The assessment of components of optimism by POSO-E

Abstract

This paper presents the POSO-E which is a self-report questionnaire for the assessment of three components of optimism: personal, social and self-efficacy optimism. Three studies which were conducted for extending the existing set of scales and for obtaining validity information are described. In the first study the development of the scale for measuring self-efficacy optimism, which was added to the other scales, is described. In the second study correlations between the optimism scales on the one hand and the scales of the Freiburger-Personality-Inventory [Fahrenberg, J., Hampel, R., & Selg, H. (1994). Das Freiburger Persönlichkeitsinventar FPI.6. Aufl. Göttingen: Hogrefe.], the State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory [Laux, L., Glanzmann, P., Schaffner, P., & Spielberger, C. D. (1981). State-Trait-Angstinventar (STAI). Weinheim: Beltz] and the Beck-Depression-Inventory [Hautzinger, M., Bailer, M., Worall, H., & Keller, F., (1994). Beck-Depressions-Inventar (BDI). Bern: Huber] were obtained. The third study was designed to investigate the relationships between the optimism scales and the NEO questionnaire [Borkenau, P., & Ostendorf, F., (1993). NEO-Fünf-Faktoren Inventar (NEO-FFI) nach Costa und McCrea, Handanweisung. Göttingen: Hogrefe]. High degrees of internal consistency were observed for the scales of personal, social and self-efficacy optimism. The correlations between the optimism scales and the personality scales corresponded to expectation.

Introduction

Optimism is a personality trait which has proved to be of considerable importance in the field of physical and mental health. The results of various studies suggest the existence of a close relationship between optimism and physical as well as mental health (e.g. Peterson & Bossio, 1991, Scheier & Carver, 1985, Scheier & Carver, 1987, Seligman, 1991, Taylor, 1989). For example, it was observed that in stressful situations optimists tend to show a better way of coping than pessimists (Scheier & Carver, 1993, Scheier et al., 1986). Fewer symptoms of ill-health were found in optimistic people than in pessimistic people (Wenglert & Rosén, 1995). In elderly men and women a better cell-mediated immunity was observed in combination with an optimistic attitude (Kamen-Siegel, Rodin, Seligman & Dwyer, 1991). Optimists were even found to recover better from surgery than pessimists (Chamberlain et al., 1992, Scheier et al., 1989). All these results emphasize the importance of optimism and stimulate the further development of assessment instruments. The POSO-E (Questionnaire for the Assessment of Personal Optimism and Social Optimism-Extended), which is described in this paper provides the opportunity to assess optimism in a more comprehensive way than is done in other questionnaires.

Optimism is taken to mean the expectation of positive outcomes (Scheier & Carver, 1985). It is assumed that a high degree of optimism includes the expectation of better outcomes than a low degree of optimism. This assumption is based on characterizations which have been derived from descriptions of optimistic people and which are available from several studies of the attitudes and behaviours of optimistic people (e.g. Peale, 1956, Taylor, 1989, Weinstein, 1980). This concept of optimism does not necessarily imply a close relationship between individual behaviour and its outcome since its scope is not limited to outcomes resulting from behaviour, but also includes outcomes which occur completely independently of these behaviours and which are readily attributable to fate, good luck, or something similar. The first type of outcome suggests a close relationship with self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is defined as the expectation of being able to organise one's own behaviour in such a way that its consequences are positive (Bandura, 1977, Bandura, 1992). Self-efficacy was also found to be important in the field of physical and mental health (e.g. Clark et al., 1991, Haaga & Steward, 1992). Self-efficacy has been described as a component of optimism since it refers to a subset of the outcomes of optimism (Schwarzer, 1993). Because of this special relationship it is addressed as self-efficacy optimism in this paper. A further aspect of optimism requiring consideration is to what degree the expected outcomes relate to individual concerns. Scheier and Carver's concept of optimism assumes that the outcomes are matters of direct concern to the individual. There are other concepts which address the expectations concerning changes to the individual's condition of life (e.g. Schweizer & Schneider, 1997, Wenglert & Svenson, 1982, Zimbardo, 1990). For example, the concept of social optimism, which is given further consideration in this work, is defined as the generalized expectation of a positive outcome concerning social and environmental issues (Schweizer & Schneider, 1997). Although these issues are not directly related to the individual's outcomes, the individual knows that comfort of life also depends on these social and environmental conditions. Changes to these conditions can mean more comfort and less strain or the opposite.

The POSO-E is a questionnaire which was constructed for the assessment of personal optimism, social optimism and self-efficacy optimism. This questionnaire was developed in three steps. At first the Social Optimism Scale was constructed taking into account the data of 324 individuals (Schweizer & Schneider, 1997). It addressed the following list of issues: abuse of energy and mineral resources, environmental pollution, lack of consideration of bad past experiences, security of old-age pension, drug abuse, immigration problems, violence, crime, economic development, reduction in the quality of life, perspectives for the next generation, and welfare. Although a high degree of homogeneity was found, factor analysis suggested the existence of three subscales which were characterized as conservative orientation, progressive orientation, and personal safety. In the next step, this scale was revised, and a further scale measuring personal optimism was added (Schweizer, Schneider & Beck-Seyffer, 2000). The items of this scale emphasize personal concerns and are less specific than the items of the Social Optimism Scale. A high correlation of r=0.60 was found between this scale and the Life Orientation Test (Scheier & Carver, 1985) in a sample of 268 individuals, and a moderate correlation between the Social Optimism Scale and the Personal Optimism Scale (r=0.31). The questionnaire presented in this paper includes a further scale for measuring self-efficacy optimism. The items of this scale are reported in the method section for each study.

The relationship between these scales and basic dimensions of personality is of considerable interest in order to identify the position of optimism within general models of personality. Two models of personality have received considerable attention during the past decades, Eysenck's PEN (Psychotizism, Extroversion-introversion, Neutroticism) and Costa and McCrae's Big Five. Eysenck's PEN (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985) includes three dimensions: extraversion–introversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. However, only two of them, extraversion–introversion and neuroticism, have been acknowledged to a great extent. In contrast, Costa & McCrea, 1985, McCrae & Costa, 1983 Big Five rests on the assumption that five dimensions are necessary for a complete description of personality. The dimensions of Big Five are neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness. In this paper, additionally, the model of personality represented by the FPI (Freiburger-Personality-Inventory [Freiburger Persönlichkeitsinventar]; Fahrenberg, Hampel & Selg, 1994) is considered since this inventory is most frequently applied in assessing personality in German speaking countries. The following list of traits is included in this model: life satisfaction, social orientation, achievement orientation, inhibitedness, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, strain, somatic complaints, health concerns, frankness, extraversion, and emotionality. The scales for assessing extraversion and emotionality were constructed according to Eysenck's concepts of extraversion–introversion and neuroticism.

In the following sections three studies are reported. The first study reports on the construction of the scale for the assessment of self-efficacy optimism. The second and third studies were conducted for obtaining validity information concerning the POSO-E.