We've become smarter but unfriendly: study

Our prime minister thinks there has never been a more exciting time to be Australian, but most of us aren't so chipper about our prospects.

A new study looking at how those in Australia, China and Japan feel about their future has revealed those living Down Under believe they'll become better workers but will live in a less friendly society.

These beliefs are tied to our perception that as the economy grows we put more energy into developing skills and less into caring about each other, Queensland University of Technology researcher Paul Bain says.

He urged Malcolm Turnbull, who on his first day in the top job declared "there has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian", to take note.

"The prime minister and the government should be aware that development, in the minds of Australians, is a double-edged sword," Dr Bain said.

"Policies that pursue economic development without addressing beliefs about declining community may come at the government's peril."

The study, by researchers from QUT, University of Melbourne and Leiden University in The Netherlands, was published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.