By Tia Ghose, Staff Writer

Published: 08/24/2013 12:01 PM EDT on LiveScience


Are you a "glass half-full" or a "glass half-empty" kind of person?


As it turns out, some people can be both. So-called realistic optimists combine the positive outlook of optimists with the clear-eyed perspective of pessimists[1] , new research has found.


These realistic optimists may get the best of both worlds, using their realism to perform better at work and elsewhere, but aren't getting bogged down by unhappiness, said Sophia Chou, an organizational psychology researcher at National Taiwan University, who presented her findings at a meeting of the American Psychological Association in Honolulu, Hawaii earlier this month. [7 Things That Will Make You Happy[2] ]


Optimists and pessimists


Past research has shown that optimists value thoughts that make them feel good about themselves, whereas pessimists prize a more truthful vision of themselves. But a clear-eyed view can be bad for pessimists' well-being, as they tend to be more prone to depression, Chou said.


Optimists tend to live longer[3] and be healthier overall.



After several years working in business, Chou noticed there were some people who were both optimistic and realistic, and that they tended to be very successful. She wondered whether realism and optimism were really diametrically opposed.


So Chou administered a battery of personality surveys to about 200 college and graduate students in Taiwan. The surveys tested how many "positive illusions" the students held, as well as whether they were more motivated by self-enhancement or reality.


Realistic views


The optimists sorted into two camps: the realists and the idealists.


"Realistic optimists tend to choose accuracy over self-enhancement; the unrealistic optimists tend to choose self-enhancement," Chou said.


Interestingly, the realistic optimists also got better grades, on average, than their less grounded peers -- probably because they didn't delude themselves into thinking they would do well without studying or working hard, Chou said.


Traditionally, a more realistic outlook is paired with poorer well-being and greater depression, yet the realistic optimists managed to be happy[4] . To understand why, she dug deeper into the personality assessments.


Self-control key


She found that realistic optimists believed they had more self-control[5] and control over their interpersonal relationships.


"Every time they face an issue or a challenge or a problem, they won't say 'I have no choice and this is the only thing I can do.' They will be creative, they will have a plan A, plan B and plan C," Chou said.


That allows them to stay cheery and upbeat about the future, even if they recognize the challenges of the present.


Being a realistic optimist does have one downside, however: They are more prone to anxiety[6] than their completely unrealistic peers. That's likely because they recognize the possibility of failure, whereas their counterparts use positive illusions to ease their anxiety, Chou said.


The findings suggest that realistic and unrealistic optimists may actually be very different personality types, Chou said.


In order to cultivate a rosy-but-realistic outlook, people should maintain a clear-eyed view of reality, but emphasize what they can control in most situations, she said.


Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter [7] and Google+ [8] . Follow LiveScience @livescience [9] , Facebook [10] & Google+ [11] . Original article on LiveScience [12] .



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  • Conscientious


    In their 2012 book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Longevity-Project-Surprising-Discoveries-Eight-Decade/dp/0452297702" target="_hplink">The Longevity Project</a>," which looked at research over the course of 80 years, authors Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin identified an association between being conscientious and a longer life span.

    "Conscientiousness, which was the best predictor of longevity when measured in childhood, also turned out to be the best personality predictor of long life when measured in adulthood," <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Longevity-Project-Surprising-Discoveries-Eight-Decade/dp/0452297702" target="_hplink">the authors wrote in their book</a>. "The young adults who were thrifty, persistent, detail oriented, and responsible lived the longest."

    Why do more prudent people tend to live longer? According to the authors, this group is more likely to take care of their health and avoid risks, and they also develop healthier relationships, whether it be romantic, friendly or work-related. "That's right, conscientious people create healthy, long-life pathways for themselves," Friedman and Martin wrote.

    And finally, the researchers point out that some people seem to have a biological predisposition toward a more careful personality. "While we are not yet sure of the precise physiological reasons," they write, "it appears that conscientious and un- conscientious people have different levels of certain chemicals in their brains, including serotonin."

    For more on the phenomenon, and other insights into longevity, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Longevity-Project-Surprising-Discoveries-Eight-Decade/dp/0452297702" target="_hplink">check out "The Longevity Project" here</a>.




  • Easy To Laugh


    In a study published this past May in the journal <em>Aging</em>, researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Yeshiva University pinpointed several personality traits linked to a longer lifespan. Among the list? Frequent laughter, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/optimism-longer-life-longevity-genes-personality_n_1553967.html" target="_hplink">HuffPost reported when the findings were released</a>.

    "When I started working with centenarians, I thought we'd find that they survived so long in part because they were mean and ornery," study researcher Dr. Nir Barzilai, M.D., director of Einstein's Institute for Aging Research, <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/aeco-gm052412.php" target="_hplink">said in a statement</a>. "But when we assessed the personalities of these 243 centenarians, we found qualities that clearly reflect a positive attitude towards life."




  • Socially Connected


    Thank your family and friends for this one: a 2010 study published in the journal <em>PloS Medicine</em> found that <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000316" target="_hplink">strong social relationships</a> can boost survival odds by 50 percent.

    The Brigham Young University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers evaluated 148 studies.

    "We take relationships for granted as humans -- we're like fish that don't notice the water," BYU's Timothy Smith <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100727174909.htm" target="_hplink">said in a statement about the findings</a>. "That constant interaction is not only beneficial psychologically but directly to our physical health."




  • Optimistic


    The same 2012 <em>Aging</em> study that identified frequent laughter as a boost to longevity also found that optimism might tack on years to your life.

    Out of the 243 centenarians evaluated in the research, most were optimistic and easygoing, study researcher Dr. Nir Barzilai, M.D., director of Einstein's Institute for Aging Research, <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/aeco-gm052412.php" target="_hplink">said in a statement</a>.

    "Some evidence indicates that personality can change between the ages of 70 and 100, so we don't know whether our centenarians have maintained their personality traits across their entire lifespans," <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/aeco-gm052412.php" target="_hplink">he said in the release</a>. "Nevertheless, our findings suggest that centenarians share particular personality traits and that genetically-based aspects of personality may play an important role in achieving both good health and exceptional longevity."




  • Happy


    Don't worry, be happy, live longer? A study published last year in the journal <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em> found that older people who report being happy have a 35 percent decreased risk of dying over five years, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/happiness-long-life-_n_1068209.html" target="_hplink">HuffPost reported when the findings were released</a>. The researchers evaluated more than 3,000 people by monitoring their happiness throughout the day -- they then followed up five years later to see how many had died.

    "I was a bit surprised that the happiness effect was so strong, even among people who had chronic diseases," study author Andrew Steptoe, a professor at University College, London, <a href="http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/31/8565511-want-to-live-longer-get-happy-study-says?ocid=twitter" target="_hplink">told MSNBC</a>.




  • Extroverted


    <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02189.x/abstract" target="_hplink">A 2009 study published in the <em>Journal of the American Geriatrics Society</em></a> looked at the offspring of centenarians (other research has found <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090403114823.htm" target="_hplink">exceptional longevity tends to run in families</a>) -- the volunteers were typically in the high range for extroversion (and in the low range for neuroticism).

    "It's likely that the low neuroticism and higher extroversion will confer health benefits for these subjects," study author Thomas Perls, M.D., MPH, director of the New England Centenarian Study, <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090403114823.htm" target="_hplink">said in a statement </a>when the findings were released. "For example, people who are lower in neuroticism are able to manage or regulate stressful situations more effectively than those with higher neuroticism levels. Similarly, high extroversion levels have been associated with establishing friendships and looking after yourself."

    The women evaluated in the study also scored high for agreeableness.