The document distinguishes between optimism and pessimism, highlighting how optimistic individuals attribute failures to external and specific factors while pessimistic individuals make internal and global attributions. It discusses the concept of learned optimism, techniques for fostering a positive outlook, and the impact of upbringing and neurobiology on these traits. Important models such as the ABCDE model and cognitive distortion strategies are introduced to help individuals reframe negative thoughts and develop a more optimistic perspective.

3. Optimism Vs. Pessimism

4. ~ Optimistic make external, variable & specific attribution for failure-like events.
~ Pessimist use internal, stable & global attribution.
~Optimistic-
a) to account the role of other people & environment in producing
bad outcomes.
b) to interpret the bad event as not likely to happen.
c) to constrain the bad outcome to just on the performance area &
not on others.

5. There are two students who failed in an examination and one of them is optimistic
whereas the other one is pessimistic.
Optimistic student's reaction
• It was poorly worded exam.
• I performed better in previous exams.
• I'll perform better in upcoming exams.
• I am doing better in other areas of life.
Pessimistic student's reaction
• I messed up.
• I performed poor earlier.
• I won't be able to do anything.

6. Different impacts of Optimism & Pessimism-
Optimistic
• Achieve more
• Better health
• Live Longer
• Low risk of cancer
(study by M. Seligman)
Pessimistic
• Give up easily.
• Easily depressed.
• Fell ill frequently.

7. Learned Optimism

8. • The concept of learned optimism was given by Martin Seligman.
• In Abramson, Seligman & Teasdale (1978), reformulated this model of
helplessness to incorporate the explanation that people make good or bad
things happen to them.

11. How to Increase Your Optimism?
Under learned optimism, positivity is a skill that takes practice to learn. The learned
optimism process involves changing how we think about the causes of events. As
we practice learned optimism, it may take a while for we to retrain our thoughts. we
can try these two models to rethink how we explain the causes of our circumstances.

12. ABCDE Model-
Dr. Seligman promotes the “ABCDE” model of learned optimism, which
involves asking ourself these questions about our negative thoughts:
• Adversity: What event caused the negative thoughts?
• Belief: How do we feel about the event?
• Consequence: What behaviours came from our feelings about the event?
• Disputation: What examples of events prove our negative beliefs wrong?
• Energization: How does challenging our negative beliefs inspire us to
move forward?

13. Recognize Cognitive Distortion With the Three P’s-
We can try to reframe negative thoughts through three kinds of cognitive distortions:
• Personalization: Instead of blaming a negative event on ourself, can you connect
it to an outside cause?
• Permanence: Instead of thinking that the negative event will affect us forever, can
we make changes for the future?
• Pervasiveness: Instead of believing that one bad event will impact every other
event, can we identify it as a single event?

14. Childhood Antecedents of learned optimism-
• Genetic plays an important role in the learned optimism.
• In a study, it was found out that monozygotic twins had more correlation in
compared to dizygotic twins in the level of optimism.
• Parents play an important role in development of optimistic behavior.
• Parents who provided safe, coherent environment are likely to promote the
learned optimism style in their offspring.
(Franz, McClelland, Weinberger & Peterson, 1944)
• Parents who understood their child's failures and generally attributed those failure
to external rather the internal factors
• (Syder, Higgins, & Stucky 1983/2005)

15. • Pessimistic parents raise pessimistic child. Childhood trauma (Parental death,
abuse, incest etc.) yield pessimism.
(Peterson, Bunce, & Larsen 1995)
• Parental Divorce also results in development of pessimistic behavior.
(Seligman, 1991)

16. Neuro-biological basis of optimism-
• Investigators have reported that pessimism and depression are related to abnormal
limbic system functioning as well as to dysfunctional operations of the lateral
prefrontal cortex and the paralimbic system. Indeed, depression appears to be
linked to deficiencies in neurotransmitters.
-(Liddle,2001)
• Research is still in its early phases, it appears that there are neurobiological
markers in the brain that are linked to perceived control and pessimism-depression
thoughts.

17. References
• https://7summitpathways.com/blog/learned-optimism/
• Positive Psychology- by C.R. Snyder & Shane J. Lopez