Differentiating Optimists from Pessimists in the Prediction of Emotional Intelligence, Happiness, and Life Satisfaction: A Latent Profile Analysis

Ana Blasco-Belled,Cristina Torrelles-Nadal,Radosław Rogoza,Carles Alsinet

doi:10.1007/s10902-022-00507-4

Abstract

What are the differences between optimists and pessimists? The aim of this study is to analyze the differences reported by optimists and pessimists in terms of three psychological variables: emotional intelligence (EI), happiness, and life satisfaction. To answer this question, we examined the extent to which a combination of different levels of optimism and pessimism can differently predict EI, happiness, and life satisfaction in two independent samples (891 adults, 494 adolescents). To do that, we introduced a person-centered approach, which offers several advantages in the study of optimism over the extended, predominant variable-centered approach. Then, using a latent profile analysis, we identified three groups of individuals with a similar optimism–pessimism configuration: optimists, ambivalents, and pessimists. The results obtained supported our hypothesis that optimists report higher EI, happiness, and life satisfaction levels than those reported by pessimists. Low levels of optimism, rather than high levels of pessimism, distinguish optimistic from non-optimistic people in the prediction of external outcomes. Our results suggest that optimism and pessimism can be viewed as separate yet correlated traits that can be grouped together to explain individual affective and cognitive differences, which encourage the refinement of strategies and interventions used in psychology practice.

Highlights

The popular expression of “seeing the glass half full or half empty” might be recognized as a popular cliché to refer to optimists and pessimists outside of the scientific community, little is known about what makes people see the same glass in a different manner
To explore the extent to which optimists and pessimists differ in the prediction of external variables, we examined different correlates, such as emotional intelligence (EI) and two indicators of subjective well-being
The average latent class probabilities, which inform about the probability of being in a profile according to the pattern of scores on indicator variables, ranged

Summary

Introduction

The popular expression of “seeing the glass half full or half empty” might be recognized as a popular cliché to refer to optimists and pessimists outside of the scientific community, little is known about what makes people see the same glass in a different manner. Research has differentiated optimists from pessimists in several dynamics. Optimists are more perseverant of goal accomplishments. Optimists picture a brighter future, which is likely to be reached through plan-guided behavior. Optimists feel confident when facing adversity and tend to make use of their affective resources when dealing with uncertainty and goal unattainability (Carver et al, 2010). The aim of this study is to provide empirical arguments to strengthen the question of why people might see the same glass in different ways by identifying individual similarities and differences between optimists and pessimists

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