OPTIMISM
“Man does not need the mortar of truth to seal
up the prisons of his fear.”
Montaigne
Homework
• Spirituality and Religion in the VIA Survey
– One Question – “Religion”
– Spiritual Person – Purpose, Faith, Calling, Prayer
– Spirituality = search or connection with the
“sacred”
Mindfulness and Character Strengths
by Ryan M. Niemic
Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and
Classification, Martin E.P. Seligman
Type A
• 1950 by Meyer Friedman and R.H. Rosenman
• Link between personality and heart attacks…
• Western Collaborative Group Study looked at
3154 men: Type A 1589, Type B 1565
• Person’s personality type
– Smoking
– Cancer
– Heart Disease
Type A
• 1994, Friedman wrote OSHA …
– Type A behavior
– Correlated in only 3 of 12 studies
• One component of a Type A personality –
HOSTILITY – was related to Heart Disease
Redford Williams of Duke U
D.W. Johnson 1993
The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
Positive Psychotherapy - Summary
• Drugs : Curative and Cosmetic
• Curative drugs cure and the condition does
not reoccur.
• Cosmetic drugs are a palliative.
• While palliation is a good thing; it is not the
goal of intervention.
• No curative drugs used in psychotherapy; only
cosmetic drugs.
Positive Psychotherapy - Summary
• Active, Constructive Responding
• Most personality traits are inherited.
• Learn to deal with negative emotions.
OPTIMISM
• Positive emotions about the future:
– Faith
– Trust
– Confidence
– Hope
– Optimism
Optimism and Hope
• Can be built
• Cause
– Better resistance to depression
– Better performance at work
– Better physical health
EXPLANATORY STYLE
• A Habit Of Thought –
– Your habitual way of explaining bad events
– Stems from your view of your place in the world
– Are you valuable and deserving, or worthless and
hopeless
It is whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.
2 Dimensions: PERMANENCE, & PERVASIVENESS
PERMANENCE
• PERMANENCE: always and never rather than
sometimes and lately when explaining the
causes of bad events
PERMANENCE
PERMANENT
(PESSIMISTIC)
I’m all washed up.
TEMPORARY (OPTIMISTIC)
Diets never work.
Diets don’t work when you eat out.
You always nag.
You nag when I don’t clean my
room.
The boss is in a bad mood.
The boss is an SOB.
I’m exhausted.
You never talk to me. You haven’t talked to me lately.
PERMANENCE
Items marked PMB (Permanent Bad),
2,7,13,14,19,22,28, and 31.
2 or 3
Very optimistic on this
dimension
Moderately optimistic
4
Average
5 or 6
Quite pessimistic
7 or 8
Stay awake for the changing
from pessimistic to optimistic
next week
0 or 1
PERMANENCE
TEMPORARY
(PESSIMISTIC)
PERMANENT
(OPTIMISTIC)
It’s my lucky day.
I’m always lucky.
I try hard.
I’m talented.
My rival got tired.
My rival is no good.
PERMANENCE
Items marked PMG (Permanent Good),
1,6,8,9,16,17,26, and 27
6
Very optimistic on this
dimension
Moderately optimistic
4 or 5
Average
3
Moderately
pessimistic
Very pessimistic
7 or 8
0,1, or 2
PERVASIVENESS
• PERMANENCE is about time.
• PERVASIVENESS is about space.
• PERVASIVENESS: Events are viewed as specific
or universal.
PERVASIVENESS
UNIVERSAL
(PESSIMISTIC)
SPECIFIC (OPTIMISTIC)
All teachers are unfair.
Professor Seligman is
unfair.
I’m repulsive.
I’m repulsive to him.
Books are useless.
This book is useless.
PERVASIVENESS
Items Marked PVB (Pervasiveness Bad),
5,10,11,12,15,21,30, and 32
2 or 3
Very optimistic on this
dimension
Moderately optimistic
4
Average
5 or 6
Moderately
pessimistic
Very pessimistic
0 or 1
7 or 8
PERVASIVENESS
I’m smart at math.
UNIVERSAL
(OPTIMISTIC)
I’m smart.
My broker knows oil
stocks.
I was charming to her.
My broker knows wall
street.
I was charming.
SPECIFIC (PESSIMISTIC)
PERVASIVENESS
Items Marked PVG (Pervasiveness
Good), 3,4,18,20,23,24,25, and 29
6
Very optimistic on this
dimension
Moderately optimistic
4 or 5
Average
3
Moderately pessimistic
0, 1, or 2
Very pessimistic
7 or 8
HOPE
Bad Events
HOPELESS
HOPEFUL
I’m stupid.
I’m hung over.
Men are tyrants.
My husband was in a bad
mood.
It’s five to ten this lump is It’s five to ten this lump is
cancer.
nothing.
HOPE
• HOPE SCORE FOR BAD EVENTS:
HoB = PVB total + PMB total
HOPE
Good Events
HOPELESS
HOPEFUL
I’m lucky.
I’m talented.
My wife charms my
clients.
The U.S. will root out the
terrorists.
My wife charms everyone.
The U.S. will root out all
its enemies.
HOPE
• HOPE SCORE FOR GOOD EVENTS:
HoG = PVG + PMG total
HOPE = HoG - HoB
6 to 9
You are extraordinarily
hopeful
Moderately hopeful
1 to 5
Average
-5 to 0
Moderately hopeless
Below -5
Severely hopeless
10 to 16
Optimistic People
• Use Proactive Coping Strategies
– to eliminate, reduce, or manage stress and
negative emotions
• More Positive Expectancies For Success
– approach difficult situations
– expend energy to solve problems
Pessimistic People
• More Likely
– to become depressed
– to become physically ill
– have shorter life spans