Half Empty, Half Full: The Psychological Roots of Optimism (Hardcover)

~ Susan C. Vaughan M.D. (Author) "ONCE UPON A TIME a scientist broke the rats in his laboratory into random groups..." (more)
Key Phrases: limbic lessons, early life interactions, mood modulation, Empire State Building, New York, Our Midst (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Crack open Susan Vaughan's Half Empty, Half Full, check out the fat margins and the relatively large type size, and you might think one of two things: You'll either say, "Great! This'll be a quick read!" or you'll say to yourself, "What is this, a self-help book? This can't be science."

Either way, optimist or pessimist, you're going to be at least half-right. But--as Vaughan ultimately makes clear--it's the optimist who's going to win out on this one. A Harvard-trained research analyst and frequent contributor to Harper's Bazaar, the inarguably insightful Vaughan ably straddles the fence between self-help and applied psychology. Her thesis boils down to this: Some of us are lucky enough to be trained as optimists in our formative years; for the rest of us worry-warts, fear not--optimism can be learned. Alternating between dry papers, like "Mood congruent memory biases in anxiety and depression," and pop-psych concepts, like Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's early 1990s notion of "flow," Vaughan comforts the afflicted with thoughtful explanations (often drawing from her experience as a therapist) and concrete advice--assuming, of course, you can get past her sometimes cloying references to "Tiggers" and "Eeyores."

Half Empty, Half Full is good news for pessimists, and even good science, a timely summary of the state of neuroscience, as it bolsters many theories of what Vaughan describes as the "positive psychology movement." The antidepressant Paxil, early cortico-limbic development, desperation in milk-treading lab rats, even Cocoa Crispies ("which are apparently like ambrosia to rats")--they're all here and, thanks to Vaughan, good reading and a compelling argument for not simply chalking up pessimism to factors beyond our control. --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly

In this account of the development and treatment of pessimism, Vaughan (The Talking Cure; Viagra) contends that a pessimistic personality results from an individual's earliest experiences of frustration. These lead to the formation of cortical loops in the brain that encode the physiological basis for the expectation of disappointment and an overall negative outlook. Although temperamental traits are often viewed as intractable, Vaughan argues that psychotherapy aimed at promoting a sense of self-control over negative emotional states "can gradually chip away at long ingrained cortical patterns and gradually replace pessimism with optimism." But what is pessimism? Is it a truly unique form of psychopathology? By linking pessimism to original parent-child interactions, Vaughan implicitly ties it to "basic mistrust" or an "insecure attachment." However, Vaughan does not explain how "pessimism" differs from the depression and anger that have traditionally been associated with early experiences of frustration. This lack of rigor is accentuated by prose in which such stock phrases as "the ties that bind" or "pushing the envelope" stand for concrete descriptions of the problem of affective disorder and its treatment. Written for a general audience, this book lacks the conceptual clarity necessary for understanding psychological despair.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (May 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151004013
• ISBN-13: 978-0151004010
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,181,443 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview on the Bases and Benefits of Optimism!, September 22, 2000

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Although I was familiar with most of the research described in this book, I had never connected it all together to understand its full meaning until I read this book. So whether you are new to the subject or an old hand, I think you will like and benefit from what you find here. We are making great strides towards understanding how healthy psychological states are formed, operate, and are improved. This book brings you up-to-date on where much of that thinking is now.

Dr. Vaughan starts with the role that emotions play. Essentially, emotions tend to overload our rational mental processes. Getting those emotions under control helps us then to move on to make more appropriate decisions. There are many beautiful passages in the book that explain how optimism is hard-wired in the brain through parent-child interaction, especially during the infant years. No parent should miss this information. You are building your child's emotional infrastructure with your early attention!

Those hard-wired reactions either allow us to modulate our emotional reactions well (which lets us see the glass as half-full) or poorly (which often leads us to see the same glass as half-empty). These are connected to a sense of confidence about how much control we have over the world around us. Those who have that confidence put forth more effort, find more options, and succeed much more often. This is confirmed in both animal (rats swimming) and human (efforts to solve problems) experiments. So optimism is a very valuable state to nurture.

Now, if your upbringing wasn't perfect, you should still be optimistic because there are things you can do now to overcome those early handicaps that slow down your optimism. Smiling, thinking positive thoughts, changing your physiology in other ways, and exercising can all help. The author (a psycholoanalyst) also believes that this form of therapy can help. She uses a series of fictional cases about problems and dreams to show how discussing those images can sort out the meaning of the imagery to give a person more self-confidence and emotional control.

To further round out your understanding of this subject, I also recommend that you read The Science of Happiness which contains much valuable information on brain physiology that complements the observations here, especially in how depression is overcome and avoided. The two books and subjects are strongly related.

Whatever you do, seek out the best. Ask yourself daily, where is there vast opportunity in front of me that I can grasp now? As you experience finding that opportunity and capturing it, you will grow in optimism about your ability to do so continuously.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's to healthy illusions, September 3, 2001

By	Susan G. Dunn "The EQ Coach" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Half Empty, Half Full: Understanding the Psychological Roots of Optimism (Paperback)

Vaughan is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and researcher who can write for the public. In my coaching practice, I sometimes have to grapple with another person's innate and deeply-grounded pessimism and this book gave me ammunition. I do believe that optimism can be learned and in my efforts to extend my own and other people's optimism in the face of some bad-to-worse onslaughts from life, this book has been of immeasurable help. From the amygdala to dream analysis, Vaughan makes it all almost deceptively simple. I doubt that many can "do it" as well as she can, but learning about changing one's level of optimism -- in fact just knowing that we can -- is a great first step! This book gave me real information I can put into practice.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IN REALITY, THE GLASS IS...WHATEVER YOU PERCEIVE IT TO BE!, June 29, 2001

By	Sandra D. Peters "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Half Empty, Half Full: Understanding the Psychological Roots of Optimism (Paperback)

The world consists of those who are pessimists(those who continually see the glass as half empty) or optimists (those who continually see the glass as half full.) Through my studies in psychology and years as a counsellor, it has become evident that how one "views the glass" is to a significant degree determined in the early formative years and the positive or negative relationship we had with our parents. Speaking in general terms, those who have been given encouragement and provided with love, security and a positive environment usually have a more optimistic outlook, and higher sense of self-worth and self-esteem, than those who have not had the benefits of such a nurturing relationship.

As the author so aptly points out, it is never to late to become master of your own fate and change your outlook on life and how you "view the glass." Easier said than done - you bet! Lifelong habits and perceptions are difficult to change; however, with self-discipline and a commitment to long-term change, it can be mastered. Short of professional counselling, this book provides some valuable insights into the conditions which foster a pessimistic or optimistic attitude and suggests what one can do to change a formed, life-long way of thinking. Vaughn uses her professional expertise and fictional case studies to demonstrate how to boost one's level of self-confidence in order to "see the glass" (and life)in a more positive, optimistic manner.