'Haters' Predisposed to 'Hate More' than Happier Counterparts

The haters may hate; there's no doubt about that. Yet a recent study published in the journal Social Psychology shows that there's a bit more of an explanation as to why some are so pessimistic.

Researchers found that they're predisposed to be a bit unhappier than their more optimistic counterparts. They're also less likely to participate in different activities than other folks, which made some of the "haters" better at their jobs, due to sole focus on one thing.

For those with positive dispositional attitudes, they're more likely to dabble in different things throughout the course of the week, according to study authors Justin Helper, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Dolores Albarracín, Annenberg School for Communication and Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania. Yet as disposition is likely to motivate behavior, focusing on numerous things may have its downsides when compared to those who are focused on fewer things at a time.

Two studies involved in their research reiterated thoughts on this theory. Participants were asked to report all of their activities over a one-week period as well as complete a measure of dispositional attitudes. Findings showed about a 15 percent difference between the amount of activities that people typically were involved in during the week.

Haters and their counterparts did not differ in how much time they spent doing certain activities. However, they differed in the number of activities that they were involved in. As a result, the "haters" typically spent more time on any given activity than the "likers."

"The present results demonstrate that patterns of general action may occur for reasons other than the desire to be active versus inactive," the researchers wrote, in a news release. "Indeed, some people may be more active than others not because they want to be active per se, but because they identify a large number of specific behaviors in which they want to engage."

Researchers said they believe that these findings may illustrate important implications regarding the understanding of development skills and expertise. For instance, for many likers, they may adopt more of a jack-of-all-trades approach to life, whereas their counterparts may be more intensely focused on fewer skill sets to get by. 

Of course, both of these scenarios have their share of ups and downs.