Optimism from the view of folk's wisdom, through the philosophical discussions to empirical studies in Psychology is strongly associated with a positive outlook on life, especially in light of disruptive events. This paper presents two theoretical approaches and empirical research on optimism in the field of Positive Psychology. The prospect of Martin Seligman defines optimism as learned, related to explanatory style, while Michael Scheier and Charles Carver understand optimism from a dispositional dimension, based on generalized expectations. Different theoretical and methodological assumptions of these theories are presented, as well as studies from both theories in different cultures and with other variables, such as self-esteem and personality.
Optimism; Positive Psychology; personality; self-steem