The Research Status and Prospects of Optimism

Abstract

In the past decades, optimism has become a research focus in the field of Positive Psychology. As a positive expectation for future, optimism makes people look at the positive side of things and keep trying to get good results even they are in trouble. Lots of researches have shown that optimism is beneficial in many life domains. It may relate to the coping style or the perceptual bias of optimists. Future research should focus on the cognitive structure and the antecedents of optimism, finding ways to help people become more optimistic, and concerning the side effects of optimism.