Positive Thinking Scale

Think Positive! Our Positive Thinking Scale (PTS) focuses primarily on your views of yourself and others. By answering these questions, you can assess your propensity for positive thinking.

'Our approach to measuring a propensity to positive thinking was to assess people's positive versus negative thinking about important aspects of their lives — themselves, one's past and future, other people, and the world in general.” — Diener et al. (2009)

I see my community as a place full of problems.

I see much beauty around me.

I see the good in most people.

When I think of myself, I think of many shortcomings.

I think of myself as a person with many strengths.

I am optimistic about my future.

When somebody does something for me, I usually wonder if they have an ulterior motive.

When something bad happens, I often see a 'silver lining.'

I sometimes think about how fortunate I have been in life.

When good things happen, I wonder if they might have been even better.

I frequently compare myself to others.

I think frequently about opportunities that I missed.

When I think of the past, the happy times are most salient to me.

I savor memories of pleasant past times.

I regret many things from my past.

When I see others prosper, even strangers, I am happy for them.

When I think of the past, the bad things stand out.

I know the world has problems, but it seems like a wonderful place anyway.

When something bad happens, I ruminate on it for a long time.

When good things happen, I wonder if they will soon turn sour.

When I see others prosper, it makes me feel bad about myself.

I believe in the good qualities of other people.

References

Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2009). New measures of well-being: Flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 39, 247-266.