optimism

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Optimists' Brains Really Do Think Alike
Optimists' Brains
Really Do Think Alike
NEW STUDY
Jul 22, 2025 10:44 AM CDT

Optimists' Brains Really Do Think Alike

Brain scans reveal similar brain activity in the more upbeat among us

(Newser) - If you tend to see the glass as half full, your brain may have more in common with other optimists than you think. A new study from researchers at Japan's Kobe University suggests that people with positive outlooks actually share similar patterns of brain activity when imagining the...

Week's End Spurs Riskier Bets —But Not Bigger Payoffs
Investors, Beware
Those Friday Bets
new study
Jul 19, 2025 5:30 AM CDT

Investors, Beware Those Friday Bets

Study finds greater risk at end of week, month, or year, but worse returns

(Newser) - As the workweek winds down, investors are more likely to roll the dice on risky financial moves, a new study suggests. The problem is that this burst of optimism tends to result in worse returns, say researchers. The study published in the Journal of Marketing Research finds that investors...

Bezos: I May Be 'Naive,' but I'm 'Very Optimistic' About Trump

Amazon founder says he thinks 'it's going to be great' under the incoming administration

(Newser) - Some Americans started thinking about fleeing the country after Donald Trump won his second presidency, but Jeff Bezos isn't too worried—in fact, he's "very optimistic this time around." Speaking Wednesday at the New York Times' DealBook Summit , the Amazon founder said that President-elect Trump "...

Poll: Americans' Optimism Fades as Delta Spreads

Even a month ago, the public felt better about the pandemic

(Newser) - In June, 89% of Americans polled saw the COVID-19 outbreak as improving, with just 3% saying it was worsening. That was before the delta variant of the coronavirus made itself felt. In July, the Gallup Poll reports, more adults expressed pessimism than optimism about the pandemic—45% to 40%. It'...

'Gloomy' Pandemic Reporter: I Can Finally See Hope
'Gloomy' COVID Reporter
Has a Change of Heart 
OPINION
Oct 13, 2020 11:42 AM CDT

'Gloomy' COVID Reporter Has a Change of Heart

Donald G. McNeil Jr. is 'cautiously optimistic' about what lies ahead

(Newser) - Since January, New York Times health reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr. has been covering the pandemic, including American deaths and efforts to develop a vaccine years ahead of the fastest pace on record. All this has made him "a consistently gloomy Cassandra"—but halfway through October, he's...

Most Americans Want 2017 to Hurry Up and Get Here: Poll

Optimism for new year may be impacted by one's political leanings, however

(Newser) - Emotionally wrenching politics, foreign conflicts, and shootings at home took a toll on Americans in 2016, but they're entering 2017 on an optimistic note, according to a new poll that found a majority believes things are going to get better for the country next year, the AP reports. A...

Optimistic Women May Live Longer
Optimistic Women
May Live Longer
new study
Dec 8, 2016 9:15 AM CST

Optimistic Women May Live Longer

They appear less likely to die from common illnesses

(Newser) - When asked about their secret to aging, the world's oldest people often bring up not sweating the small stuff . In fact, optimism is associated with greater personal happiness, but could it impart biological benefits as well? Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health suggest it's possible in...

Study: Optimism Is Overrated

It may help more with persistence than actual performance

(Newser) - A new study delivers a somewhat depressing message: Positive thinking may not be all it's cracked up to be. "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,"...

Optimists Have Healthier Hearts

 Optimism Good 
 for Your Heart 
study says
Jan 12, 2015 6:45 PM CST

Optimism Good for Your Heart

'It's an incentive to try to be optimistic,' physician says

(Newser) - Feeling gloomy about life, the universe, and everything? Then take note of a new study that links optimism to heart health and a handful of other health positives, EurekAlert reports. Analyzing data on more than 5,100 adults, researchers found that the most optimistic are twice as likely to be...

Pessimistic? You Might Live Longer
 Pessimistic? 
 You Might 
 Live Longer 
study says
Feb 28, 2013 1:03 AM CST

Pessimistic? You Might Live Longer

Study cites dangers of being 'overly optimistic'

(Newser) - Here's a bit of a surprise: Pessimistic people actually appear to live longer than their sunnier peers, a study suggests. Researchers reviewed 40,000 subjects over a 10-year period and found that "being overly optimistic" was linked to "a greater risk of disability and death within the...

77% Think Washington Politics Do 'Serious Harm'

But slight majority is optimistic about future: poll

(Newser) - Most of America thinks the Washington political process is doing "serious harm" to our country, a USA Today/ Gallup poll finds. Some 77% say so, while just 19% disagree. Republicans feel slightly more strongly that Washington is doing harm, with 87% slamming DC politicians; 79% of independents and 68%...

Poll: Americans More Optimistic

Numbers are good news for Obama, pollsters say

(Newser) - In news that may give Mitt Romney the blues, Americans are starting to cheer up a little, according to the latest Reuters /Ipsos poll. Some 55% still believe America is heading in the wrong direction, while 39% think it is going in the right direction, the poll found. But it'...

US Needs to Regain Faith in the Future
 US Needs to Regain 
 Faith in the Future 
DAVID BROOKS
Nov 17, 2009 4:00 AM CST

US Needs to Regain Faith in the Future

China shouldn't have monopoly on dynamism

(Newser) - America needs to overcome its "crisis of faith" caused by China's phenomenal growth, writes David Brooks. Today's China is optimistic, forward-looking, and dynamic in the way America once was and should hope to be again, he points out in the New York Times . Surveys show that 86% of Chinese...

Optimistic Women Face Lower Heart Disease Risk

Subjects less likely to die of any cause over set period

(Newser) - Women 50 and up who see the glass as half full have a lower risk of getting heart disease—or dying of any cause—than their half-empty peers, a study suggests. Researchers found that over 8 years, the most optimistic subjects in their 97,000-woman-strong study faced a 9% lower...

Poll: US on 'Right Track' for First Time in 5 Years

48% are optimistic, up eight points in two months

(Newser) - For the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is headed in the right direction, according to an AP poll. The percentage of Americans saying the country is headed in the right direction rose to 48%, up eight points from February, while 44% say the nation...

Don't Get Excited, Crisis Isn't Over: Krugman

Tough times ain't over—and we can't afford 'complacency'

(Newser) - We’re hearing about “glimmers of hope" from policymakers, but the president’s biggest lefty naysayer has a word of warning: “Don’t count your recoveries before they’re hatched,” Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times. “Premature optimism” has been disastrous during previous downturns,...

Big Strides in US Optimism, Poll Shows

Proportion who say country on right track doubles

(Newser) - American attitudes are showing signs of a turnaround in the 70 days since Barack Obama took the reins, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll reports. The percentage who say the country is headed in the right direction has more than doubled since the end of the Bush era—some 42%...

Economic Hopes On the Rise: Poll

Past 2 weeks have seen steady rise in optimism

(Newser) - More Americans appear to have hope that the economy is finally back on track. Over the past two weeks, the percentage of Gallup responders who hold that the economy is getting better has continually increased. From Monday through Wednesday, that percentage—29%—was the highest it’s been since July...

No, We Can't: Meet the Pessimist in Chief

Despite the rhetoric, Obama offers realism, not hope: Finkelstein

(Newser) - Barack Obama, elected on a tide of optimism, insisted yesterday that a new generation could meet the challenges of the age. Yet he described economic crisis and a collective failure of will, with no promise of rebirth or redemption, Times of London columnist Daniel Finkelstein observes. And that may be...

Patient US Has Faith in Obama: Poll

Troubled nation prepared to wait for solutions

(Newser) - Americans are vastly unhappy about the current state of the union—but have widespread faith in Barack Obama to nurse the nation back to health, according to the latest polls. Of those surveyed, 79% of Americans are optimistic about Obama's tenure, a higher figure than findings for the past five...

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