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Pocket Protector Perspective

Professor deBock

Topic:Optimism and Success

• Inspired by thinking about the Harvard Course on “Happiness”

• What is the relationship between Optimism and Success?

• What are the optimism “levers” we can press to increase our chances of success.

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s Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD

• Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania

• Academic Focus: “Positive Psychology” and “Well Being”

• Author: “Learned Optimism” and “Authentic Happiness"

Pocket Protector Perspective

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MET LIFE’s Problem

• Time Magazine Article: http://www.time.com/time/classroom/psych/unit5_article1.html

• MET LIFE hiring 5,000 employees per year in the 1980’s

•$30,000 to train each of them

• ½ of them left in the first year

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Seligman’s Research at MET LIFE

• Studied 15,000 employees in 3 groups• Group A: took the regular MET LIFE screening test • Group B: took an optimism screening test developed by Seligman• Group C: FAILED the normal screening test, but scored in the SUPER-OPTIMIST group on Seligman's test.

• That last group of optimists outperformed the pessimists by 21% in the 1st year, and by a whopping 57% in the 2nd year.

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So, what does it mean?

Definitions:

1) Adversity: big or small negative events that happen in your life

2) Explanatory Style: How you explain the adversity that you encounter. (On a continuum from pessimistic to optimistic.)

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PermanencePermanence – The pessimistic explanatory type believes that bad events will persist and are always going to affect that person's life. Optimists believe and describe their adversity with qualifiers like, "sometimes", "lately." Generally, an optimist will blame bad events on temporary causes --- causes that can be overcome or that will go away.

Permanent (Pessimistic)"I'm all washed up""Diets never work""You always nag""You never talk to me"

Temporary (Optimistic)"I'm exhausted""Diets don't work when you eat out""You nag when I don't clean my room""You haven't talked to me lately"

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PervasivenessPervasiveness - In a pessimistic explanatory style, adversity is seen as "universal." It affects everything it touches. Whereas in a more optimistic explanatory style, will see adversity as having specific causes.

Universal (Pessimism)"All teachers are unfair.""I'm repulsive.""Books are useless"

Specific (Optimism)"Professor [deBock] is unfair.""I'm repulsive to [her].""This book is useless."

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Optimism is about “control”

• One message of this course has been: You are in control of your education!

• Pessimism is about “helplessness”

• Optimism helps us:• learn from adversity• bounce back more quickly from adversity• contributes to success

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Use your KU experience to practice optimism!

• Seligman argues you can learn optimism by breaking the pessimistic patterns and arguing with yourself and disputing the pessimistic explanatory style.• Realism or pessimism isn’t always a bad idea• University experience is a great time to practice optimism

• YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR EDUCATION!

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