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"For myself, I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use to be anything else". Winston Churchill Optimism has its modern roots in philosophy dating back to the 17th century in the writings of philosophers such as Descartes and Voltaire (Domino & Conway, 2001). Previous to these philosophical writings, the concept of optimism was revealed in the teaching of many of the great spiritual traditions such as Buddhism and Christianity (Miller, Richards, & Keller, 2001). In the 20th century, optimism became defined in juxtaposition to pessimism, sometimes conceptualized as a bipolar unidimensional construct and by others as two related but separate constructs (Garber, 2000). Contemporary models (Scheier & Carver, 1985; Seligman, 1991) have increasingly focused on distinguishing optimism-pessimism as a general dispositional orientation, as described by expectancy theory, and as an explanatory process, described by explanatory style theory.

Optimism has its modern roots in philosophy dating back to the 17th century in the writings of philosophers such as Descartes and Voltaire (Domino & Conway, 2001). Previous to these philosophical writings, the concept of optimism was revealed in the teachings of many of the great spiritual traditions such as Buddhism and Christianity (Miller, Richards, & Keller, 2001). It has been reported that people with spiritual faith tend to have a more optimistic and hopeful outlook on life (Myers, 2000). This spiritual connection has provided the basis for research that sought to distinguish the differences between the positive psychological constructs of optimism and hope. Optimism has been defined as a general expectation for good outcomes in the future (Scheier & Carver, 1985), whereas hope has been defined as a set of cognitive processes that were directed at attaining specific goals (see the Lopez et al. chapter, this book; Snyder, Sympson, Michael, & Cheavens, 2001). Recent research supports this distinction (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004). In the 20th century, optimism research involving youth focused on its association with academic achievement and attainment (Gough, 1953; Teahan, 1958). These early studies examined optimism as a personality trait emphasizing its association with future time orientation, which characterized high-performing students. As research progressed, optimism became defined in juxtaposition to pessimism, sometimes conceptualized as a bipolar unidimensional construct and others as two related, but separate constructs (Garber, 2000). Contemporary models (Scheier & Carver, 1985; Seligman, 1991) have increasingly focused on distinguishing optimism–pessimism as a general dispositional orientation, as described by expectancy theory, and a coping explanatory process, as described by explanatory style theory. Optimism as an expectancy is "a sense of confidence or doubt about the attainability of a goal value" (Carver & Scheier, 199