The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain
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Tali Sharot. (2011). The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Tali Sharot. 2011. The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Tali Sharot, The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011.

Tali Sharot. The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011.

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   • bioText:

     Tali Sharot’s research on optimism, memory, and emotion has been the subject of features in Newsweek, The Boston Globe, Time, The Wall Street Journal, New Scientist, and The Washington Post, as well as on the BBC. She has a Ph.D. in psychology and neuroscience from New York University and is the director of the Affective Brain Lab and an Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the department of Experimental Psychology at University College London. She lives in London.

   • name: Tali Sharot

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publishDate

2011-06-14T00:00:00-04:00

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title

The Optimism Bias

fullDescription

Psychologists have long been aware that most people maintain an irrationally positive outlook on life—but why? Turns out, we might be hardwired that way.
In this absorbing exploration, Tali Sharot—one of the most innovative neuroscientists at work today—demonstrates that optimism may be crucial to human existence. The Optimism Bias explores how the brain generates hope and what happens when it fails; how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ; why we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy; how emotions strengthen our ability to recollect; how anticipation and dread affect us; how our optimistic illusions affect our financial, professional, and emotional decisions; and more.
 
Drawing on cutting-edge science, The Optimism Bias provides us with startling new insight into the workings of the brain and the major role that optimism plays in determining how we live our lives.

reviews

1. • premium: False
   • source: Richard Thaler, author of Nudge
   • content: "What a treat. A charming, engaging and accessible book written by a scientist who knows how to tell a story."
2. • premium: False
   • source: The Village Voice
   • content: "An insightful, Oliver Sacks-y first book."
3. • premium: False
   • source: Simon Baron-Cohen, author of The Science of Evil
   • content: "Very enjoyable, highly original and packed with eye-opening insight, this is a beautifully written book that really brings psychology alive."
4. • premium: False
   • source: Terry Waghorn, Forbes
   • content: "Offers evolutionary, neurological, and even slightly philosophical reasons for optimism. . . . A book I'd suggest to anyone."
5. • premium: False
   • source: Richard Stengel, Time
   • content: "If you read her story, you'll get a better grip on how we function in it. I'm optimistic about that."
6. • premium: False
   • source: Louisa Jewell, Positive Psychology News Daily
   • content: "Once I started reading The Optimism Bias, I could not put it down."
7. • premium: False
   • source: New York Journal of Books
   • content: "An intelligently written look into why most people take an optimistic view of life. . . . [A] fascinating trip into why we prefer to remain hopeful about our future and ourselves."
8. • premium: False
   • source: David Eagleman, author of Incognito
   • content: "With rare talent Sharot takes us on an unforgettable tour of the hopes, traps and tricks of our brains. . . . A must-read."
9. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     May 1, 2011
     

     Our mind deceives us by parking rose-colored glasses on our nose, writes neuroscientist Sharot, but only with the best of intentions.

     In this lively, conversational book, the author puts on firm footing what many of us have sensed all along—that we are, by and large, a pretty optimistic bunch. Indeed, "optimism may be so essential to our survival that it is hardwired into our most complex organ, the brain." So prevalent are these optimistic tendencies that they compose a bias, a steady inclination to overestimate the likelihood of encountering more positive events in the future than negative ones. The optimism bias protects us from being stymied by the inevitable tribulations of everyday life, or to perceive that our options are limited in some manner; it helps us relax, improves our health and motivates us to act. Sharot is a friendly writer—her book brims with anecdotes and scientific studies that attest to optimism's gentling hand—though no empty smiley face: There is plenty in these pages about how we cope with root canals and chemotherapy, disappointment and dread. Sharot presents this evolutionary scenario: "an ability to imagine the future had to develop side by side with positive biases. The knowledge of death had to emerge at the same time as its irrational denial...It is this coupling—conscious prospection and optimism—that underlies the extraordinary achievements of the human species." Otherwise, considering the future would be paralyzing. The author circulates through much of the optimism/pessimism map, touching down on the importance of control, relativity and anticipation. What is most stunning, however, are the ways in which optimism not only evokes new behavior in the individual (optimistic heart-attack victim modeling healthy new behavior), but helps deliver the irrationally expected goods (Joe Namath guaranteeing victory in Super Bowl III).

     A well-told, heartening report from neuroscience's front lines.

      

     (COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

10. • premium: True
    • source:
    • content:

      June 1, 2011
      Why is it that many Americans swear to the veracity of their memories of 9/11, unaware that those memories are riddled with inaccuracies? In investigating that question, Sharot found herself exploring the much more general and pervasive phenomenon of groundless mental confidence. Whether defying statistical odds in (re)marriage, endorsing a recklessly bold coach's prediction of victory, or clinging to hope in the face of a grim cancer diagnosis, humans manifest optimism that resists rational explanation. Yet from the latest neurological research, Sharot adduces evidence that such irrationality actually improves job performance and enhances well-being. Indeed, further probing into the dynamics of optimism identifies the capacity to imagine a promising future as a characteristic unique to Homo sapiens. This is a capacity laced with risks, however, as Sharot shows by examining the fates of optimists who can no longer resist reality-defying fantasies. Still, most readers will turn the last page not only buoyed by hope but also aware of the sources and benefits of that hope.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

11. • premium: True
    • source:
    • content:

      May 1, 2011
      

      Our mind deceives us by parking rose-colored glasses on our nose, writes neuroscientist Sharot, but only with the best of intentions.

      In this lively, conversational book, the author puts on firm footing what many of us have sensed all along--that we are, by and large, a pretty optimistic bunch. Indeed, "optimism may be so essential to our survival that it is hardwired into our most complex organ, the brain." So prevalent are these optimistic tendencies that they compose a bias, a steady inclination to overestimate the likelihood of encountering more positive events in the future than negative ones. The optimism bias protects us from being stymied by the inevitable tribulations of everyday life, or to perceive that our options are limited in some manner; it helps us relax, improves our health and motivates us to act. Sharot is a friendly writer--her book brims with anecdotes and scientific studies that attest to optimism's gentling hand--though no empty smiley face: There is plenty in these pages about how we cope with root canals and chemotherapy, disappointment and dread. Sharot presents this evolutionary scenario: "an ability to imagine the future had to develop side by side with positive biases. The knowledge of death had to emerge at the same time as its irrational denial...It is this coupling--conscious prospection and optimism--that underlies the extraordinary achievements of the human species." Otherwise, considering the future would be paralyzing. The author circulates through much of the optimism/pessimism map, touching down on the importance of control, relativity and anticipation. What is most stunning, however, are the ways in which optimism not only evokes new behavior in the individual (optimistic heart-attack victim modeling healthy new behavior), but helps deliver the irrationally expected goods (Joe Namath guaranteeing victory in Super Bowl III).

      A well-told, heartening report from neuroscience's front lines.

      (COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

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In this absorbing exploration, Tali Sharot—one of the most innovative neuroscientists at work today—demonstrates that optimism may be crucial to human existence. The Optimism Bias explores how the brain generates hope and what happens when it fails; how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ; why we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy; how emotions strengthen our ability to recollect; how anticipation and dread affect us; how our optimistic illusions affect our financial, professional, and emotional decisions; and more.
 
Drawing on cutting-edge science, The Optimism Bias provides us with startling new insight into the workings of the brain and the major role that optimism plays in determining how we live our lives.

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