Exploring the Relationship between Self-esteem and Optimistic-Pessimistic Attitudes in English Majors at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade

Abstract

The relationship between self-esteem and optimistic and pessimistic attitudes is significant in individual behavioral patterns in society and studying, according to educational psychology. The study will be done on 70 English majors at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade (HUIT) with a quantitative research method and two scales: Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (1965) and Scheier, Carver, and Bridge's Life Orientation Test-Revised (1994) to determine this correlation. There are two hypotheses stated in this study: (1) Self-esteem and optimistic attitudes are positively correlated among English majors at HUIT, and (2) Self-esteem and pessimistic attitudes are negatively correlated among English majors at HUIT. To answer the above hypotheses, the study will employ SPSS 26.00 to perform descriptive statistics, Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis. The data suggest that among HUIT English majors, there is a positive correlation between self-esteem and an optimistic attitude and also a positive correlation between self-esteem and a pessimistic attitude. These findings provide insight into the complicated link between self-esteem and optimistic and pessimistic attitudes, revealing that people with higher self-esteem might have both optimistic and pessimistic dispositions in academic life and daily life.