Pessimism Vs. Optimism
The subject is actually Pessimism vs Optimism, and Pessimism & Optimism. In other words anything related to the two.

I know there's already a "Which are you Pessimistic or Optimistic", but this thread is more about the subject as a whole instead of which one are you. Since I'm trying to tackle this a different way, I hopes there some leniency in regards to this thread ...


General Definition
Pessimism:
The tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems, etc.

Optimism:
A disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome.


Here's a list of points to write about. Pick any one to work off of. Note you don't have to talk about all of them at once.
Yes, I know some of these overlap a bit.

♦ What do you think causes this?

◊ Do you think it may be genetic (nature)?

♦ Does environment play a role?

◊ What do you think caused you to be one?

♦ In your opinion which is "better"?

◊ Which are you more?

♦ What sort of mood/mindset do you have to be in to be one type?

◊ Do you try to persuade others to be your type?

♦ Which type do you prefer to be around?

◊ Have you ever dated the other type, and how did it work out?

♦ Do you prefer talking/debating to the other type?

◊ Are you surrounded by the other type?

♦ Pros and Cons to being one

◊ Effects on life?

♦ Which is healthier?

◊ Favorite quotes. (For both or one)

♦ Has changing to the other benefited your life?

◊ Favorite Pessimist and/or Optimist in history, entertainment, or among people you know.

Elaborate more on
♦ Stable vs. Unstable: Can time change things, or do things stay the same regardless of time?

◊ Global vs. Local: Is a situation a reflection of just one part of your life, or your life as a whole?

♦ Internal vs. External: Do you feel events are caused by you or by an outside force?




Open to new points to add to the list. Since this thread is long enough I'll write my thoughts later.

Last edited by Kitty18dnsz at 3:33 pm, Dec 18 2013

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Seeing as it's later ... My thoughts on the subject.

◊ Do you think it may be genetic (nature)?
Yes I could see this being genetic. Seeing as other disorders are genetic, and how blood related family members can act the same even when they have never met. Maybe it is genetic o.o

♦ Does environment play a role?
Yes, I believe this does play a role. I think if someone grew up being exposed to too many harsh realities of the world that could effect how negatively their mindset turns out. (and vice versa).

♦ In your opinion which is "better"?
Hmmm which is better ... I guess it depends. I can see Optimists achieving more in life with that "I can do it" attitude, but I can also see Pessimists being able to adapt more because they expect the worst to happen. If I had to choose one I think I would pick Pessimists, just because I think being optimist can lead to a possible break down if things don't go well.

◊ Which are you more?
Honestly I'm not sure which one I am more ... I tend to think really negatively when it comes to things, but I always try to stay positive in anything I do ... Ummm since I tend to ignore my thoughts I guess I'm more optimistic.

♦ Which type do you prefer to be around?
I probably prefer to be around more pessimistic people ... I don't know I think if I'm around too many optimists I'll feel suffocated by the pink fluffy positive energy ...

◊ Have you ever dated the other type, and how did it work out?
Errr not sure which one I am, heh, but let's see ... hmmm I would say 4/5 of my boyfriends were pessimists .... Seeing as I married the last one (pessimist) I think it worked out fine for me

♦ Do you prefer talking/debating to the other type?
Since talking/debating involve my thoughts I would be a pessimist, and ... debating with the other would be tiring. If it's just talking I could manage.

♦ Has changing to the other benefited your life?
I think I could say I was once fully pessimistic, but yes changing (where I'm sometimes the other) have benefited me. I think the more hands on/can do approach has worked well in my favor.


I'll tackle the rest some other time.


-Sidenote ... I wonder if all the points scared people off ... It wasn't mandatory to respond to all of them ...

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Yes yes, I know I make longwinded comments, but that's just me >.<
I should proof read my comments more, but I won't...
So keep in mind I'm filled with typos

Check out FAQ and Forum Rules if you haven't yet.
For errors linking in threads

I am too lazy to answer all of the questions so I'll only answer some of them:

What is the leading cause of pessimism or optimism?
The leading cause of pessimism or optimism is neither genetic nor environmental factor, but rather your explanatory style - that is, your inner thoughts or how you explain the bad event to yourself. There is a famous psychological book called "Learned optimism" written by Martin Seligman, a very well-known psychologist. He did many experiments on dogs and noticed that the dogs which are exposed to inescapable situations in the beginning would cease to act when transferring to a new different situation. In other words, they learnt helplessness and hopelessness. He also experimented on human, and it gave the same results. Read his book if you want to learn more about this.

Going back to the explanatory style, let's say you received a bad grade on your test. If you characterize the bad grade (failure) to permanent and personal attributes, such as I am stupid, then you are likely to feel depressed. However, if you characterize the bad grade to temporal and external attributes, such as the test was hard or I was partying hard last night and didn't really have time to study, then you are less likely to feel depressed.

The book "Learned Optimism" describes a method called ABCED to combat pessimism or to acquire "learned optimism". There is a concise summary of the book here:
http://peakeffectiveness.com/Positive%20Psychology/Learned% 20Optimism%20Summary.pdf

♦ What do you think causes this? Genetic (nature)/environment?
I believe both play a role.

◊ What do you think caused you to be one?
In my case it is 99% environment

♦ In your opinion which is "better"?
Both has con and pro sides, being to much of an optimist and you'll become a fool, too much of an pessimist and you'll become someone you can't move forward.

◊ Which are you more?
Pessimism

◊ Do you try to persuade others to be your type?
Nay

♦ Do you prefer talking/debating to the other type?
It doesn't matter if she/he is pessimist/optimist, as long as they talk with logic.

◊ Are you surrounded by the other type?
I got both type around me, but most of my friend are rather neutral.

♦ Which is healthier?
Optimism. When I start to worry about one thing, it could drag on for a long time, the negative though will keep swirling in my head until I my head hurts. Not exactly a 'healthy' condition.

♦ What do you think causes this?
-Environment

◊ Do you think it may be genetic (nature)?
-No, you believe what you wanna

♦ Does environment play a role?
-Yeah

◊ What do you think caused you to be one?
-Environment

♦ In your opinion which is "better"?
-Optimism

◊ Which are you more?
-I'm both, but more on the optimism side

♦ What sort of mood/mindset do you have to be in to be one type?
-Optimism=happy, Pessimism=lonely

◊ Do you try to persuade others to be your type?
-No, Persuading= too much bother

♦ Which type do you prefer to be around?
-Both, to balance The positive and negative

◊ Have you ever dated the other type, and how did it work out?
-Not sure, well you don't go and ask your lover if s\he is an optimist or pessimist

♦ Do you prefer talking/debating to the other type?
-Yeah, just wanna debate to prove them wrong or something

◊ Are you surrounded by the other type?
-Don't know, I don't ask them which is which

♦ Pros and Cons to being one
-Pros: often positive
Cons: easy going?

◊ Effects on life?
-Have friends

♦ Which is healthier?
-Optimism, positive thinking

◊ Favorite quotes. (For both or one)
-N\A

♦ Has changing to the other benefited your life?
-Not sure

◊ Favorite Pessimist and/or Optimist in history, entertainment, or among people you know
-N/A

Uhm, does this thread really have a meaning? I mean, nobody is a 100% Optimist or Pessimist, it just depends on the mood?? Right?

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