goals, and believe they can reach those goals (Geers, Wellman, & Lassiter,
2009). Just like the moral of so many stories, researchers find that havingconfidence in one ’s abilities is often the key to success. In particular, optimists
are less likely to allow setbacks and temporary failures to get them down
(Gibbons, Blanton, Gerrard, Buunk, & Eggleston, 2000). One team of re-
searchers looked at how new life insurance agents reacted to the inevitable
rejections they face when selling policies (Seligman & Schulman, 1986). They
found the pessimists were more than twice as likely as the optimists to quitwithin the first year. When the going got tough, many of the pessimists decided
it was never going to get any better. Meanwhile, the undiscouraged and persis-
tent optimists sold more insurance policies than their pessimistic colleagues.
As with many other personality variables, researchers find optimism and
pessimism are related to culture (Chang, 2001; Fischer & Chalmers, 2008).Much of this research has compared people in individualistic cultures withthose from collectivist cultures (Chapter 1). One study asked Canadian and
Japanese students to estimate the likelihood that certain events (e.g., live a
long life, develop skin cancer) would happen to them (Heine & Lehman,1995). The Japanese students consistently expressed a more pessimistic out-
look than the Canadians. Other investigators have compared scores on mea-
sures of optimism and pessimism between cultures (Chang, 1996; Lee &
Seligman, 1997). These researchers also find Asian participants are more pes-
simistic than participants from individualistic cultures. Because, as we will
see, optimism and pessimism are related to coping, well-being, and health,
these cultural differences have important implications for counselors working
with people from diverse cultural backgrounds (Chang, 2001).
Dealing with Adversity
Investigators find clear differences in the way optimists and pessimists deal
with unexpected, stressful events (Nes & Segerstrom, 2006; Rasmussen,Wrosch, Scheier, & Carver, 2006). Consider the stress experienced by Israeli
citizens in a study conducted during the Persian Gulf War (Zeidner & Hammer,
1992). The researchers looked at coping and adjustment among residents of
Haifa, an area repeatedly threatened with SCUD missile a ttacks during the
time the study was conducted. The investigators found that the dispositionaloptimists in their sample experienced less anxiety and less depression than
those identified as pessimists. Similar results are found when less acute
sources of stress are examined. One team of researchers looked at adjustment
levels in men and women who had spent at least one year caring for aspouse diagnosed with Alzheimer ’s disease (Hooker, Monahan, Shifren, &
Hutchinson, 1992). The spouses who generally approached life with an opti-mistic outlook experienced less stress and less depression than the pessimisticcaregivers. Another study examined the health of individuals who experienced
the death or severe illness of a loved one (Kivimaki et al., 2005). Optimistic
participants had fewer health problems in the 18 months following the eventthan those low in optimism.
Other investigators look at how optimists and pessimists react to health
problems and medical procedures. In one study, optimistic women who hadOptimism and Pessimism 213