Essay On Optimism

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The term "optimism" refers to an emotional and psychological perspective on life. It is a positive frame of mind and means that a person takes the view of expecting the best outcome from any given situation. An optimistic person is one who sees the glass as 'half-full' instead of 'half-empty'. In psychology levels of optimism can be measured by use of the Life Orientation Test and Attributional Style Questionnaire. Levels of optimism (and its reverse pessimism) appear to have some links to heredity but are heavily influenced by health and environmental factors. Optimism is a stable personality trait that has important implications for behaviour, yet little attention has been given to examining optimism in adolescents. People tend to overestimate their chances to obtain good outcomes and underestimate their chances to experience negative outcomes in life called as optimistic bias (Weinstein, 1980). People base their prediction of the future and because is uncertain, their mental scenarios may become idealized (Armor & Taylor, 1998). However, there is a general tendency for people to make positive predictions for future and…show more content…
In contrast, pessimists who face major stressful events in life events as children (such as chronic parental conflict, divorce or maternal bereavement) are more likely to develop depression. This can be counteracted if they have at least one good socially supportive relationship. Norem, (2002) believes that for some people Optimistic explanatory style actually interferes with their optimal functioning defensive pessimism response strategy. Also, some researchers believe that it is important to promote realistic optimism but avoid the dangers of
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