Dr. Heather C Lenchis is an affective scientist, and professor and head in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on emotions as the foundation of cognitive and social processes, particularly how people think about their futures. Her work has been covered in multiple outlets such as Wired and Business Insider.
Potential Benefits of Optimism
Optimistic expectations are motivating
- Students who expect a good grade on an exam might see it as more worthwhile to invest effort in studying
- A second possible benefit of optimism has to do with stress.
- Expecting future experiences to be positive could reduce how much you stress and worry
- The average tendency across all people and situations is to believe that good things are likely to occur. Most people remain optimistic even when it is made clear to them that there is no rational basis for their optimism and even in the face of negative feedback
Second study:
In a second study, we recruited medical students undergoing what’s called ‘Match Day’.
- After completing medical school training, students apply to residency programs nationwide, which determines their future career including specialization and placements.
- The process requires a level of planning and strategy on the part of the students – for instance, in deciding how many programmes to apply to and how to rank-order the programs.
Optimism is beneficial when it translates into action in pursuit of goals
You can expect good things, but you have to be willing to put in the effort to make the good things happen
- A belief that success is possible is what helps us succeed, so long as there is scope for effort to influence outcomes
- If there is nothing you can do about a future event, optimism will not affect the outcome
- However, being optimistic could lower your stress levels
