"Gems" is general about gems, it suggests that all gems have this problem. And "always" is permanent about time. The statement also implies impersonal: It suggests this is true for everyone, as opposed to "I'm always flocking gems up on my projects."
I chose that to illustrate just one of the three axes, but to my ear it sounds like it is saying impersonal, general, permanent.
So I agree with what appears to be the general thrust of your argument which is that an explanation might be neutral on one axes, or imply something about one axis, or make statements about two or more axes.
I suppose this is why Dr. Seligman makes tests with many, many questions. You need to aggregate a lot of explanations from one person to get a picture of their underlying attitude toward positive and negative events.
I have been troubled by cognitive therapy techniques, because they are implicitly intended to be used in the way that Seligman does. But they purport to be truthful, when they are intended to be used in a biased way. If you use them in a non-biased way (for example, to undermine good feelings, not just undermine bad feeling), they'll make you feel bad.
That's what I like about the two levels of this definition of optimism: it comes right out and says that it is biased, as a way of containing bad things, and expanding good things. The categories at the second level (personal, specific, temporary etc) appear to be just the same as cognitive therapy techniques.
Thanks, discussing it has helped a lot. I think my confusion was in thinking the axes are exclusive, but of course an explanation can be general and permanent.
Can it be general and temporary? Everyone is driving like madmen today!
Or specific and permanent? Damn it, my car is always breaking down!
Yep. The specificity depends on the framing ("everyone is driving" generalizes over individual drivers, but is specific to the set of drivers - it excludes people in offices, at home, at sea, etc). But that's a different confusion :-) and maybe the explanation includes the frame (and thus fully defines the specificity with respect to it), and framing is an important tool for changing one's interpretation from pessimistic to optimistic.
"Gems" is general about gems, it suggests that all gems have this problem. And "always" is permanent about time. The statement also implies impersonal: It suggests this is true for everyone, as opposed to "I'm always flocking gems up on my projects."
I chose that to illustrate just one of the three axes, but to my ear it sounds like it is saying impersonal, general, permanent.
So I agree with what appears to be the general thrust of your argument which is that an explanation might be neutral on one axes, or imply something about one axis, or make statements about two or more axes.
I suppose this is why Dr. Seligman makes tests with many, many questions. You need to aggregate a lot of explanations from one person to get a picture of their underlying attitude toward positive and negative events.