Dispositional optimism
Open accessAbstract
Optimism is a cognitive construct (expectancies regarding future outcomes) that also relates to motivation: optimistic people exert effort, whereas pessimistic people disengage from effort. Study of optimism began largely in health contexts, finding positive associations between optimism and markers of better psychological and physical health. Physical health effects likely occur through differences in both health-promoting behaviors and physiological concomitants of coping. Recently, the scientific study of optimism has extended to the realm of social relations: new evidence indicates that optimists have better social connections, partly because they work harder at them. In this review, we examine the myriad ways this trait can benefit an individual, and our current understanding of the biological basis of optimism.
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Optimistic individuals tend to cope with stress in a more adaptive way, finding solutions to problems.
“Existing literature documents that optimistic individuals tend to cope with stress in a more adaptive way, finding solutions to problems (62).”
From Evolution of burnout syndrome in Spanish healthcare professionals during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: psychosocial variables involved (2025) · cites this paper as [62]
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References 91 · Cited by 1,004
- Authors
- Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F.
- Affiliations
- University of Miami (US)
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Carver, Charles S.
- Venue
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-06
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 293-299
- ISSN
- 1364-6613 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4061570
- OpenAlex
- W4244058045
- Cited by
- 1,004
- References
- 91
- Citations by year
- 2026: 81 · 2025: 90 · 2024: 107 · 2023: 112 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 111 · 2020: 144 · 2019: 70 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 6
- FWCI
- 5.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- KiltHub Repository (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (R01AT007262, AT007262)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Keywords
- dispositional optimism, pessimism, health outcomes, health-promoting behaviors, coping, social connectedness, effort, motivation, mental health, physical health
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Affect, Health, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Personality
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