MODULE 5

OPTIMISM,
EXPLANATORY STYLE,
AND HOPE
Positive Psychology
Adapted from Hefferon and Boniwell (2011)
Photo: braintap.com
 CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

 Differentiate the concepts of optimism,

hope, and explanatory style; and
Locate relevant social issue in which Hope
Theory can be responsive of.
 DO YOU LOOK AT THINK
THINGS HALF-FULL OR ABOUT
IT…
HALF-EMPTY?
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
 BEST POSSIBLE SELVES EXERCISE
(HEFFERON & BONIWELL, 2011)
 You will be grouped into 6.
 Individual instructions:
 Think about your life in the future. Imagine that everything
has gone as well as it possibly could. You have worked hard
and succeeded at accomplishing all of your life goals. Think
of this as the realization of all of your life dreams. Now, write
about what you imagined.
 Now reflect on your future goals and then list several ways
that you could achieve them. These larger goals can be
broken down into smaller, more achievable sub-goals.
 Share them to the group.
 BEST POSSIBLE SELVES EXERCISE
(HEFFERON & BONIWELL, 2011)
 15 minutes-individual answers
 15 minutes-group sharing (everyone should take
turn)
 15 minutes-plenary with teacher

*Please document your own experience since this will be the

basis for your Asych Activity No. 5.
 BEST POSSIBLE SELVES EXERCISE
(HEFFERON & BONIWELL, 2011)
 Guiding questions for processing:
1. How did you come-up with yours?
2. What did you discover about the way you view things?
3. What did you realize about your other group-mates sharing.
 OPTIMISM

 optimism was once

seen as unrealistic
 optimism was later
found to be
necessary
 empirical studies
on optimism
 UNDERSTANDING OPTIMISM

 Dispositional
Optimism
 personality trait
 outcomes of events
will be positive
 we need to regulate
our behaviors for
one’s GOALS (with
value + confidence).
 UNDERSTANDING OPTIMISM

 Explanatory
Style/Attribution Style
 kanino/saan mo
sinisisi ang mga
bagay?
 people with
optimistic view look at
things from external,
unstable, and specific
vantage point.
 ATTRIBUTIONAL OPTIMISM AND CBT

Optimism can be
learned.
 monitoring of one’s
automatic thoughts
(esp. negative ones).
 reframing (identify Therapist: why do you feel that you are doomed
beliefs and to fail because you came from dysfunctional
family?
recognize how these Client: because that’s how I automatically
respond to things; I cannot control it.
affect you) Therapist: Is thinking that you can’t control it
self-defeating yet again?
HOW DO YOU PROTECT
YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH?
 WHAT PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF
OPTIMISM YOU KNOW?
Depression and stress
 Optimism and diseases
 Do you know of a more recent
study on the benefits of optimism
on health?
 OPTIMISM AS POSITIVE ILLUSIONS
(SEE WORKS OF TAYLOR AS CITED IN
HEFFERON AND BONIWELL, 2011)

are predicated on  enhanced light of

the belief that most viewing things
people are biased  unrealistic sense of
towards viewing personal control
themselves in an
optimistic way
 OPTIMISM AND LOCUS OF CONTROL

Strong internal  Internal LOC are

locus of control more likely to:
believe that the 1. Work for
responsibility for achievements
whether or not they 2. Tolerate delays in
succeed ultimately rewards.
lies with themselves. 3. more guilt-prone
 DEFENSIVE PESSIMISM

 Warning: this may

be depending on the
person.
 Are there benefits
of being a
pessimist?
 DEFENSIVE PESSIMISM

 Defensive pessimism  How to?

is based on the ability 1. Set low
to think of, and plan, expectations about
for the worst-case
performance;
scenario of a situation;
hence defensive 2. think about
pessimists like to be solving possible
prepared and cover all daunting task
angles.
 IN DEFENSE OF THE PESSIMISTS

 Trying to change  defensive pessimists

defensive pessimists tend to be more
MAY BE anxious and deliver
counterproductive (and poorer performance if
vice versa). they are ‘not allowed’
to engage in
pessimistic rehearsal
 opposite to optimists,
who are more anxious if
they are ‘made to think
about’ possible failure.
 UNREALISTIC OPTIMISM

 too much of whatever 1. Miscalculated risks

can be detrimental, 2. optimists may not
including optimism
be well-prepared
 akin to wishful
for unfortunate
thinking
events.
Is it better to think things are going to
turn out well, and avoid worrying? Or
should we expect the worst, and not
be disappointed? Which is more THINK
valuable in our lives: do we want to ABOUT
know the truth, even when that IT…
makes us unhappy? Or is it
sometimes better to look on the
bright side, despite the evidence?
 THE 3 SELVES IN OPTIMISM

 BEING CERTAIN
SELF-CONFIDENCE IN ONE’S

OPTIMISM
ABILITIES

 ‘THE POWER
SELF-EFFICACY OF I CAN’

DISPOSITION TO
EXPERIENCE
SELF-ESTEEM ONESELF AS
COMPETENT
 THE CONCEPT OF HOPE

Hope  Agency
determination to belief that one can
achieve goals begin and sustain
(agency) plus the movement along the
belief that many envisioned pathway
pathways can be towards a given goal.
generated.
 THE CONCEPT OF HOPE

Pathways thinking  Part of CBT is

reflects an breaking down
individual’s complex goals into
perceived ability to achieving steps (to
formulate plausible facilitate HOPE).
goal routes