Cause for hope: We hit peak optimism at 55
We tend to experience a peak in optimism in later life. Image: REUTERS/Marko Djurica
How do levels of optimism change throughout our life? Researchers at the University of California, Davis, figured out the answer.
They analyzed a relatively large sample of 1,169 Mexican-Americans between ages 26 and 71 who were surveyed over a period of seven years. At four different instances, the participants completed the Life Orientation Test, used to measure optimism.
The test has six questions:
1. In uncertain times, I usually expect the best.
2. If something can go wrong for me, it will.
3. I'm always optimistic about my future.
4. I hardly ever expect things to go my way.
5. I rarely count on good things happening to me.
6. Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad.
Participants also answered 54 questions about a variety of positive and negatives experiences they've recently had. These included: "Over the past three months, you got laid off" as well as "In the past year, you were accepted into an educational program that is important to you" and "In the past year, you developed new friendships that are important to you."
The scientists found that optimism tends to be lower for people in their 20s, then goes up through the 30s and 40s until peaking in the 50s (with 55 being the age of peak optimism). After that it starts to gradually decline.
The authors called this pattern "an inverted U shape, with a peak in late midlife." Previous studies showed that a similar trend is followed by other positive personality traits such as self-esteem and satisfaction with life.
Interestingly, the researchers also discovered that being optimistic is not necessarily tied to the kinds of events that happen in your life. Subjects who had positive experiences did indicate higher trajectories of optimism. But the ones who had negative experiences were not necessarily less optimistic.
Don't miss any update on this topic
Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
License and Republishing
World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
Stay up to date:
Behavioural Sciences
The Agenda Weekly
A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.