Are you optimistic? Measuring optimism in conservation (Workshop)

We all know both optimistic and pessimistic people, but how does this affect how conservation works? This 90-minute workshop is delivered by Dr Sarah Papworth of Royal Holloway, University of London, and aims to allow participants to explore optimism from a psychological perspective, including how our own dispositions can affect the way we interact with the world and the decisions we make.

The session will introduce optimism as a psychological construct, outlining different types of optimism and the results of a recent paper which measured the dispositional optimism in conservation professionals. Participants will measure their own level of optimism using an online version of established psychometric test (please bring an internet-enabled device!) and reflect on how this might influence their work.