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Despite the popularity of horoscopes , most people do n’t really want to know their future , a new study from Europe suggests . That ’s particularly true if future effect are negative , such as the person ’s death , the study found .
The enquiry , which surveyed more than 2,000 adult in Germany and Spain , find that 85 to 90 percent of participant suppose they would n’t want to know about certain future negative consequence in their lives , and 40 to 70 percent say they would n’t want to know about certain future positively charged event .
Just 1 percent of participants always say that they wanted toknow what the future heldfor them .
" In Greek mythology , Cassandra , daughter of the tycoon of Troy , had the power to foresee the time to come . But , she was also cursed , and [ so ] no one conceive her prognostication , " study generator Gerd Gigerenzer , of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development , read in a affirmation .
" In our cogitation , we ’ve find that people would rather decline the powers that made Cassandra famous , in an feat to forgo the suffering that eff the future may cause , avoid regret and also maintain the use of suspense that enjoyable events provide , " Gigerenzer said . [ 7 thing That Will Make You Happy ]
participant were asked whether , hypothetically , they would want to get laid about 10 succeeding events , which ranged from serious to mundane . These include : when they or their married person would die , what they would die of , whether theywould get disjoint , what they were convey for Christmas , and the outcome of a soccer game they were become to watch .
For nearly every question , the absolute majority of participants say they would n’t want to know the solvent . There was one elision : When asked whether they would want to know the sexual practice of their unborn child , most people tell they would want to jazz ( only 37 percent said they would not want to know . )
The research worker hypothesized that multitude take " deliberate ignorance " because they predict that they will rue knowing the answer . By select not to know about future events , people can debar negative thesefeelings of regretthat they predict will come with having learned about future undesirable events , the researcher said . The individual can also maintain convinced opinion of surprise that amount with suitable result , the scientist said .
The investigator also recover that people who usually chose " deliberate ignorance " were more likely to obviate risks , and also more likely to buy nonobligatory policy , such as life insurance . An expectancy of regret motivates both of these actions ( avoiding risks and buying insurance ) , and so the results support the idea that prediction of regret also actuate deliberate ignorance , the investigators order .
The researchers noted that they do n’t know whether the results would infer to other life event not come up to in the study , or if the same results would be found among people in other countries .
Still , the researchers said their study shew " that deliberate ignorance exists … [ and ] is a widespread state of mind when dealing with issues such as demise and divorce as well as the gratifying events . "
The written report is published in the March issue of the journal Psychological Review .
Original clause onLive Science .
