Distinguishing optimism from pessimism: Relations to fundamental dimensions of mood and personality.

Abstract

Contrary to unidimensional conceptions of optimism and pessimism, factor analysis of 2 widely used instruments revealed that optimism and pessimism are empirically differentiable, but related, constructs. Moreover, consistent with expectations, optimism and pessimism were differentially linked with fundamental dimensions of mood and personality. Pessimism was principally associated with neuroticism and negative affect. Optimism was primarily associated with extraversion and positive affect. Findings are discussed with reference to current conceptual and measurement models of optimism and pessimism and their relations to broad dimensions of mood and personality.

Optimism and pessimism of physical education and nonphysical education students: Invariance of structure

“…This result supports the results of Marshall et al (1992) who found that the two constructs were correlated but distinguishable. The responses to the optimism and pessimism scale items demonstrated that the two scales were measured with equal validity and reliability for P.E.…”

Positive Affect and Adjustment to Perceived Racism

“…Second, we examine both main and interaction effects of positive affect and perceived racism. Third, given that positive affect has been linked with optimism (e.g., Marshall, Wortman, Kusulas, Hervig, et al, 1992), any observed associations with perceived racism and depressive symptoms may be due to this shared optimism component rather than any actual adaptive benefits of positive affect. Thus, we also examine whether positive affect has incremental effects, above and beyond related personality characteristics (i.e., optimism) in promoting adjustment to perceived racism.…”

Dispositional Optimism is Unidimensional or Bidimensional? the Portuguese Revised Life Orientation Test

“…For example, Marshall et al (1992) found LOT pessimism to be associated with neuroticism and negative affect, whereas LOT optimism was associated with extraversion and positive affect. In the same way Chang et al (1997) defends the bidimensionality of optimism and pessimism, defined as positive and negative outcome expectancies.…”

“…Research with LOT found systematically two dimensions (Bailey, Eng, Frisch, & Snyder, 2007;Brenes, Rapp, Rejeski, PAIS RIBEIRO, PEDRO, AND MARQUES & Miller, 2002;Chang, D'Zurilla, & Maydeu-Olivares, 1994;Chang & Mcbride-Chang, 1996;Fournier, de Ridder, & Bensing, 1999;Herzberg, Glaesmer, & Hoyer, 2006;Marshall, Wortman, Kusulas, Hervig, & Vickers, 1992;Mroczek, Spiro III, Aldwin, Ozer, & Bossy, 1993;Raikkonen, & Matthews, 2008;Robinson-Whelen, Kim, MacCallum, & KiecoltGlaser,1997;Smith, Pope, Rhodewalt, & Poulton, 1989). Even the creators of the LOT found that it consisted of two factors, namely optimism and pessimism, with factor loadings corresponding to the negatively and the positively worded items (Scheier & Carver, 1985), but they did, however, consider the LOT to be onedimensional for pragmatic reasons, even though they acknowledged the possibility of examining optimism and pessimism scores separately.…”