CONSERVATION and BEHAVIOUR
Conservation Optimism
There has been considerable interest in optimism within the conservation community, but until recently, we did not know how optimistic conservation professionals were. Optimism is a relatively stable personality trait which is associated with increased resilience and proactive behaviours. In research published in Biodiversity and Conservation, Sarah Papworth, Becky Thomas and Sam Turvey showed that a sample of 171 conservation professionals in the UK were more optimistic than expected.
The study used the revised Life Orientation Test, which is a simple psychometric test for optimism. If you want to find out how optimistic you are, why not take the test - it only takes a few minutes:
More recently, Thomas Pienkowski at the University of Oxford has led further studies which use the revised Life Orientation Test to further understand the conservation professionals. In a study of 2341 conservationists, those with higher dispositional optimism were also more optimistic about key biodiversity outcomes in the next 10 years. A study of 2694 conservationists showed an association between higher dispositional optimism and satisfaction with individual goal progress.