![]() It isn’t fixed but changes as we age - something neuroscientist, Professor Tali Sharot, explained to BBC World Service programme, CrowdScience: The belief that everything’s going to be fine is called ‘the optimism bias’. When we’re young we have our whole life ahead of us, and it’s easier to optimistically believe that everything’s going to be alright. Hyper-sensitive people are too sensitive a hyper-optimist is too optimistic.īesides your country of birth, age is another consideration in the optimism debate. She uses the prefix hyper to say that there is too much of a certain quality. This expression is American slang for someone who makes others feel bad by focussing on the depressing aspects of things.Īmericans, on the other hand, are typically seen as optimists who tend to sugarcoat things – make things seem better than they really are.Īccording to Hannah, many Americans are hyper-optimistic. ![]() I’ve always admired how Americans tend to be able to sugarcoat everything.Īs a stereotypical pessimist, Hannah sometimes feels like a Debbie Downer. I think the stereotypical perception of Germans is that we’re quite pessimistic and that kind of tends to come across as being a bit of a Debbie Downer, when in actuality, Germans just tend to be avid planners for all eventual negative eventualities as well… so that’s kind of us being pessimistic but actually being cautious, as opposed to for example, what I’ve notice in America that a lot of people tend to be hyper-optimistic. She thinks Americans tend to be more optimistic than people back home in Germany, as she told BBC World Service programme, CrowdScience: Hannah grew up in Germany before moving to the United States. Someone who probably wouldn’t agree with you, th0ugh, is BBC World Service listener, Hannah. We’ll find out if your optimistic answer is the correct one later in the programme. I’ll choose the largest – 80 percent… but then, I’m optimistic so I would say that! So, what proportion of the British population, do you think, describe themselves as optimistic? Is it: Psychologists define optimism as an attitude which overestimates the chances of good things happening to you, while underestimating the chances of bad things occurring. I’ve got a good feeling about this, Neil!īut first, as usual, I have a question for you, Sam. Yes, whether you’re a sunny optimist or a gloomy pessimist may be determined more by your birthplace and your age than your attitude, as we’ll be finding out in this programme. Hmm, it sounds like Neil is more of a glass-half-empty person, but the truth is that the age-old debate between optimism and pessimism is more complex than we think. ![]() Call me a pessimist if you like but I’m just being realistic. Look, things go wrong all the time - that’s a fact of life. It sounds like you’re a glass-half-full person – someone who always thinks that good things will happen. I hope so! I try to see the positive side of life, even when something bad happens. We often hear phrases such as, ‘dream big’ or, ‘reach for the stars’ which reflect an optimistic view of life. ![]() This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript. hyperactive, hypersensitiveĭescribes someone who complains a lot, is moody and intolerant, and gets easily annoyed Transcript (prefix) having too much of a quality eg. To make something seem better than it really is (US slang) someone who makes others feel bad by focussing on the bad or depressing side of things Someone with an optimistic attitude who tends to focus on the positive side of life Listen to the programme to find out the answer. What proportion of the British population, do you think, describe themselves as optimistic? Is it: Neil and Sam talk about optimists and pessimists. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Which one you are may be linked more to your birthplace and age than attitude.
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