Optimism and Personality Trait

Optimism could be considered a condition of the mind that makes one believe that the best things will always happen to them. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass with water at the halfway point, where the optimist is said to see the glass as half full, but the pessimist sees the glass as half empty. Optimists tend to see adversity as temporary; more specifically they view the obstacle as limited to the situation and not generalized.

1) How does the personality trait develop in humans? Where does it appear to come from? (20 pts)

According to Alan Carr, author of Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Human Strengths, “the development of optimism may be determined by parental mental health, the type of role modeling offered by parents and the degree to which parents encourage and reward optimism” (Carr pg. 84). It is not surprising to hear that children are more likely to grow into optimistic adults if they come from families in which neither parent suffered from depression, but along with obvious genetic factors, environmental conditions, like parental influence, can also shape a child’s personality. Parents also play a major role in the development of their children’s personality traits because kids look up to them as role models. Kids learn an unimaginable amount of traits and behaviors from their parents. They learn so many things just from watching how their parents act or handle any type of situation. Children vicariously learn the optimistic style by attributing success to internal and stable factors. Optimism may also be instilled in kids if their parents are understanding of any failures they may experience. It’s important for a child to learn that not all failures are unaccepta...

... middle of paper ...

...ll go as you planned but you can’t let those mishaps pile up and drag up down the continuum towards pessimism. Accepting that fact will allow you to be able to face those inevitable misfortunes and still have an optimistic outlook on life.

Works Cited

Anderson, C. Power, optimism and risk-taking. European Journal of Social Psychology, 511-536. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://mors.haas.berkeley.edu/CAnderson%20Pilot%20Site/Pubs/Power,%20optimism,%20and%20risk-taking.pdf

Carr, A. (2004). Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Human Strengths. : Brunner-Routledge.

Friedman, H. S. (2012). Cognitive and Social -Cognitive Aspects of Personality. Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research.

Paul, Annie. "The Uses and Abuses of Optimism and Pessimism." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., 01 Nov. 2011. Web. 06 May 2014