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. The two ways in which researchers have operationalized optimism are the optimistic explanatory style approach, and the dispositional optimism approach Optimistic Explanatory Style This means that optimism is a cognitive, affective and motivational construct - optimists both think and feel positively about the future. 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?Īnthropologist 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 advantage, or for his pleasure”. Even so, many people dismiss the effect of optimism, calling optimists naïve or in denial. According to past research, optimism and pessimism appear to have a particularly important effect on how individuals deal with challenging and stressful events.
Pessimists often behave in ways that are geared towards worst-case scenarios, while optimists tend to trust that the future will be favourable. 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. Seeing the glass half full: A review of the causes and consequences of optimism.
Future longitudinal research is necessary to evaluate the temporal sequence as well as to examine putative explanatory mechanisms.Seeing the glass half full: A review of the causes and consequences of optimismįorgeard, M., & Seligman, M. Unrealistic optimism was associated with subclinical atherosclerosis. The risk score was also associated with IMT (β =. 46), a finding that was not moderated by gender. When controlling for the risk score, risk perceptions were negatively associated with IMT (β = -.21, p <. Controlling for the Framingham risk score effectively equated risk across the sample, meaning that lower risk perceptions represented unrealistic optimism. Objective risk score was calculated using the Framingham calculator, and IMT was regressed on risk score and perceived risk. Here, cross-sectional data from one time point in the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart study are used to examine whether unrealistic optimism about risk of heart disease is associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), a subclinical marker of atherosclerosis. Unrealistic optimism-typically conceptualized as underestimation of comparative risk-has been previously associated with poorer health behaviors and outcomes, but no research to date has examined the association between unrealistic optimism and subclinical or clinical disease endpoints.
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