(Scheier, Weintraub, & carver, 1986) and are more planful than pessimists (Fontaine, Manstead ,& Wanger, 1993). Also, optimists tend to use the approach-oriented coping strategies of positive reframing and seeing the best in situations, whereas pessimists are more avoidant and use denial tactics (Carver & Scheier, 2002). Optimists appraise daily stresses in terms of potential growth and tension reduction more than their pessimistic counterparts do. Also, when faced with truly uncontrollable circumstances, optimists tend to take plights, whereas pessimists actively deny their problems and thereby tend to make them worse. Therefore, an optimist knows when to give up and when to keep plugging whereas pessimist still pursues a goal when it is not …show more content…
A pessimist takes a more negative view, focusing on what is missing or wrong about the situation whereas an optimist adopts a positive outlook in life and focuses on what is available. Hence, individual differences in describing people’s general positive or negative expectations about the future are explained by their optimistic/ pessimistic orientation.
First, optimism is a source of motivation as it is much easier to initiate action when we believe or actions will lead to positive outcomes when facing obstacles. By interpreting bad events as temporary and limited to specific situations, optimists protect themselves from strong negative emotional reactions that might undermine confidence and interfere with effective coping (Carver & Scheier,
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The scale is comprised of a total of 12 items, with 4 items for each subscale. The MSPSS is intended to measure the extent to which an individual perceives social support from three sources: Significant Others (SO) (Items 1, 2, 5, and 10), Family (FA) (Items 3, 4, 8, and 11) and Friends (FR) (Items 6, 7, 9, and 12). The MSPSS is a brief, easy to administer self-report questionnaire which contains twelve items rated on a seven-point Likert-type scale with scores ranging from ‘very strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘very strongly agree’ (7). The MSPSS has proven to be psychometrically sound in diverse samples and to have good internal reliability and test-retest reliability, and robust factorial validity. It has been translated into many languages, including Urdu, Hebrew, Tamil, Danish, Farsi (Persian), French, Italian, Korean, Lithuanian, Hausa, Norwegian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Slovene, Malay, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, and
According to Dictionary.com, the definition of optimism is “A disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome.” Looking on the more favorable side can help in the most difficult times. Having a positive attitude is the best response to conflict, especially in time of war. Optimists such as Winston Churchill and Anne Frank kept hope for a better future throughout World War II.
For many, pessimism is not ideal, and optimism is their route of choice, as it develops through the arising
An article written by Kendra Cherry states, “By nurturing positive emotions, even in the face of terrible events, people can reap both short-term and long-term rewards, including managing stress levels, lessening depression, and building coping skills that will serve them well in the future” (Cherry). Optimism has allowed for people to deal with conflicts in a healthy way. Neuroscientist Tali Sharot in her book The Science of Optimism: Why We’re Hard-Wired for Hope argues that optimism provides an adaptive advantage. According to her, “Expecting our future to be good reduces stress and anxiety, which is good for our health. Researchers studying heart attack patients have found that optimists were more likely than nonoptimistic patients to take vitamins, eat low-fat diets, and exercise, thereby reducing their overall coronary risk” (Popova). Dealing with conflicts positively is better for your health and it decreases bad health
Looking on the "brighter side" of things encourages positive attitudes as well as positive behavior. Shay Carl is a YouTube personality whom I've watched constantly for self motivation, he turned his life around through making the personal choice to wake up everyday and smile, and to look at himself in the mirror and flaunt his features instead of being ashamed to take his shirt off at the beach. At age 25 he weighed 350 pounds. Everyday he looked at himself with shame and disgust, he refused to allow positivity into his life because he believed there was nothing positive about himself that needed praise. One day he decided to stop the pity and to be happy even when he didn't want to, even when life would through massive curve balls at him, he was optimistic at all costs. He lost 200 pounds and had 5 kids. Carl posted daily videos of his progress in hopes to inspire other to follow in his footsteps. With over 4 million subscribes, he managed to create a unity of positive people with the same hopes as he did; to change their lives simply by choosing happiness. A positive attitude leads to a positive life. There are numerous aspects to being an optimist, and making the personal choice to be happy is only the first step to
I have never been the most optimistic person. Although I can find positivity in virtuous situations, I can also nitpick at minor negative aspects of substandard ones. As I read
Psychologist Martin Seligman introduced the term ‘learned helplessness’ to describe the outlet retort. The stressful events are outside the range of our control, we believe that we can do nothing about it, we are likely to believe ourselves helpless and we are, in turn, likely to become depressed. On the other hand, optimism, the opposite of pessimism, seems to have protective value. Martin Seligman in Learned Optimism points out that
Nevertheless, the enhancing of the wellbeing is a question that begged for research. So, Scheier and colleagues focused on various aspects of situations in their research and measured the level of optimism derived from these situations. It turned out that positivity enhances wellbeing due to high embracement of optimism. The article supports the articulation that there is power to positive thinking although it is not that simple and direct. All, believing in the good that future holds is crucial in relating to the many aspects of life.
Propaganda also convinced women to join the war effort because women were just as important as men during WWII for the implications regarding productivity for military material. War was a masculine endeavor and it was controversial that women join the military service. To ease the minds of American men, the OWI conceived a respectable female soldier image. In Figure 2, a mother is proud that her son and daughter are both dutiful children and part of the military. This poster conveyed to parents that it was patriotic for daughters to enter the service without having her socially shunned and shame the family (Briones 56).
There are times in this world when rolling out of bed and putting on a brave face is the only thing that seems sensible enough to get you through the day. You slurp down your morning cup of coffee, glare at yourself in the mirror, and wonder what’s the point of it all? Why am I living my life half exhausted wandering from place to place doing what I’m told when I’m told to make myself a living? This is exactly how a pessimist often thinks;, they tend to see only the worst in a scenario or believe that only the lowest possible situation will happen. I have chosen not to live my life like that, I have chosen to not only try to lead each day with a positive mind and a healthy attitude, but I have also decided to spread optimism to others by the simple gestures such as a smile. I will admit that at times being an optimistic person isn’t always easy because
This Ted Talk is about optimism bias which is the tendency to think more positively about a person’s life than to think negatively. We have these high expectations that good things would happen than bad ones. It is a positive bias towards an event before the event actually happens. The optimism bias is a naturally occurring phenomenon that seems to become part of human nature because it is an overall tendency to bring upon good things in life over a pessimistic bias (Sharot, 2011).
My mother decided to apply my sister in a new school. Since the admission is based on a lottery, she filled out the application without knowing anything about it aside from it being a charter school. She claimed that if my sister gets selected, then she would do her research. I was curious, so I did the researching for her by reading various articles online. Today, I would like to share with you what charter schools and Success Academy are, and the difference between Success Academy and public school in terms of funding and teaching methods. Maybe you could help your parent in selecting a school for your little sibling if you have one or in selecting a school for own kids in the future. Please keep in mind that when I mention public school, I meant the traditional elementary and secondary public school.
Optimism is another trait or attribute displayed by Type Bs, Cs, and hardy personalities (see below). Optimists are more inclined to appraise situations as challenging, whereas Type A personalities will appraise the same situation as a threat. Optimists tend to focus on what they can do to change or improve a stressful situation, rather than what they are unable to do. They are content in what they do accomplish, and do not focus on their failures (Schafer, 2000; Morris & Maisto, 2005).
Being optimistic is the main principle for most people. We may often hear the statement about “be an optimist, not a pessimist!” shouted by people. Sometimes you do it for yourself too. When facing such a failure or problem, this will not only help to relieve your heart. Being optimistic will help someone to be healthy in physical and mental. An optimist will find the best way in any circumstance and hope for every good thing can come to him/her. You may have gone through thousands of hard times. However, if you are a born optimist then you will not care of anything destructing you.
Like I said before, I could not feel anything at the time but the help I got was more than I could have hoped for. I guess I just hoped for anything that would help take the pain away.
Optimistic and pessimistic attitudes constantly affect the outcome of people's lives. In my life, I try to keep an optimistic attitude about the things I do because I know it will help lead me to more desirable ends. There have been many situations in which optimism has helped me through difficult times. Two areas in particular have provided me optimistic experiences: athletics