The quote, “optimism is the faith that leads to achievement,” coined by the late Helen Keller, truly epitomizes the American dream. Unfortunately, while this idea may work well on motivational posters, a recent study has found that, statistically speaking, it isn’t completely accurate, because in reality we’re all better off being analytical than optimistic.
For the study, now published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a team of researchers from the University of Utah investigated whether or not optimism had an actual effect on an individual’s performance through a series of experiments.
“I kept hearing about how optimistic mindset was so great, but then you think about all the times that striving for accuracy might be better for the individual.” Elizabeth Tenney, one of the researchers involved in the study, explained in a press release. Read the coverage in Medical Daily.