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This Year I Resolve... Franklin & Marshall Professor Finds Message of Hope in New Year's Resolutions
LANCASTER, Pa. -- What is it about the New Year that compels people to make resolutions?
Michael Penn, assistant professor of psychology at Franklin & Marshall College believes it's the tone time of year when people drop their typically cynical views of human nature and hope for a positive change.
The fact that we continue to make New Year's resolutions "indicates that our cynicism may be unwarranted and that people strive continuously to improve themselves," Penn said. "Sometimes they seek to improve themselves in superficial ways, but more often than not, to improve themselves in ways that are really meaningful."
New Year's resolutions frequently focus on health, relationships and moral goals. To Penn, that means people want to make changes that are usually substantial and significant, but they might be reaching too high.
"If the goals that human beings have are immediately reachable, those goals do not inspire hope. One of the most interesting findings in psychology is that people have illusions of invulnerability and unrealistic optimism."
By setting goals that are unrealistically high, people underestimate the extent to which they are vulnerable to particular types of risks, such as heart attacks or accidents.
Still, year after year, people refuse to give up on the belief that they can improve their lives and contribute to the world around them.
"One of the things human beings seem to be particularly concerned about is the demise of hope in the culture. Hope that we can solve the pressing social problems that beset us, hope that we can solve the racial divisions that separate us, hope that we can save the planet from an ecological perspective," Penn said.
Hope is not an element of everyday life. In fact, Penn said that when people discuss human nature, they will frequently focus on how humans can be corrupted or evil or selfish. That's why New Year's resolutions are important.
"It seems to me that things like New Year's resolutions reinforce this long-standing, centuries-long hope that we can overcome these collective problems. New year's resolutions provide tremendous impetus to the belief that human beings are fundamentally good and that they fundamentally long for meaningful change and meaningful evolution. I think that we must keep this idea alive, because without this hope that we are moving forward, people become despaired," the psychology professor said.
Penn can be reached for further comment at (717) 291-4202 (office).
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