Optimism

One of the most interesting topics in adult development is the concept that optimism contributes to mental and physical wellness.  Although this has inspired researchers to renew their interests in the ancient philosophies of happiness (e.g., Hippocrates, Aristotle, Socrates, and humanistic psychology), it has also precipitated a shift in focus from a ‘disease’ model of human behavior to a ‘wellness’ model.  While the former is fixated on curing or preventing negative experiences (e.g., mental and physical disease and disorder, violence, failure, victimization, abuse, brain damage, negative effects of stress, and poverty), the latter focuses on accessing and cultivating a resilience that produces flourishing and living well in the present, and hope and optimism for the future (Bjorklund and Bee, 2008).  What this means for the 71 million older adults predicted to be living and working in 2030 is that, on the horizon, emerging alongside the predicted ‘longevity revolution’ (CDC, 2008), is an empirically-supported, foolproof ‘recipe’ for living well and aging successfully; a ‘positive’ psychology.  This paper explores the emerging field of Positive Psychology and its relevance to the field of psychology, in general.  In addition, it explores the relationship of optimism and health and evaluates the need for a ‘positive’ approach to psychology by examining what proponents and skeptics are saying about a ‘positive’ approach to psychology that focuses on what is good and healthy, rather than what is diseased and disordered.  Ultimately, it provides empirical and practical evidence that the best revenge (for disease and suffering) is to live well.   


         

Aim: To identify personality traits related to placebo responding outside the context of pain.  Methods. Sixty three healthy volunteers completed the study. Personality traits were measured online one week prior to a laboratory session in which two psychosocial stress tests were administered. Prior to the second test, the placebo group received an intranasal spray of ‘serotonin’ (placebo) with the suggestion it would enhance recovery. Subjective stress, heart rate and heart rate variability were measured. Self reported and physiological responses to the placebo suggestion were assessed against personality variables. 
Results. Placebo effects were demonstrated in both self reported and physiological stress metrics. Lower optimism and less empathic concern predicted greater perceived benefits from the placebo treatment; and lower drive, fun, and sensation seeking were related to a greater physiological response to the manipulation. Multivariate analyses revealed lower optimism and behavioural drive to be predictive of responding to the placebo manipulation.
Conclusion. Findings are in contrast with prior work in pain paradigms which found higher levels of the same traits to be related to greater placebo analgesic responses. A cluster of traits characterised by behavioural drive, extraversion, optimism and novelty or fun seeking appears to be germane to placebo responsiveness, but contextual stimuli may generate different patterns of responding. A new conceptualisation of placebo responsiveness may be useful. Rather than a ‘placebo personality’ it may be that responsiveness is better typified by a two faceted transactional model, in which different personality facets respond to different contextual contingencies.

Optimism is considered to influence Quality of Life (QoL) in a positive way. The longitudinal study was carried out to find the impact of optimism (life orientation) on perceived Quality of life among renal transplant recipients (RTRs) to see if optimism increases subjective QoL. The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between optimism and perceived QoL, suggesting that optimist recipients tend to be more satisfied with their overall life post- transplant. Recipients did not differ in levels of optimism on the basis of gender, marital status, education, financial conditions and time since transplantation. Age was the only demographic factor found to be negatively associated with optimism, suggesting that optimism decreases with increasing age. In order to clarify the cause & effect relationship, a linear regression was carried out that showed that optimism does not predict QoL; however, an increased QoL does predict optimism which is an interesting and unexpected finding. Optimism was studied as a personality trait; however, it appeared to be more as an outcome of life experiences. A Cross lagged Correlation analysis was carried out to clarify the causal direction of this relationship between optimism and QoL. However, no clear causal direction was found indicative of an overlap among these constructs which seem to lack distinctiveness as separate constructs.

Objective
Optimism has been linked with an array of positive health outcomes at the individual level. However, researchers have not examined how a spouse's optimism might impact an individual's health. We hypothesized that being optimistic (and having an optimistic spouse) would both be associated with better health.

Methods
Participants were 3940 adults (1970 couples) from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative panel study of American adults over the age of 50. Participants were tracked for four years and outcomes included: physical functioning, self-rated health, and number of chronic illnesses. We analyzed the dyadic data using the actor–partner interdependence model.

Results
After controlling for several psychological and demographic factors, a person's own optimism and their spouse's optimism predicted better self-rated health and physical functioning (bs = .08–.25, ps < .01). More optimistic people also reported better physical functioning (b = −.11, p < .01) and fewer chronic illnesses (b = −.01, p < .05) over time. Further, having an optimistic spouse uniquely predicted better physical functioning (b = − .09, p < .01) and fewer chronic illnesses (b = − .01, p < .05) over time. The strength of the relationship between optimism and health did not diminish over time.

Conclusions
Being optimistic and having an optimistic spouse were both associated with better health. Examining partner effects is important because such analyses reveal the unique role that spouses play in promoting health. These findings may have important implications for future health interventions.

Highlights
•Optimism is associated with an array of health outcomes at the individual level.
•However, a spouse’s optimism has the potential to impact an individual’s health.
•We tested whether a spouse’s optimism impacted an individual’s health over time.
•We used data from a nationally representative sample of older U.S. adults.
•A spouse’s optimism was uniquely associated with an individual’s health over time.

Background—Although higher optimism has been linked with an array of positive health behaviors, biological processes, and cardiovascular outcomes, the relationship between optimism and heart failure has not been examined. In the United States, 80% of heart failures occur in adults aged 65+ years. Therefore, we examined whether higher optimism was linked with a reduced incidence of heart failure among older adults.

Methods and Results—Prospective data were from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study of older US adults. Our sample included 6808 participants who were followed for 4 years. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess whether optimism was independently associated with incident heart failure. We adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioral, biological, and psychological covariates. Higher optimism was associated with a lower risk of incident heart failure during the follow-up period. In a model that adjusted for sociodemographic factors, each SD increase in optimism had an odds ratio of 0.74 (95% confidence interval, 0.63–0.85) for heart failure. Effects of optimism persisted even after adjusting for a wide range of covariates. There was also evidence of a dose–response relationship. As optimism increased, risk of developing heart failure decreased monotonically, with a 48% reduced odds among people with the highest versus lowest optimism.

Conclusions—This is the first study to suggest that optimism is associated with a lower risk of heart failure. If future studies confirm these findings, they may be used to inform new strategies for preventing or delaying the onset of heart failure.

Discussion:
• A brief review of the theoretical approach of positive psychology, its empirical validation, and implications for therapy.
• Positive psychology is a theoretical orientation dedicated to the study of factors that promote optimal functioning of individuals, groups, and institutions.
• Positive psychology proposes a shift of focus from the dominant disease oriented model in mental health to an approach based on human strengths.