Put On A Happy Face?

There’s Something To Be Said For Optimism

Let’s talk about optimism, that curious human phenomenon of expecting good things to happen, often in defiance of reality. I don’t know about you, but I grew up in a household where pessimism reigned supreme. Maybe this particular philosophical perspective was born out of being raised by a single divorced mom during the 50’s but my early childhood was sprinkled with gems like “plan for the worst and you’ll never be disappointed.” Am I alone in that early upbringing? I think not.

For years social scientists have regaled pessimism over optimism when it comes to studying our wondering and worrying species. Except for a short period of time during the last turn of the century when the fictional Pollyanna insisted that everything was superlative and thus reason for inane cheerfulness, optimism has rarely been given a break. So disreputable was optimism that one of modern time’s most influential thinkers, Sigmund Freud, equated optimism with ignorance.

Dozens of recent studies show that optimists do better in school, work and sports, suffer less depression, achieve more goals, respond better to stress, wage more effective battles against disease, and yes, live longer.

By Definition

When faced with conflict, people tend to explain life in one of two ways. Pessimists will tend to think that it will be permanent (“It’s going to last forever”) and generalize the problem to their whole life (“It’s going to ruin everything”) and blame themselves (“It’s my fault, if only…”). In contrast, optimists explain bad events as temporary set backs specific to the immediate situation, and due largely to external causes. These habitual ways of thinking about events in our lives strongly influence our moods, mental health and even survival. During the past 25 years studies have shown that pessimists have poorer physical health, are prone to depression, and are frequent users of the medical care system.

New research also suggests that pessimists also have an increased risk of early death. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic examined the health status of over 800 medical patients and compared their health with the results of a personality inventory taken some 30 years earlier. From the tests they categorized people as optimistic, pessimistic or mixed. The pessimists had a significantly higher-than-expected death rate. In fact, every 10-point increase in pessimism score was associated with a 19% increase in the overall risk of death. The way that people attempted to explain the stressful events of their lives had an effect on death risk over the next 30 years. Pessimism is a risk factor for early death. Pessimists are more passive in their approach to life and tend to experience more uncontrollable bad events. Pessimists are also more likely to develop depression, and depression is associated with increased mortality. Pessimists are less likely to take preventative health action or seek medical help. They may drink, smoke, avoid doctors, and otherwise neglect their health while thinking that there is little that they can do to stave off disease or disability. Optimism and pessimism also influence the immune system through changes in neurohormones. In fact, some studies show decreases in certain measures of immune function among more pessimistic people.

By History

One’s optimism level, which begins to take shape around age 10, is largely a product of how one’s parents respond to the setbacks that children endure, according to some research. But the good news is that our tendency to be optimistic or pessimistic is not solely determined in our genes. Optimistic thinking can be systematically taught. Studies show that people can learn how to challenge pessimistic thought patterns and learn more positive, optimistic “self-talk.” Rigorous training with diverse populations, to include professionals, such as law enforcement, and soldiers tasked with bomb defusing, has been shown to foster optimism. But how much optimism is optimal?

Optimism

Surveys and studies show that people again and again overestimated their chances at success at various tasks. Some researchers see this “optimistic bias” as a dangerous streak of irrationality and should be discouraged, the impetus for unreasonably risky behavior. Others argue that even unfounded optimism can be highly useful, helping people tackle daunting challenges.

Perhaps no other finding lifts the spirit as much as learning that optimists live longer. One reason may be that optimists generally do a better job of staying out of harms way. Apparently pessimistic people appeared more prone to car accidents, household mishaps and even violence acts like homicide.

One reason may be that when you’re in a bad mood and feeling negative you are more prone to doing reckless things. The link between pessimism and traumatic death is also stronger for men then it is for women. According to Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan, women tend to go home and ruminate and eat when they’re in a bad mood, while men tend to go out, get drunk and wrap their cars around a utility pole.

Other health differences between optimists and pessimists have also begun to show up after the age of 45 suggesting that an optimistic outlook slows aging’s physical toll, protecting the person for a time against heart disease and other ailments. Optimists also tend to face their trouble head on, while pessimists have a tendency to bury their heads in the sand of denial. In a 1993 study of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, the women with the optimistic disposition were more likely to acknowledge the seriousness of their disease, experienced less distress and took more active steps to cope with it.

Pessimism was associated with denial and a giving up response while optimism was associated positively reframing the situation, with women believing, “This is not going to go away, so let me make the best of it if I can,” according to Charles carver, who conducted the study with Michael Scheier of Carnergie Mellon University. Optimists are also more open to learning they may be at risk for developing a disease and are more likely to accept the reality of the health challenge and to search out information about meaningful health threats.

Childhood and Optimism

Studies of twins show that people with the same genetic makeup frequently have the same optimism levels. Although researchers are reluctant to say whether genes play a direct role in shaping one’s mental outlook or instead, endow one with physical and biological attributes such as high intelligence or physical abilities that might other imbue a person with a reason to have a positive outlook. Still, experts are willing to offer that no less than 50% of ones optimistic tendency is nurtured.

In a soon to be published study by Judy Garber of Vanderbuilt University young adolescents often share their mother’s outlook, evidently because they learn her style of interpreting events, especially negative ones.

Children with what is know as a pessimistic explanatory style- they blamed errors on deep personal flaws and dismiss triumphs as lucky breaks- were more likely to have been told that their mistakes were caused by overarching deficiencies in their makeup. Disciplining children by inducing guilt or temporarily withdrawing affection also fostered pessimistic tendencies. If parents are negative, critical, blaming then the child is going to learn that’s how to explain things in the world.

At the same time research shows that reality also has an impact. Children who endure hardship and tragedy from sickness to divorcing parents to a death in the family are also prone to pessimistic thinking.

A Positive Psychology

It remains to be seen whether the world is ready for optimism. Nonetheless, solving problems in itself is an optimistic impulse, ingrained in our biology since we had brains sophisticated enough to plan ahead. Primed by centuries of evolutionary trial and error, evolutionary scientists say we are inclined to hope for the best in this life and count on an even better afterlife.

Given our work in public safety and the immeasurable odds against our success, what keeps bringing up back? “We seem to have a moderate design defect in thinking that things will workout,” says Lionel Tiger, an anthropologist and an early proponent in optimism research.

However you measure, as people working in public safety, “optimism is linked to desirable characteristics—happiness, perseverance, achievement and health.” What else do we need?