The Relationship between Optimism and Cognitive Ability

Optimism is the state of expecting something good to happen. Cognitive talents are basically dependent on the mental ability to accomplish acts ranging from simple to exceedingly complex (Scott & Reynolds, 2010, 61). Cognitive talents are primarily concerned with knowledge acquisition methods, memory function, problem solving approaches, and individual attentiveness. Optimism is a mental state caused by neurotransmission events in the brain. Several research investigations have demonstrated the association between optimism and cognitive ability, as follows:

Optimism, Cognitive Style, and Persistence of Entrepreneurs

Adomako et alstudy .’s focuses on the impact of cognitive mechanisms on the relationship between an entrepreneur’s optimism and persistence.

The study aims at determining the entrepreneurs’ outcome expectations and cognitive capability relationship in a contemporary situation. The research highly depends on the theoretical cognitive rationale for human behavior. The work is based on a conceptual research model acquired and experientially confirmed through survey technique in Ghana. The key research hypothesis is that the actions of an entrepreneur are dependent on the individual’s traits and characteristics. For instance, an inherently positive person is more likely to be persistent. The case study involves 198 businesses, with both low- and high-profiled companies. The control variable included the size of the company, time of existence, entrepreneurs’ age, level of education, working experience, and gender factor. The entrepreneurs’ level of persistence was determined using psychological tendency test while the six element life orientation test was used to evaluate the level of optimism (Adomako et al., 2016, 92). The research findings show that the entrepreneurs’ optimism and persistence correlation is highly influenced at high levels of cognitive abilities. The cognitive abilities included the skills of planning, knowledge acquisition, and creation techniques that help manage the optimism and persistence. The research also illustrates that the art of acquiring knowledge deteriorates the correlation between the entrepreneurs’ optimism and persistence.

Entrepreneurs’ Optimism and New Venture Performance: A Social Cognitive Perspective

Hmieleski et al., research findings further confirm the significance of cognitive ability to entrepreneurs’ optimism in new business venture performance. The article illustrates the critical relationship between optimism and cognitive ability through expressing the relevance of social cognitive outlook in new business venture establishment and growth process. The entrepreneurs indicate neither profit nor professional growth in new business ventures due to some hypothesized factors. The research is conducted based on the following hypotheses: Entrepreneurs risk taking practices result in a bad performance in new business ventures; new business ventures are mostly favorable for entrepreneurs with experience, and environmental factors favor only stable organizations.

A thousand new business ventures were sampled from the United States credit database record. The company profile details were drawn from the credit database record including the main organization leaders. The survey details were sent to the several businesses addresses: one hundred and eighty-five surveys were undelivered while two hundred and seven survey packets delivered and sent back filled. The six element life orientation technique is used to measure the level of entrepreneur optimism. The number of past business ventures was used to scale the entrepreneurs’ experience. The mean annual profit and employment augmentation of the two previous years were used to measure the level of performance in new business ventures. The predictive variables included the age of the organization, profit generation and the number of employment within the year of study. The research findings illustrated that every respondent was an initiator and chief executive member of the organization (Hmieleski et al., 2009). The findings also indicate that economic and professional advancement require approximately six years of experience. The societal cognitive concept enhances comprehension the primary variables necessary for decision-making situations which in turn determines the level of optimism (Hmieleski et al., 2009).

The Relationship between Cognitive Ability and Depression: A Longitudinal Data Analysis

According to Beaujean et al., depression influences the cognitive abilities of an individual, especially in adolescence. The primary aim of including Beaujean’s research is to exhibit that both cognitive ability and optimism are initiated by the brain. Depression is an abstract term: it is a state caused by the brain neurotransmission. Depression and optimism are a result of human’s behavioral thoughts and state of mind. Optimism is defined as the state of anticipating a positive outcome of a situation due to prior knowledge of certain possibilities. The fundamental purpose of the study was to evaluate the correlation between depression levels and cognitive abilities in adolescents up to the early stages of adulthood.

The research methodology involved the application of the national longitudinal study of adolescents’ health with approximately 14,400 sampling observations. The technique applied to measure the level of cognitive ability is Add Health Picture Vocabulary Test (Beaujean et al., 2013). The standard of depression was determined by psychometric analysis instrument established using wave I and III questionnaires. The principle predictive factors of the study were sex, race, and ethnicity respondents. The correlation between depression and cognitive ability was examined using a path model criterion. The study outcome indicates that the level of depression in adolescents is linked to the cognitive ability of an individual during the early stages of adulthood. However, the results confirm that the juvenile cognitive ability is not connected to adult depression whatsoever (Beaujean et al., 2013). The study shows that the mindset of an individual affects his or her cognitive abilities.

Does CEO Optimism Affect Strategic Process?

Langabeer & DelliuFraine illustrate the importance of optimism in strategic business procedures. The main aim of the research is to evaluate the optimism factor equally manipulates the strategic process in organizations. The research methodology involved the survey of 180 profit agencies in the United States healthcare sector. The level of optimism was measured using the life test orientation technique, while the results were analyzed using correlation and regression methods. The research findings indicated that the executives were more optimistic than other staff members. High level of optimism with minimal coherence was illustrated in the premeditated decision-making sessions (Langabeer & DelliuFraine, 2011).

The moderator effect of cognitive ability on the relationship between planning strategies and business success of small scale business owners in South Africa: A longitudinal study

Cognitive ability enables a person to gain knowledge promptly in unfamiliar situations. According to Escher et al., cognitive abilities determine the strategic planning and decision-making processes. The case study entails two main hypotheses which include the idea of individuals with credible cognitive ability being able to establish more strategic plans, and people with lower cognitive skills holding an equally important part in the organization. The research involves small-scale enterprises in South Africa obtaining 140 observations. The results indicated that business heads with high cognitive skills are always satisfied whatsoever (Escher et al., 2002). The result showed that the enterprise owners utilize comprehensive planning strategy as compensation for their low cognitive ability.

Appliance in the Future Research

Optimism and cognitive ability depend on each other. The research hypothesis is that the cognitive ability determines the level of optimism of an individual obtained from the previous research. Surveying techniques will be applied as the core research methodology. The survey method will evaluate the Northwestern college students’ cognitive recovery and interest in narratives relation using thirteen words memory test and a self-narrative. The research will entail comparison of in-person and online methods of data collection. The significant control variables of the research are the students’ age, the level of education, and gender.

References

Adomako, S., Danso, A., Uddin, M., & Damoah, J. O. (2016). Entrepreneurs’ optimism, cognitive style and persistence. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 22(1), 84-108. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1767888756?accountid=45049

Beaujean, A. A., Parker, S., & Qiu, X. (2013). The relationship between cognitive ability and depression: A longitudinal data analysis. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48(12), 1983-1992.

Escher, S., Grabarkiewicz, R., Frese, M., Gwenda, v. S., & al, e. (2002). The moderator effect of cognitive ability on the relationship between planning strategies and business success of small scale business owners in South Africa: A longitudinal study. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 7(3), 305-318. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/208430168?accountid=45049

Hmieleski, K. M., & Baron, R. A. (2009). Entrepreneurs’ optimism and new venture performance: A social cognitive perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 473-488.

Langabeer,James R.,,II, & DelliFraine, J. (2011). Does CEO optimism affect strategic process? Management Research Review, 34(8), 857-868. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01409171111152484

Scott, J., & Reynolds, D. H. (2010). Handbook of workplace assessment. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.