Motivation and emotion/Tutorials/Learned optimism

Tutorial 06: Learned optimism
This is the sixth tutorial for the motivation and emotion unit of study.

Overview

This tutorial:

Explores learned optimism (the opposite of learned helplessness)
Wraps up motivation (following tutorials focus mainly on emotion)

Learned helplessness vs. learned optimism

Figure 1. Shuttle box used by Seligman to experiment with learned helplessness in dogs.

This exercise explores learned optimism.

Learned optimism relates to personal control beliefs in Chapter 10 of Reeve (2018) and the mindsets, control, and the self lecture. Whilst the textbook and lecture focus on learned helplessness, here attention is turned to the opposite: learned optimism.

Discuss:

What characterises learned helplessness?
What characterises learned optimism?

A computer metaphor:

Body and brain = "hardware". Can't easily be changed.
Thinking = "software". Reprogrammable.
At least, this is the view of cognitive psychology

Martin Seligman

The learned helplessness and learned optimism concepts were developed by Martin Seligman. Seligman started with research about learned helplessness in animals and then later applied this to learning optimism in humans and positive psychology more generally. Three key books in this respect are:

Helplessness: On depression, development, and death (Seligman, 1975)
Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life (Seligman, 1990)
The hope circuit: A psychologist's journey from helplessness to optimism (Seligman, 2018)

Learned optimism

Activity: Learned Optimism Test

Are you more pessimistic or optimistic? Let's find out.

Complete the Learned Optimism Test (48 items; 10 - 15 mins; modified from Seligman, 1991)
Scoring: "Right" answers are scored as optimistic; "wrong" answers are scored as pessimistic
Keep your answers up on the screen; note the total
Discussion:
- Explain the theoretical structure
- View and discuss the results.

The Learned Optimism Test measures three types of attributions (permanence, pervasiveness, personalisation) for two types of events (good, bad):

Permanence (Good and Bad)
Pervasiveness (Good and Bad)
Personalisation (Good and Bad)

Attributions are our explanations about causes of events. Our attributions about past events is used to predict causes of future events.

Table 1.

Attributional Dimensions (3) by Event Valence (2) Explanation of Pessimism-Optimism

Attribution	Bad	Good
Permanence	PmB	PmG
Pervasiveness	PvB	PvG
Personalisation	PsB	PsG
Total	ToB	ToG

Table 2.

Explanatory Styles Based on Attributional Dimensions of Pessimism and Optimism

	Optimistic	Pessimistic
Good event	Permanent Pervasive Internal	Temporary Local External
Bad event	Temporary Local External	Permanent Pervasive Internal

Permanence

Time: Temporary vs. Permanent - a pessimistic view is that bad events are permanent and good events are temporary (opposite for optimism)

PmB (Permanent Bad)
PmG (Permanent Good)

Pervasiveness

Space: Specific vs. Universal - across situations/domains: a pessimistic view is that bad events are pervasive across situations/domains and good events are specific to a situation/domain (opposite for optimism)

PvB (Pervasive Bad)
PvG (Pervasive Good)

Personalisation

Control/causality: Internal vs. External: e.g., a pessimistic view is that bad events are internally caused and good events are externally causes (opposite for optimism)

PsB (Personalisation Bad)
PsG (Personalisation Good)

Totals

Assuming optimistic responses are scored positively.

Hope

Hope (HoB) = PvB + PmB (i.e., Hope for Bad Events).
Seligman indicates that this is the single most important score.

Total Bad

Total B (Bad) = PmB + PvB + PsB

Total Good

Total G (Good) = PmG + PvG + PsG

Overall

Overall Optimism = Total G + Total B

ABCDE solution

Would you like to become more optimistic?

If so, Seligman suggests a cognitive ABCDE solution:

Table 3.

How to Change Pessimistic Thinking Styles


A	Adversity	When we encounter adversity, we react by thinking about it
B	Beliefs	Our thoughts rapidly congeal into beliefs
C	Consequences	These beliefs ... have consequences
D	Disputation	Challenge problematic beliefs by finding evidence against them, alternatives to negative reasoning, and limit the implications of the beliefs. "Much of the skill of dealing with setbacks ... consists of learning how to dispute your own first thoughts in reaction to a setback." (Seligman)
E	Energisation	We feel energised after we've disputed our false, negative beliefs

Is optimism always good?

There are well established positive relationships between optimism and important life outcomes such as physical health (e.g., longevity) and psychological well-being.

But is optimism always good? For example:

Narcissism - Believing that one is all-powerful and influential can contribute to inflated self-importance (i.e., narcissism)
Risk-taking - Believing that one can control good outcomes (when you actually can't) can be problematic (e.g., gambling)

Where is the sweet spot?

Despite these potential problems, the advantages of optimism are overwhelming. So much so that the psychologically healthiest people tend to have "positive illusions", that is, they have somewhat unrealistically positive views. "Pessimists" and "realists", on the other hand, are more prone to depression.

References

Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. W H Freeman/Times Books/ Henry Holt & Co.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. Vintage Books.

Seligman, M. E. (2018). The hope circuit: A psychologist's journey from helplessness to optimism. Penguin Random House Australia.

Recording

Tutorial 06 (2024)

External links

Avoiding learned helplessness and changing your explanatory style (Mackay & Mackay, 2010, artofmanliness.com, Building your resiliency: Part II)
Learned optimism: Is Martin Seligman’s glass half full? (positivepsychology.com)