Purpose

The test evaluates a positive attitude toward life, namely optimism.

Brief Description

The original test was developed to examine the level of optimism as a personality factor. In its revised form, the emphasis is placed more on the expectation of positive outcomes and events. Two items that were more related to coping style rather than positive future expectations have been removed. The correlation between the revised and the original test is 0.95. The revised test consists of 10 items that assess generalized positive expectations for life outcomes. Three of the ten items are positively worded to reflect optimism, three are negatively worded, and the remaining four serve as filler items to maintain the balance of the tool and do not affect the overall result. The items are phrased in ways such as: “Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad.” Responses are recorded on a five-point Likert scale (0 = strong agreement, 4 = strong disagreement).

Sample

The test was conducted on a sample of 810 individuals, including 265 men and 545 women, ranging in age from 17 to 67 years. Of these, 54.7% came from urban areas, while 44.5% were from semi-urban areas of Greece. The overall mean score of participants was 14.20/24, with a standard deviation of 4.41. Regarding subscale evaluations, the mean for optimism was 8.34 (SD = 3.12), while for pessimism it was 5.82 (SD = 3.10). Concerning gender differences, the mean total score for women was 13.78 (SD = 4.05), whereas for men it was 14.22 (SD = 4.02).

Scoring Method

Participants are assessed based on their level of agreement with each statement, depending on how representative they feel it is of them. Scores for each item range from 1 to 5. During the test, reverse-scored items are also included, where participants rate the degree to which they disagree with the content. These specific items (3, 7, and 9) are recoded into values that reflect the level of optimism of each individual.

Validity

The test demonstrates satisfactory face validity. Convergent validity was satisfactory when compared with the corresponding optimism scale (r = 0.73, p = 0.0001). Test–retest reliability conducted three months after the initial administration produced a coefficient of r = 0.67, p = 0.001, indicating relatively good stability. Construct validity was examined through exploratory factor analysis with Varimax orthogonal rotation. The total variance explained (62.57%) yielded two factors, with the first factor (optimism) accounting for 20.47%. The results are largely consistent with the literature. Moreover, the test shows very low correlations with the anxiety (r = 0.20), depression (r = –0.22), and stress (r = –0.23) scales of the DASS questionnaire, thereby confirming its discriminant validity. For an alternative version of the instrument, refer to the Life Orientation Test – Revised.