(ORDO NEWS) — Optimism is a wonderful quality that helps to cope with difficulties. However, children become less optimistic as they age.
The researchers found that this is due to the fact that as people get older, they learn more from negative experiences and become more realistic. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Journal of Experimental Psychology.
The authors of the study say that they offered the participants of the experiment a game in which they had to collect treasures from different planets.
They had to find out how good these planets are and how much they can earn. All young people tended to overestimate their earning potential, but the younger children were hyper-optimistic and claimed to get the most treasure. The study involved 108 people aged 8 to 17 years.
Using mathematical models of data processing, scientists have found that children are overly optimistic because they learn less from bad results.
Whereas teens may ignore even positive outcomes if things don’t go as well as they hoped. Researchers say that hyper-optimism is good for children because it can help them achieve ambitious goals and overcome obstacles that arise.
Lack of optimism can contribute to the development of depression. Earlier research has shown that optimism benefits physical and mental health, as well as promotes professional growth.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.