There’s a landslide of evidence demonstrating the impact of Optimism on things that matter. Here are some of the key findings:

Academics/Performance

- • 1st yr. Optimists had a greater prob. of completing law school and had higher salaries a decade later (Carver & Scheier, 2014)
- • Optimists had:
- o grades in their 1st year of college (even when controlling for scholastic o grades in their 1st year of college (even when controlling for scholastic ability)
- o specific goals o specific goals
- o sought out more academic advising (Peterson and Barrett, 1987) o sought out more academic advising (Peterson and Barrett, 1987)
- • predicted student dropout rates (Kamen & Seligman, 1987). • predicted student dropout rates (Kamen & Seligman, 1987).
- • predicted quitting for officers in boot camp and the first year of training at West • predicted quitting for officers in boot camp and the first year of training at West Point (Schulman, 1995)
- • are more likely to be high achievers and not quit than pessimists (Schulman 1995) • are more likely to be high achievers and not quit than pessimists (Schulman 1995)
- • precedes, predicts, and is one of the causes of achievement. It seems to predict • precedes, predicts, and is one of the causes of achievement. It seems to predict performance above and beyond ability (Schulman, 1995).
- • when controlling for student intelligence levels, students with higher hope and • when controlling for student intelligence levels, students with higher hope and optimism achieved higher levels of academic performance (Curry et al., 1999; Curry et al., 1997)
- • levels of optimism result in higher levels of academic performance (Chemers et al., • levels of optimism result in higher levels of academic performance (Chemers et al., 2001)
- • hope and academic optimism can lead to stronger grade performance (Bressler et al., • hope and academic optimism can lead to stronger grade performance (Bressler et al., 2010)
- • misremember past performance in a more negative light than what they actually • misremember past performance in a more negative light than what they actually accomplished (Gibson & Sanbonmatsu, 2004)
- o failure, pessimists remembered fewer near successes compared to optimists o failure, pessimists remembered fewer near successes compared to optimists
- • an academic advisor/advisee setting, pessimistic students gave their advisors lower • an academic advisor/advisee setting, pessimistic students gave their advisors lower likeability ratings (Goodmon et al., 2015)
- • associates with better adjustment to college and better performance (Aspinwall & • associates with better adjustment to college and better performance (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1992) (Chemers et al., 2001)
- • and specifically, academic optimism are associated with increased retention in • and specifically, academic optimism are associated with increased retention in college, increased motivation, and decreased distress (Solberg Nes et al., 2009)
- o optimism is associated with better GPA o optimism is associated with better GPA
- o impact of optimism on retention is mediated by relationships among optimism o impact of optimism on retention is mediated by relationships among optimism and motivation, performance, and adjustment
- • levels of optimism predicted greater life satisfaction among law students at the end of • levels of optimism predicted greater life satisfaction among law students at the end of the semester (Rand et al., 2011)
- • undergraduates across their first semester of college, optimists became significantly less • undergraduates across their first semester of college, optimists became significantly less stressed, depressed, lonely, and more socially supported than pessimists (Scheier & Carver, 1991)
- • college students in the final weeks of the semester reported developing • college students in the final weeks of the semester reported developing significantly fewer physical symptoms than their pessimistic counterparts (Scheier & Carver, 1985)
- • a study of military cadets, optimism was strongly related with ratings of leadership • a study of military cadets, optimism was strongly related with ratings of leadership efficacy by instructors, peers, and trained observers (Chemers et al., 2000)
- • high school students demonstrated higher levels of career planning and • high school students demonstrated higher levels of career planning and exploration, were more decided about their career decisions, and had more career-related goals than their pessimistic counterparts (Creed et al., 2002)
- o with higher levels of pessimism had lower levels of career and decision- o with higher levels of pessimism had lower levels of career and decision- making knowledge, were more career indecisive, and reported lower levels of school achievement
- • supports the link between positive emotion and enhanced cognitive functioning • supports the link between positive emotion and enhanced cognitive functioning
- o induced to be in a good mood are more likely, compared to those in a bad o induced to be in a good mood are more likely, compared to those in a bad mood or control group, to use efficient and rapid problem solving strategies (Isen & Means, 1983).