Motivation and emotion/Book/2021/Dispositional optimism

Dispositional optimism:
What is dispositional optimism and how does it influence people's lives?

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Overview

Figure 1. The face of a happy boy

Have you ever believed the future will be more positive? Do you expect good things will happen, rather than bad things? If so, it is likely you have dispositional optimism.

Dispositional optimism reflects a belief that future outcomes will be beneficial and positive. This is a trait that promotes resilience when people are faced with stress and adversity in life. Optimism is a heritable biological trait, to a varying degree. It is also influenced by one's environment and positively correlated with health-preserving behaviours. Dispositional optimism is one theory of optimism and researchers have operationalised trait characteristics (see trait theory) to be able to evaluate optimism and pessimism. The Life Orientation Test (LOT) is one method to measure the original definition of optimism developed within a theoretical system. This is a 10-item scale developed by Scheier and Carver in 1985.

This chapter's purpose is to investigate how dispositional optimism develops, what factors influence it, and how these factors influence people's lives

Focus questions What is dispositional optimism? How is dispositional optimism developed? What is the impact and influence of dispositional optimism?

What is dispositional optimism?

Optimism

Figure 2. "Is the glass half empty or half full?" is a common phrase used rhetorically to indicate one's level of optimism.

Optimism has been described as an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific behaviour, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favourable, and desirable. The most common idiom used to explain an optimistic person versus pessimistic person is a glass filled with water to the halfway point: an optimist is said to see the glass as half full, while a pessimist sees the glass as half empty.

This term derives from the Latin optimum, meaning "best". When an individual is said to be optimistic, they typically expect the best possible outcome from any given situation. In psychology, this theory is referred to as dispositional optimism. It reflects a belief that future outcomes will be favourable and beneficial to the individual.

Pessimism

Pessimism is a negative attitude reflecting an undesirable outcome, which is anticipated by the person in any given situation. A pessimistic person would typically focus on the negative aspects of life in general. The idiom of "Is the glass half empty or half full" would be answered by a pessimist saying the glass is half empty.

This term derives from the Latin word pessimus, meaning "the worst". Pessimistic is an emotional disposition which can affect an individual's quality of life, relationships, and has been associated with engaging in health-damaging behaviours.

Dispositional optimism has been operationalised to understand how people assess their future outcomes - beneficial, detrimental or otherwise. There are many factors which develop dispositional optimism such as an individual's genetic makeup or the context of their development.

Assessment

Life orientation test

The Life Orientation Test (LOT) is an assessment tool that operationalises optimism and pessimism by asking individuals if they expect negative or positive outcomes. The LOT is a self-report 10-item scale. LOT scores are positively correlated with more secure relationships, higher social status, greater well-being, and increased social desirability. Positive psychologists are interested in the attitude of optimism and administering the LOT can provide meaningful insight into possible interventions, such as preventing and addressing health and psychologically damaging behaviours.

Scheier and Carver (1985) used this tool to assess dispositional optimism and whether participants expected positive or negative outcomes in any given situation. Scheier and Carver's initial version of the LOT was made up of 12 items. The initial LOT was used in earlier tests to examine the effects of optimistic disposition in health-related domains, where college students were given a survey to score themselves on their level of optimism with health symptoms during times of stress. This research discovered that participants who scored higher on the optimism scale were associated with lower levels of fatigue, stress, anxiety, and other physical symptoms than participants scoring higher on the pessimism scale. However, this scale was later revised due to criticism that the effects that were associated with optimism were founded to be almost identical to the predicted traits relating to neuroticism, such as anxiety. This means the effects that were associated with optimism as assessed by the LOT were actually due to another unmeasured variable. To counter the confounded results of their assessment tool, Scheier, Carver, and Bridges revised the LOT in 1994. They removed two items from the twelve-item LOT that no longer aligned with their scale, as the two items assessed copying styles rather than positive expectations of future outcomes, thus creating the 10-item Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R). This revised scale is now one of the most commonly used assessment tools used in dispositional optimism across research and psychological practice. The scale is applicable across all ranges of individuals and their different situations, such as adults in poverty, adolescents with depression, understanding social anxiety, and victims of trauma.

The LOT-R was revised once more by Chang, Maydeu-Olivares, and D'Zurilla (1997) forming the Extended Life Orientation Test (ELOT), a longer questionnaire comprised of 20 items, with six optimism items, nine pessimism items, and five unscored/filler items.

How to administer and interpret the LOT-R

The LOT-R consists of 10 items, each scored on a 5-point Likert scale from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" and four filler items. Half coded in an optimistic way, half coded in a pessimistic way. This revised test offers better internal consistency than the original. These items are formed for individuals to apply all items, irrespective of their demographic characteristics and aim to investigate attitudes and beliefs towards future events that we all consciously or unconsciously have.

As shown below, several items of the LOT-R are reversed scored. This means the participant who scores a value for one of these items, must be changed to the opposite value on the scale before calculating the final total of the assessment tool. For example, if the participant responds to item "I hardly ever expect things to go my way" with a value of 3 (I agree a little), this value must be changed to a 1 before calculating the final score for the scale. This is to be repeated for all 3 reverse-scored items measuring pessimism. The filler items of the scale or not included in the final total score. The purpose of filler items is not hide the true nature of the assessment test, this ensures the validity of the participant's responses.

All items are scored by the individual with the following responses:

4 = I agree a lot

3 = I agree a little

2 = I neither agree nor disagree

1 = I disagree a little

0 = I disagree a lot

The items assessed as are follows:

Table 1

The Life Orientation Test - Revised

Statement	What it measures	Scoring Pattern
In uncertain times, I usually expect the best	Optimism	Direct
It's easy for me to relax.	Filler item	Not scored
If something can go wrong for me, it will.	Pessimism	Reverse
I'm always optimistic about my future.	Optimism	Direct
I enjoy my friends a lot.	Filler item	Not scored
It's important for me to keep busy.	Filler item	Not scored
I hardly ever expect things to go my way.	Pessimism	Reverse
I don't get upset too easily	Filler item	Not scored
I rarely count on good things happening to me.	Pessimism	Reverse
Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad.	Optimism	Direct

Once the values for all direct and reverse-scored items are calculated, the sum with form the total score. The creators of this assessment tool have stated "there are no 'cut-offs' for optimism or pessimism; we use [the scale] as a continuous dimension of variability". The following table is a rough interpretation of the final score:

Table 2

Interpretation Table of the LOT-R

Score Range	Interpretation
0 - 13	Low Optimism (High Pessimism)
14 - 18	Moderate Optimism
19 - 24	High Optimism (Low Pessimism)

When the LOT-R is used in a clinical setting, practitioners are able to gain insight into their client's attitudes and beliefs regarding the future. This could highlight areas in their treatment plan for growth and strength that can be leveraged.

How is dispositional optimism developed?

Genetic origin & heritability

Whether or not an individual is optimistic can depend on our genetic predisposition.Trait theory and characteristics in genetic modelling confirms that optimism and pessimism are inherited as independent traits. These heritable traits can predict one's intelligence, temperament, and even predisposition to alcoholism later in life. A study examining same-sex twins, raised together in one and raised separately in two homes, have indicated that levels of optimism and pessimism are inherited traits. The level of these independent traits can predict the twins' predisposition to depression and life satisfaction or paranoid hostility and cynicism in life (Plomin et al., 1992). Twin studies have found that the inherited component is about 25%, making optimism a stable personality dimension and predictor of life outcomes (Bornstein, 2018). This highlights the importance of genetic composition as it estimates that 25% of one's optimism or pessimism is genetically inherited.

Biologically, the Oxytocin receptor gene may influence personality traits, such as self-esteem, confidence and self-autonomy (the belief that you have control over your own life and destiny).

Environmental factors

Family environment

Optimism is developed in the family environment, as it can be learned by your family environment, which can raise or lower optimism (neuroticism and pessimism). An optimistic parent would tend to consciously practice a positive and beneficial outlook in life, as this would improve the quality of life for the family. Family cohesion refers to acceptance and valuing each family member. The members of the family tend to have a positive upbringing and be able to maintain healthy relationships, as they effectively cope with adversities in life. Optimism in the family is often modelled by the parental figure and older siblings. Children are able to perceive the world from the actions of the adults (or authoritative figures) around them and will often behave similarly to them. An optimistic household will often form securely-attached adolescents and adults as high confidence and resilience will allow them to be able to withstand difficult situations and circumstances later in life. A parental figure who allowed their children to have more autonomy in being able to problem solve, has been shown to have higher levels of optimism and lessened depressive symptoms (Hassan and Power, 2002).

Social status and desirability

Optimism and pessimism can be developed in the environment we are raised in. A person's socioeconomic status has been associated with stress and the standard of living. A study examined the relationship on how optimism is developed by measuring socioeconomic status in domains of education, occupational status, and income. By administering the LOT-R, it was revealed that the foundation of optimism is related to the person's socioeconomic status, early on in the developmental stage of their life (Heinonen et al., 2006).

High academic achievement has been positively linked to high dispositional optimism, as optimism enhances academic performance when students are faced with challenges and difficulties in school. Studies have shown that optimism is positively correlated with students' wellbeing, adjustment levels, self-efficiacy, social support, and academic achievements (Macaskill and Denovan, 2013). Optimistic students tend to show higher academic engagement and greater persistence in reaching their academic goals (Carver, Scheier and Segerstrom, 2010). This means students with higher optimism may also have higher confidence in their ability to be able to respond to academic challenges.

Impacts and influences of dispositional optimism

Physical Health

Dispositional optimism can influence domains of physical health. Studies suggests that people with higher dispositional optimism have a stronger immune system and a higher resilience against psychological stressors. In general, a more optimistic person is more positive. Therefore, a more positive individual may promote a healthy lifestyle, adaptive behaviours, cognitive responses associated with greater flexibility, problem-solving capacity and a more efficient elaboration of negative information. (Bornstein, 2018).

An optimistic person may exhibit better physical health than pessimists as studies show that people who report high optimism have also been linked to a 50% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and greater survival rates when fighting cancer (Bornstein, 2018). Optimists have also been reported to respond better to stress, as it has shown that they indicate lower levels of cortisol and being able to regulate their cortisol levels in response to stressors.

Another study examined the recovery process for a number of patients after undergoing surgery . Findings showed that optimists achieved faster results in "behavioural milestones" , which were rated to having a more favourable physical recovery (Scheier & Carver, 1992). The researchers proposed two theories about the relationship between physical health and optimism. Firstly, a person who wants to be healthy would make an active, beneficial change to their lifestyle. A person who promotes their health would most likely avoid health-damaging behaviours, such as smoking, and would engage in health-preserving behaviours, such as maintaining routine physical exercise. This means a person who makes conscious decisions towards a healthy lifestyle would most likely possess a belief that their efforts will affect their future physical health in a positive outcome. Such that, this person who believes they are able to make a positive change to their lifestyle is more likely to have an optimistic disposition. The desired goals that are set will be reflective of this optimistic belief. The second theory is that optimists are more likely to be resilient when faced with life stressors and they are able to confront their adversities in life with a positive outlook. This forms their ability to be able to copy with stressors more effectively. Research shows that people who have maintained an optimistic disposition to emotional distress over time have shown to exhibit less physiological strain. This means that, in the long-term, optimistic people tend to lead better, healthier lives (Wrosch, Scheier & Miller, 2013).

Mental Wellbeing

Dispositional optimism is often associated with overall psychological wellbeing and better mental health. Research has shown that optimistic people are more likely to report lower on domains such as anxiety and depression, as they exhibit higher levels of self-esteem and a more internal locus of control (Scheier & Carver, 1985). Studies on trauma survivors have examined people with high optimism are able to recover from effects relating to stress when coping with trauma quicker than those who scored high on pessimism and exhibit higher levels of stress (Birkeland, et al, 2017). This shows that optimism is able to shield the psychological stress and consequences when patients receive medical treatment and undergo recovery from traumatic and distressing events. A link between mental health and genetic predisposition has also been examined in same-sex twin studies. Findings show that levels of optimism and pessimism can be independently indicative of a person's predisposition to suffering from depression and their perception of life satisfaction. As previously mentioned, it has been approximated that 25% of our genes comprise our personality traits. This means that a person's level of optimism or pessimism can be inherited, linking the relationship of optimism being an inherited component of mental health (Plomin et al., 1992).

Relationships

A person who is constructive in conflict and resolution discussions, is more likely to effectively resolve relationship issues. A partner who is more flexible is also more likely to believe that a positive future is attainable through persistence for the relationship to prosper. As optimism tends to lead to more positive outcomes when achieving a desired goal, conceptually, this can explain how relationships are heavily influenced by possessing dispositional optimism. If an optimistic partner perceives they have more confidence in their ability to solve issues in the relationship, is more likely to achieve a longer, more satisfying, and more fulfilling relationship.

A study was conducted on newlywed couples and how they engage in constructive conflict resolution. The newlyweds that reported to have higher levels of optimism towards their marriage, also showed that they were more likely to engage in resolving issues through a positive and beneficial way. The same couples also showed less of a marital well-being decline in their first year of being married (Neff and Geers, 2013).

People who are optimistic usually also tend to thrive in different social settings. Generally, optimists with strong support systems are more likely to perceive that they are able to navigate better and easier in a broader and more diverse environments (Anderson, John and Keltner, 2012). This perception of social support has also been associated with being indicative of higher personal resilience when experiencing feelings of loneliness, later in life (Rius-Ottenheim et al., 2011). Optimism can predict having a positive future for intimate relationships and social support systems.

Conclusion

It is clear that optimism can alter the way the mind and body operate. To make a conscious and positive effort, means being able to support a healthy physical body, being able to form secure relationships, increase happiness and productivity in life, are all components of a sense of high dispositional optimism. Dispositional optimism is the attitude in which people differ in the degree when they perceive that future events will have a positive outcome. Exploring this concept allows deeper understanding of how a sense of optimism can alter thoughts, feelings, and actions across many domains. The Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R) is the most common and standard assessment tool that is able to assess the dispositional level of optimism in an individual.

This allows insight into how the individual is influenced by many factors, such as their physical health, mental wellbeing, and their social relationships in life. Whether or not a person is optimistic tends to depend on genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and learned attitudes, as they navigate through conflict and challenges in life. Although not all factors can produce dispositional optimism, there is a common consensus that an optimistic outlook serves a person better throughout life than a pessimistic one.

It can be concluded that there is need for more research on long-term benefits and future outcomes in dispositional optimism.

See Also

• Explanatory style (Wikipedia)
• Positive psychology (Wikipedia)
• Optimism (Wikipedia)
• Optimism bias (Book chapter, 2021)
• Optimism and physical health (Book chapter, 2021)

References

Anderson, C., John, O. and Keltner, D., 2012. The Personal Sense of Power. Journal of Personality, 80(2), pp.313-344.

Birkeland, M., Blix, I., Solberg, Ø. and Heir, T., 2017. Gender Differences in Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms after a Terrorist Attack: A Network Approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 8.

Bornstein, Marc H. (2018). The SAGE encyclopedia of lifespan human development. SAGE Publications, Inc.

Carver, C., Scheier, M. and Segerstrom, S., 2010. Optimism. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), pp.879-889.

Chang, E., Maydeu-Olivares, A. and D'Zurilla, T., 1997. Optimism and pessimism as partially independent constructs: Relationship to positive and negative affectivity and psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 23(3), pp.433-440.

Conversano, C., Rotondo, A., Lensi, E., Vista, O., Arpone, F. and Reda, M., 2010. Optimism and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being. Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, 1(1), pp.25-29.

Hasan, N. and Power, T., 2002. Optimism and pessimism in children: A study of parenting correlates. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(2), pp.185-191.

Heinonen, K., Raikkonen, K., Matthews, K., Scheier, M., Raitakari, O., Pulkki, L. and Keltikangas-Jarvinen, L., 2006. Socioeconomic Status in Childhood and Adulthood: Associations With Dispositional Optimism and Pessimism Over a 21-Year Follow-Up. Journal of Personality, 74(4), pp.1111-1126.

Macaskill, A. and Denovan, A., 2013. Developing autonomous learning in first year university students using perspectives from positive psychology. Studies in Higher Education, 38(1), pp.124-142.

Neff, L. and Geers, A., 2013. Optimistic expectations in early marriage: A resource or vulnerability for adaptive relationship functioning?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105(1), pp.38-60.

Plomin, R., Scheier, M., Bergeman, C., Pedersen, N., Nesselroade, J. and McClearn, G., 1992. Optimism, pessimism and mental health: A twin/adoption analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 13(8), pp.921-930.

Rius-Ottenheim, N., Kromhout, D., Mast, R., Zitman, F., Geleijnse, J. and Giltay, E., 2011. Dispositional optimism and loneliness in older men. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27(2), pp.151-159.

Scheier, M. and Carver, C., 1985. Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4(3), pp.219-247.

Scheier, M. and Carver, C., 1992. Effects of optimism on psychological and physical well-being: Theoretical overview and empirical update. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16(2), pp.201-228.

Wrosch, C., Scheier, M. and Miller, G., 2013. Goal Adjustment Capacities, Subjective Well-being, and Physical Health. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(12), pp.847-860.

External Links

• Larry Brilliant - The case for optimism (TED talk)