
Belief in Free Will Predicts Better Job Performance (2010) - monort
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1948550609351600
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agarden
Two cynical explanations spring to mind.

1) Those genetically programmed to believe in free will might also genetically
programmed to be more optimistic and work harder.

2) People who believe in free will have not yet run into their limitations.
This would imply that they have not yet run into systemic situations where
their energy or mental capacities have been overtasked, meaning they are
healthy people who can handle things. This experience, of course, makes them
optimistic about their future. They still believe they can accomplish anything
they set their mind to.

Conversely, it might be that people who do not believe in free will think that
way because they have experienced running into the limitations of their own
brain and willpower. That is immensely discouraging, which of course dampens
optimism. And if they have already hit that brick wall, then they are not so
very healthy and in fact are reasonable to be less optimistic about their
future and likely to not perform as well as their healthier colleagues.

