LOT-R-LIKE ITEMS
Directions: Please indicate the extent to which
you agree with each of the items using the following
response format:
05strongly disagree; 1 5disagree; 2 5neutral;
35agree; 4 5strongly agree.
____1. I know the best will happen even in the worst
of times.
____2. I know how to take time off. (filler item)
____3. Things never go right for me.*
____4. My future looks bright.
____5. Having friends is important to me. (filler item)____6. Keeping busy is important to me. (filler item)
____7. Things never go my way.*
____8. I am happy most of the time. (filler item)
____9. I can’t expect good things.*
____10. I anticipate more bad than good in my life.*
Notes : Copyright r1994 by the American Psychological
Association. No portion of the LOT-R may be repro-
duced by any means without permission in writing from
the copyright owner.
These items are similar to the items in the LOT-R.
*Item reverse scored.
Generalized Expectancy for Success Scale (GESS-R)
(Hale et al., 1992 ).
Variable
Fibel and Hale (1978) defined optimism as ‘the expectancy held by an individual that in most situations
he/she will be able to attain desired goals’ (p. 924). Hale and colleagues (1992) further noted that optimism
appears to be a stable personality trait.
Description
The original GESS consists of 30 statements to which respondents indicate their degree of agreement. Of these,
17 items contain statements about the likelihood of future successes and 13 contain statements about the likeli-
hood of future failure, reveres scored. Item response format is on a 5-point Likert-type scale from 1 ‘highly
improbable’ to 5 ‘highly probable’. Possible scores range from 30 to 150 with higher scores indicating higher
optimism ( Fibel & Hale, 1978 ). The revised GESS (GESS-R) consists of 25 items answered on the same scale
(Hale et al., 1992 ).
Sample
The original GESS was validated with three separate university samples ( N5307). No differences emerged
between samples and total GESS scores were similar for males ( M5112.15, SD513.24) and females ( M5112.32,
SD513.80) ( Fibel & Hale, 1978 ). The GESS-R was validated with a university sample (N 5199) and demonstrates
similar descriptive statistics ( M5107.00, SD55.72) ( Hale et al., 1992 ).
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Split-half reliability coefficients for the original measure were ( α5.91) for males and ( α5.90) for females
(Fibel & Hale, 1978 ). Similarly, the split-half reliability for the revised measure was ( α5.92) ( Hale et al., 1992 ).
Test/C0Retest
Test/C0retest reliability for the revised measure was .69 at six weeks ( Hale et al., 1992 ).
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
GESS-R scores correlate positively with the LOT ( r5.40), self-esteem ( r5.46), and extraversion ( r5.16). GESS
scores correlate slightly with social desirability ( r5.26) and GESS-R scores correlate slightly but non-significantly
with Eysenck’s lie scale ( r5.18) ( Hale et al., 1992 ).64 3. MEASURES OF HOPE AND OPTIMISM
II. EMOTIONAL DISPOSITIONS