Is Optimism Undermining America? -From Psychology Today

Optimism has never had a good name, at least among the intellectually elite. We actually know when the word “optimism” entered common parlance — with the publication of Voltaire’s (1759) Candide and the embodiment of foolish optimism in the annoying character Dr. Pangloss.

Empirical research over the past few decades showing that optimism has many benefits—for achievement, social relationships, and health—is therefore interesting and important (Peterson, 2000). Studies of optimism helped usher in the field of positive psychology by demonstrating the importance of “positive” constructs above-and-beyond the absence of “negative” constructs.

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