What is this article about?
Optimism as a psychological trait has gained an increasing amount of interest from scientists during the past couple of decades. Various studies have shown that optimism is related to important benefits. In this study, a review is presented that summarizes the findings from this body of research.
What are the two main ways in which researchers have defined and operationalized optimism?
Optimism is a psychological trait that influences individuals perceive themselves and their environment, how they process incoming information, and how they decide to act based on that information. Optimism concerns a cognitive, affective, and motivational aspect. Whereas optimists tend to believe that the future will be favorable, pessimists tend to believe that the future will have bad events in store for them. Both optimism and pessimism therefore act as powerful cognitive filters that alter an individuals' perception of the world and influence how the individual reacts and adapts to new situations, in particular challenging and stressful events.
In psychology, a distinction can be made between two main conceptions of optimism as described in the literature: optimistic explanatory style and dispositional optimism.
Optimistic explanatory style
The conceptualization of optimism as an exploratory style was developed by Seligman and colleagues (1991). This conceptualization was inspired by the finding that most humans (and animals) give up and become helpless when they are exposed to uncontrollable stressors. After this, they act helpless even when stressors are controllable again. This phenomenon is called learned helplessness. Individuals who display learned helplessness tend to have a pessimistic explanatory style. They believe negative events are stable and have far reaching consequences ("My life is ruined now"). Often, they blame themselves for the negative events ("It is my fault"). In addition, they commonly do not take credit for positive events ("I was just lucky").
Opposite to the pessimistic style is the optimistic explanatory style. This is referred to individuals who never become helpless. They believe negative events are unstable ("Things will go better soon") and specific ("Perhaps this is going less well, but other things are still going well"). Optimists, according to this perspective, acknowledge the presence of bad events, but they consider them in a constructive, non-fatalistic manner.
Dispositional optimism
The second perspective is developed by Schreier and Carver (2009). Here, optimism is based on an expectancy-value model of goal pursuit, which states that individuals pursue goals that are important to them (value) and goals that they feel confident in attaining (expectancy). Optimism and pessimism, then, are considered broad, generalized versions of respectively confidence and doubt pertaining to life, instead of to a specific context.
In contrast to the explanatory style approach in which participants are asked how they interpret certain events, in this perspective, researchers ask participants directly whether they expect events in the future to be positive or negative. As such, this perspective is also known as expectational optimism. It thus measures optimism as the extent to which an individual beliefs future events (rather than past events) will be favourable or unfavourable.
Research about the relationship between these two approaches has been very inconsistent. Some studies reported low correlations, others found a high correlation. These two constructs are believed to be theoretically distinct. Researchers have argued that they should not be considered interchangeable.
What are the benefits of optimism?
Being optimistic has been associated with various beneficial outcomes. In this review, the most interesting findings are highlighted, as a full overview goes beyond the scope of the article. In sum, optimism has been found to be related to:
- Subjective well-being (being happier)
- Health (physically healthier, slower progression of diseases, although there are some mixed findings on this issue)
- Succes (more successful than average, in particular in jobs where one frequently encounters failure, such as selling insurances)
- Social acceptance (other people may like optimists better than pessimists, which has especially impications for politics)
What are the causes of optimism?
Why are some people natural optimists (seeing the glass half full) whereas others cannot help but seeing the glass as half empty? Research has identified various factors that influence the development of optimism, although more research is needed in this area. Common factors are:
- Genetics
- Socio-economic status (lower SES; more pessimistic)
How can optimism be fostered in adults and youth?
Although optimism and pessimism are considered rather stable personality traits, research has shown that cognitive therapy may be beneficial in transforming pessimists into optimists. Cognitive therapy may assist individuals in developing more accurate and constructive explanations for positive and negative events.
What are important areas for future research?
During the past decades, research on optimism has made a substantial contribution to the scientific understanding of this personality trait and its influence on well-being. Additional research, however, is needed. In particular, the authors present some areas of research for the future:
- Continue the search for the biological and brain substrates of optimism. How is optimism formed in childhood and adolescence? How does it develop during life? And via which mechanisms does optimism exert its effects on outcomes such as subjective well-being, health, and success.
- Study the psychological and physiological benefits of adopting a flexible (rather than rigid) optimistic outlook on life. That is, research has shown that being optimistic is a good thing. But common sense tells us that being optimistics may not be the best strategy under all circumstances. For instance, optimists tend to continue gambling after having lost money, more so than pessimists do. Hence, more research could be done toward the value and costs of (unrealistic) optimism.
Year of publication
2017
The Positivity Bundle: content and contributions about optimism ..and a half full glass
Content and contributions for positivity, optimism and happy feelings
Summaries per article with History of Psychology at University of Groningen 19/20 and earlier
Summaries per article with History of Psychology at University of Groningen 19/20 and earlier
The Positivity Bundle: content and contributions about optimism ..and a half full glass
A review of the causes and consequences of optimism (summary)
Seeing the glass half full: A review of the causes and consequences of optimism
Forgeard, M., & Seligman, M. (2012). Seeing the glass half full: A review of the causes and consequences of optimism. Pratiques Psychologiques, 18(2), 107-120.
The psychological trait of optimism influences how individuals perceive themselves and their environment, how they process incoming information, as well as how they decide to act based on this information. Pessimists often behave in ways that are geared towards worst-case scenarios, while optimists tend to trust that the future will be favourable. According to past research, optimism and pessimism appear to have a particularly important effect on how individuals deal with challenging and stressful events. Even so, many people dismiss the effect of optimism, calling optimists naïve or in denial. This is because pessimism and its realistic view of the world seem appealing and rational when contrasted with the popular notion that optimism equates with foolishness, naiveté or denial; however, research shows that the way in which psychologists think of optimism does not involve forced enthusiasm or denial of the truth
What is Optimism?
Anthropologist Lionel Tiger defines optimism as “a mood or attitude associated with an expectation about the social or material future – one which the evaluator regards as socially desirable, to his [or her] advantage, or for his [or her] pleasure”. This means that optimism is a cognitive, affective and motivational construct - optimists both think and feel positively about the future.
The two ways in which researchers have operationalized optimism are the optimistic explanatory style approach, and the dispositional optimism approach
Optimistic Explanatory Style
This approach, developed by Seligman et al., is inspired by the observation that most (but not all) animals and humans give up when exposed to uncontrollable stressors and remain helpless when the situation becomes controllable. This behaviour is otherwise known as "learned helplessness." Helpless is associated with a pessimistic explanatory style; pessimists believe that negatives events are always present ("things will never change in the future"), have a global effect ("this negative event has ruined my entire life"), and is the fault of their own. Pessimists also often do not take credit for good events, attributing their occurrence to luck. Additionally, they perceive positive events as short-lived (“I just performed well today but who knows what will happen tomorrow”), and only affect one aspect of their lives (“I may be good at this but I’m otherwise pretty stupid”).
The optimistic explanatory style is therefore the opposite. Optimists do acknowledge negative events, but see them as specific (“other things are still going well”) and unstable (“things will get better soon”). They think negative events in a constructive, non-fatalistic manner and trust in their ability to deal with stressful problems.
The main instruments used to assess optimistic explanatory style are the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations (CAVE), which ask people (through open-ended questions that are eventually coded) how events are caused. In both methods, the extent to which people think
.....read more
Seeing the glass half full: A review of the causes and consequences of optimism - Forgeard & Seligman - Article
What is this article about?
Optimism as a psychological trait has gained an increasing amount of interest from scientists during the past couple of decades. Various studies have shown that optimism is related to important benefits. In this study, a review is presented that summarizes the findings from this body of research.
What are the two main ways in which researchers have defined and operationalized optimism?
Optimism is a psychological trait that influences individuals perceive themselves and their environment, how they process incoming information, and how they decide to act based on that information. Optimism concerns a cognitive, affective, and motivational aspect. Whereas optimists tend to believe that the future will be favorable, pessimists tend to believe that the future will have bad events in store for them. Both optimism and pessimism therefore act as powerful cognitive filters that alter an individuals' perception of the world and influence how the individual reacts and adapts to new situations, in particular challenging and stressful events.
In psychology, a distinction can be made between two main conceptions of optimism as described in the literature: optimistic explanatory style and dispositional optimism.
Optimistic explanatory style
The conceptualization of optimism as an exploratory style was developed by Seligman and colleagues (1991). This conceptualization was inspired by the finding that most humans (and animals) give up and become helpless when they are exposed to uncontrollable stressors. After this, they act helpless even when stressors are controllable again. This phenomenon is called learned helplessness. Individuals who display learned helplessness tend to have a pessimistic explanatory style. They believe negative events are stable and have far reaching consequences ("My life is ruined now"). Often, they blame themselves for the negative events ("It is my fault"). In addition, they commonly do not take credit for positive events ("I was just lucky").
Opposite to the pessimistic style is the optimistic explanatory style. This is referred to individuals who never become helpless. They believe negative events are unstable ("Things will go better soon") and specific ("Perhaps this is going less well, but other things are still going well"). Optimists, according to this perspective, acknowledge the presence of bad events, but they consider them in a constructive, non-fatalistic manner.
Dispositional optimism
The second perspective is developed by Schreier and Carver (2009). Here, optimism is based on an expectancy-value model of goal pursuit, which states
.....read more
Optimism in close relationships: How seeing things in a positive light makes them so - Srivastava, McGonigal, Richards, Butler, Gross (2006) - Article
What is this article about?
The central question in this article is whether optimists and their romantic partners are more satisfied in their relationships and - if this is the case - this is due to optimists who experience greater support from their partners. It appears that couples in conflict conversations are more constructive when they are more optimistic and they solve their problems better. Optimism seems to promote a variety of beneficial processes in romantic relationships.
What are the most important concepts in this chapter?
The most important concepts in this chapter are optimism, relationship satisfaction, perceived support and close relationships.
- What is this article about?
- What are the most important concepts in this chapter?
- What is this article about?
- What are the most important concepts in this chapter?
- What forms social perceptions?
- The writers test various related hypotheses to discover whether optimism can be associated with a happier and longer lasting romantic relationship. Which?
- According to the writers, what is the meaning of the term optimism?
- Which two questions were leading when developing questions and hypotheses for the research?
- Do experienced support and more positive involvement mediate the benefits of optimism?
- What did the writers investigate in the third part of their research?
- According to the writers, perceived support probably helps relationships in different ways. Which ways do they name in particular?
About the effect of optimism in close relationships
What is this article about?
The central question in this article is whether optimists and their romantic partners are more satisfied in their relationships and - if this is the case - this is due to optimists who experience greater support from their partners. It appears that couples in conflict conversations are more constructive when they are more optimistic and they solve their problems better. Optimism seems to promote a variety of beneficial processes in romantic relationships.
What are the most important concepts in this chapter?
The most important concepts in this chapter are optimism, relationship satisfaction, perceived support and close relationships.
What forms social perceptions?
Social perception arises in the spirit of the person who perceives it. This can be a fact that has very real consequences for his social life. This is especially true for romantic relationships.
.....read more
Article summary of Very happy people by Diener & Seligman. (1)
What is this article about?
This is a research report of an experiment where 222 undergraduates were screened for high happiness. The upper 10% of consistently very happy people were compared with average people and very unhappy people. This study has tried to find out what some factor might be that influence high happiness: social relationships, personality and psychopathology, and variables that have been related to subjective well-being in correlational studies. It also examined whether there was a variable that was sufficient for happiness and a variable that was necessary for happiness (sufficient: everyone with the variable is happy, necessary: every happy person has the variable).
What were the results?
On a scale from 5 to 35, the very happy group scored about 30 on life satisfaction. The very happy people had virtually never thought about suicide, could recall many more good events in their lives than bad ones, and had many more positive than negative emotions on a daily basis. The very unhappy people were dissatisfied with life and had equal amounts of positive and negative affect on a daily basis. They reported this about themselves, but their friends and family also rated them dissatisfied. The average group was in the middle of these two groups.
The biggest difference between the very happy group and the average and very unhappy group, was in their fulsome and satisfying interpersonal lives. The very happy people spent the least time alone and the most time socializing and valued their relationships the highest. Good social relationships might be a necessary condition for high happiness.
The very happy people also scored the lowest on psychopathology tests, virtually never in the clinical range. Almost half of the very unhappy group scored in the clinical range.
Also good to note, was that the verry happy people never reported their mood to be "ecstatic", but they did score their mood with a 7, 8 or 9 most of the time.
Broader samples and longitudinal methods are needed to make strong conclusions from these results. These findings do suggest that very happy people have rich and satisfying social relationships and spend little time alone. But it is not yet clear what the causal relationship is here: perhaps happy people have better relationships because of their happiness, or happiness and good relationships are both caused by a third variable. What is clear is that social relationships might be a necessary but are not a sufficient condition for high happiness. Very happy people also experience unpleasant emotions and rarely feel euphoria or ecstacy. They are rather medium to moderatly happy most of the time.
Article summary with Very happy people by Diener & Seligman (2)
What is this article about?
This is a research report of an experiment where 222 undergraduates were screened for high happiness. The upper 10% of consistently very happy people were compared with average people and very unhappy people. This study has tried to find out what some factor might be that influence high happiness: social relationships, personality and psychopathology, and variables that have been related to subjective well-being in correlational studies. It also examined whether there was a variable that was sufficient for happiness and a variable that was necessary for happiness (sufficient: everyone with the variable is happy, necessary: every happy person has the variable).
What were the results?
On a scale from 5 to 35, the very happy group scored about 30 on life satisfaction. The very happy people had virtually never thought about suicide, could recall many more good events in their lives than bad ones, and had many more positive than negative emotions on a daily basis. The very unhappy people were dissatisfied with life and had equal amounts of positive and negative affect on a daily basis. They reported this about themselves, but their friends and family also rated them dissatisfied. The average group was in the middle of these two groups.
The biggest difference between the very happy group and the average and very unhappy group, was in their fulsome and satisfying interpersonal lives. The very happy people spent the least time alone and the most time socializing and valued their relationships the highest. Good social relationships might be a necessary condition for high happiness.
The very happy people also scored the lowest on psychopathology tests, virtually never in the clinical range. Almost half of the very unhappy group scored in the clinical range.
Also good to note, was that the verry happy people never reported their mood to be "ecstatic", but they did score their mood with a 7, 8 or 9 most of the time.
Broader samples and longitudinal methods are needed to make strong conclusions from these results. These findings do suggest that very happy people have rich and satisfying social relationships and spend little time alone. But it is not yet clear what the causal relationship is here: perhaps happy people have better relationships because of their happiness, or happiness and good relationships are both caused by a third variable. What is clear is that social relationships might be a necessary but are not a sufficient condition for high happiness. Very happy people also experience unpleasant emotions and rarely feel euphoria or ecstacy. They are rather medium to moderatly happy most of the time.
Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life - Baumeister e.a. - Article
What is this article about?
Two of the most widely held goals by which people measure and motivate themselves are happiness and a meaningful life. In this article, the relationship between these two goals is discussed. More specifically, although there certainly is (much) overlap between these two, the focus here is on the differences.
How can happiness be defined?
Happiness generally refers to a state of subjective well-being. Happiness be may narrowly or broadly focused: one can be happy to have found a lost key, but one can also be happy that the war has ended. Happiness is conceptualized and measured by researcher in at least two different manners. The first one concerns affect balance, which suggests that happiness is an aggregate of how one feels at different moment. Happiness is then defined as having more pleasant than unpleasant emotional states. The second one concerns life satisfaction, which goes beyond momentary feelings. It refers to an integrative, evaluative assessment of one's entire life. Generally, assessing both of these provides a useful index of subjective well-being.
How can a meaningful life be defined?
Meaningfulness is considered to concern both a cognitive and emotional assessment of whether one's life has purpose and value.
What is the central theorem of the theory that is being proposed in this article?
The authors suggest that the simpler form of happiness (affect balance instead of life satisfaction), at least, is rooted in nature. Every living creature has biological needs, such as wanting to survive and reproduce. Basic motivations make one to pursue and enjoy those needs. Affect balance then depends to a certain degree on whether these basic needs are being satisfied.
While happiness is natural, meaningfulness may depend on culture. In every culture language is being used as a means to use and communicate meanings. Meaningfulness, thus, makes use of culturally transmitted symbols (via language) as a means to evaluate one's life in relation to purposes, values, and other meanings that are also frequently learned from the culture. Thus, meaning is more associated with one's culture than happiness is. An important feature of meaning is that it is not limited to immediately present stimuli (as happiness is). Instead, meaningfulness refers to thoughts about past, future, and spatially
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