïve realism, which is the belief that an individual perceives the social world objectively while others perceive it subjectively. It is important to discern that naïve cynicism is related to the notion that others have an egocentric bias that motivates them to do things for their own self-interest rather than for altruistic reasons. Both of these theories, however, relate to the extent that adults credit or discredit the beliefs or statements of others.
Relating to psychological egoism Psychological egoism is the belief that humans are always motivated by self-interest. In a related quote, Joel Feinberg, in his 1958 paper "Psychological Egoism", embraces a similar critique by drawing attention to the infinite regress of psychological egoism:
The circular reasoning evidenced by Feinberg's quote exemplifies how this view can be thought of as the need for others to have incessant personal desires and satisfaction.
Definition There are several ways to define naïve cynicism such as:
The tendency to expect others’ judgments will have a motivational bias and therefore will be biased in the direction of their self-interest. Expecting that others are motivationally biased when determining responsibility for positive and negative outcomes. The propensity to believe that others are prone to committing the fundamental attribution error, false consensus effect or self-enhancement bias. When our assumptions of others' biases exceed their actual biases.
Examples
Historical examples
Cold War The American reaction to a Russian SALT treaty during the Cold War is one well-known example of naïve cynicism in history. Political leaders negotiating on behalf of the United States discredited the offer simply because it was proposed by the Russian side. Former U.S. congressman Floyd Spence indicates the use of naïve cynicism in this quote:
"I have had a philosophy for some time in regard to SALT, and it goes like this: the Russians will not accept a SALT treaty that is not in their best interest, and it seems to me that if it is their best interests, it can‘t be in our best interest."
Marketplace Consumers exhibit naïve cynicism toward commercial companies and advertisers through suspicion and awareness toward marketing strategies used by such companies.
Politics The public displays naïve cynicism toward governments and political leaders through distrust.
Decision-making behavior Naïve cynicism can be exemplified in some decision-making behaviors such as:
Negotiations / Bargaining Economic games The Acquiring a Company Problem The Monty Hall Problem Competitive betting Auctions
Other possible real-world examples Overestimating the influence of financial compensation on people’s willingness to give blood. If another person tends to favor himself when interpreting uncertain information, someone exhibiting naïve cynicism would believe the other person is intentionally misleading them for their own advantage. Assuming that group membership has a large influence on beliefs and attitudes. If an individual of one political party makes an interpretation or a statement in favor of his own party and thus in accord with his self-interest, other adults discount his statement (especially if they belong to an opposing party). Likewise, if that individual makes a statement against his own self-interest, adults are more likely to believe him.
Resulting negative outcomes Naïve cynicism can contribute to several negative outcomes including:
Over-thinking the actions of others. Making negative attributions about others' motivations without sufficient cause. Missing opportunities that greater trust might capture.
Reducing The major strategy to attenuate naïve cynicism in individuals has been shown by:
Viewing the other person as part of one's in-group or acknowledging they are working in cooperation. As a result of applying this strategy, happier married couples were less likely to exhibit cynical beliefs about each other’s judgments. Individuals are especially likely to exhibit naïve cynicism when the other person has a vested interest in the judgment at hand. However, if the other person is dispassionate about the judgment at hand, the individual will be less likely to engage in naïve cynicism and think the other person will see things the way they do.
Psychological contexts Naïve cynicism may play a major role in these psychology-related contexts:
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