john Hudson's List: Behavioral Science

• Pervasiveness

  Pervasiveness relates to how many aspects of your

  life you believe will be affected by an event. A person

  believes an event is either universal or specific.

  [
• Thomas Edison was an example of someone who saw

  opportunities in every situation. Before he achieved

  success with his first working light bulb in 1879, he

  made 10,000 flawed prototypes.
• her on the optimism continuum tend to be

  more succ
• Daniel Goleman’s research shows that optimism

  improves productivity and employee morale.

  [10]

  It

  has also been shown to decrease conflict and increase

  commitment in the workplace
• An

  optimist believes a bad event is specific and will not

  affect other aspects of his or her life. A pessimist be-

  lieves a bad event is universal and all aspects of his or

  her life will be negatively

  affected.
• “I have not failed. I

  have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” Edison

  said. His passion, determination, and optimism drove

  him to create more than 1,000 patents.
• Changing your perceptions can greatly protect you

  from falling into a downward spiral of giving up on

  your dreams.
• Personalization

  Personalization is where you place the responsibil-

  ity for a life event. A person can either internalize or

  externalize events in their life.
• Creates Adaptability

  Daniel Goleman’s research also shows that employ-

  ers are seeking employees who demonstrate adapt-

  ability and are capable of responding creatively when

  faced with barriers and difficulties.
• Permanence

  Permanence is how long a person believes an event

  will affect them. A person believes the effects of an

  event are either temporary or permanent.
• People who are opti-

  mistic are also willing to take risks, to be more creative

  and innovative, and to be open-minded to new ideas
• You have the choice of adopting either

  a pessimistic or optimistic attitude about achieving

  success.
• An optimist

  believes a bad event is temporary and the negative

  effects will not last. A pessimist believes a bad event

  is permanent and the negative effects will last forever
• Explanatory Styles

  Martin Seligman uses explanatory styles to describe

  optimistic and pessimistic personalities. Your explana-

  tory style is how you explain or interpret different

  events in life. Optimists and pessimists view bad and

  good events in opposite ways
• His optimism made him not only a visionary but a

  great leader in his industry
• ptimism is the tendency to expect the best possible

  outcome or find the most hopeful aspect of a situa

  -

  tion. Optimism is not an absolute trait.
• Builds Relationships

  Another key component of becoming successful in

  different industries is building relationships. Optimis-

  tic people tend to build healthier and happier relation-

  ships.
• Most people vary

  along the optimism continuum, depending on the situ-

  ation and the environment.

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