Yes, I tend to be a tad pessimistic about things, and I didn't need 48 multiple choice questions to tell me that.

But the "Attribution Style Questionnaire" in Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman's Learned Optimism revealed a lot more than my tendency to stress and dramatize. As it turns out, I'm not an inherently pessimistic person, but merely someone who has a pesky habit of attributing pessimistic explanations to even the most positive of situations.

Consider the following situations from Dr. Seligman's questionnaire, even if they never actually happened. Then read the reasons for why each situation happened and choose one that would most likely apply to you.

1. You and your boyfriend make up after a fight.

A. I forgave him.
B. I'm usually forgiving.

2. You host a successful dinner.

A. I was particularly charming that night.
B. I am a good host.

3. A friend thanks you for helping her get through a bad time.

A. I enjoy helping her through tough times.
B. I care about people.

4. You are asked to head an important project.

A. I just successfully completed a similar project.
B. I am a good supervisor.

For every situation, I selected "A" as my reason. It didn't occur to me until after I completed the questionnaire that reason "A" is pessimistic, in that it is specific, external and temporary when compared to the wide-eyed, sweeping "B." In other words, my pessimism stems from the fact that I don't give myself enough credit when positive situations take place.

The habitual explanatory style of optimists is easy to understand. Optimists attribute specific, external and temporary explanations to negative situations. (You failed the exam not because biology is hard and you are stupid, but because the professor is a poor teacher and you did not study the night before.) Likewise, they attribute pervasive, internal and permanent explanations to positive situations. (You passed the exam not because algebra is simple and you studied a lot, but because you're a hard-working and talented student.)

The whole point of Dr. Seligman's book is that pessimism is very often the cause of depression, and that, through cognitive therapy (paying attention to and changing how one thinks), we can change a pessimistic explanatory style to an optimistic one and move out of our depression.

I know this isn't the most exciting entry of all time, but I am really into this book and its suggested method of thinking. It requires a lot of mental discipline to change from pessimistic to optimistic, but I know I can do it. Later today I'll post about Dr. Seligman's way of taking a negative situation and making it "positive" — or at least not as crappy. This might actually be funny, because you wouldn't believe the seemingly benign situations that stress me out and drive me off the deep end as a result (E.G. TOTAL STRANGERS WRITING MEAN THINGS ABOUT LITTLE OL' ME).