Search results for "Pessimism"
showing 10 items of 34 documents
Effective pursuit of personal goals: The fostering effect of dispositional optimism on goal commitment and goal progress
2015
Abstract Personal goals play a leading role in directing behavior and influencing well-being. Thus, it is important to assess goal dimensions promoting effective goal pursuit. The current research aimed at identifying the best predictors of goal pursuit, operationalized as perceived goal progress, among goal-related variables and individual differences in dispositional optimism. Two studies examined the influence of optimism on goal progress, commitment, expectancy, value, and conflict. Moreover, the mediation effect of expectancy in the relationships among optimism, commitment and progress was assessed. Participants in the first cross-sectional study were 283 young people (19–32 years old)…
Optimistic, defensive-pessimistic, impulsive and self-handicapping strategies in university environments
1998
Abstract A person-oriented approach was used to investigate what types of achievement strategy people apply in university environments, and how these are associated with their academic achievement, related satisfaction and personal well-being. Two hundred and fifty-four undergraduates filled in first the Cartoon-Attribution-Strategy Test, the Strategy and Attribution Questionnaire, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and the revised Beck's Depression Inventory at the beginning of their studies, and one year later an academic satisfaction scale. Two years later, they again filled in the same measures. Their academic achievement was coded yearly from university archives. Four types of achievement s…
Not Race, but Grace: Presbyterian Missionaries and American Indians, 1837-1893
1980
Race, writes George W. Stocking, Jr., was "a characteristically nineteenthcentury phenomenon." Historians of articulate racial thought in America generally believe that the optimism of the eighteenth century gave way in the nineteenth to pessimism in matters of race. Growing numbers of scientists, and perhaps nonscientists too, came to believe that certain races were innately inferior, retarded by inherited qualities that were unchangeable or changeable only over long periods of time, and that cultural manifestations were the product primarily of biological endowment. By late in the century, according to Stocking, "race and culture were linked in a single evolutionary hierarchy extending fr…
Postcolonial studies and translation theory
2009
La característica diferenciadora que poseen los enfoques postcoloniales en traducción radica en el hecho de que éstos analizan encuentros interculturales que se desarrollan en contextos marcados por desequilibrios en las relaciones de poder y es ahí donde se manifiestan tanto sus virtudes como sus defectos. Su mayor aportación ha sido sacar a la luz el papel del poder en la producción y recepción de traducciones. Sin embargo, se duda de que las teorías postcoloniales puedan aplicarse satisfactoriamente a otros intercambios interlingüísticos en los que las desigualdades en las relaciones de poder sean mínimas. Por otra parte, existe una tendencia generalizada a infravalorar las diferencias e…
Home atmosphere and adolescent future orientation
1990
Adolescent future orientation was studied from the point of view of orienting expectations about the future, consisting of three aspects: cognitive (clarity of plans for the use of future time), affective (optimistic vs pessimistic attitudes toward the future), and motivational (realistic vs unrealistic wishes for the future). The study was part of the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Social Development, the original sample for which consisted of 8-year-old subjects. Follow-up studies were made using a semistructured interview covering several aspects of home atmosphere (child-rearing and external home conditions) and youthful life orientation at ages 14 and 20 with 115 subjects. Results obt…
Optimism and pessimism are related to different components of the stress response in healthy older people.
2015
Some personality traits have key importance for health because they can affect the maintenance and evolution of different disorders with a high prevalence in older people, including stress pathologies and diseases. In this study we investigated how two relevant personality traits, optimism and pessimism, affect the psychophysiological response of 72 healthy participants (55 to 76 years old) exposed to either a psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) or a control task; salivary cortisol, heart rate (HR) and situational appraisal were measured. Our results showed that optimism was related to faster cortisol recovery after exposure to stress. Pessimism was not related to the …
Measuring elderly people's quality of life through the Beck Hopelessness Scale: a study with a Spanish sample.
2016
Hopelessness is a key element of suicidal intent. It can instill a pessimistic outlook on the future, leading an individual to believe that suicide is the only answer to their problems. Hopelessness operates as a modulating variable between depression and suicidal behavior. The aim of this study was to confirm the factor structure of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) in a non-clinical sample.Three hundred and sixty-two Spanish individuals, aged over 60, free of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms, completed the BHS scale. Participants were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), using one-, two- and three-factor models.The one- and two-factor models presented adequate fit …
The Italian law on assisted reproduction: a view from Spain
2006
Despite the pessimistic concerns about the outcome of assisted reproduction in Italy after the application of the new law, initial reports show similar pregnancy rates. However, with increasing numbers, the deleterious effect of such a restrictive law will show up. Moreover, it may seriously affect the scientific production of Italian groups, which may be forced to migrate to other countries to maintain their independence and scientific freedom.
Being an optimist or a pessimist and its relationship with morning cortisol release and past life review in healthy older people
2017
Investigate the relationship between optimism and pessimism and the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and past life review in healthy older people.76 older volunteers summarised their lives, highlighting the most important events, impressions and experiences. Cortisol saliva samples were collected on two consecutive weekdays. High and low optimism and pessimism groups were computed by mean split.Percentages of positive (PE) and negative events (NE) and positive (PCE) and negative cognitions and emotions (NCE) were obtained. Optimism and pessimism were measured with the Life Orientation Test Revised. The areas under the curve with respect to the ground and with respect to the increase were c…
Host community perceptions of cruise tourism in a homeport: A cluster analysis
2018
Abstract This study applies a factor-cluster analysis to a sample of 321 residents in the city of Valencia based on their perceptions of the impacts of cruises on their city. Three clusters of residents were identified, namely 'pessimists', 'cautious supporters' and 'optimists'. Overall, the findings reveal that most respondents doubt the magnitude of positive impact in terms of welfare, social, economic and heritage aspects. Furthermore, there are significant differences between the three clusters, based on age and geographical proximity to the tourist area and port. No significant differences were found based on gender, level of education, numbers of members in household, occupation, leng…