Optimism/Pessimism – Attitudes toward the Future 
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**Summary**

The SOEP measured respondents’ attitudes toward the future with an individual item in 1999, 2005, 
2009, 2014, and 2019.  

**Theoretical Background**

For pragmatic reasons and to save time, surveys usually measure attitudes about the future and future 
orientations by asking respondents whether they see the future positively or negatively, that is, 
optimistically or pessimistically.  
In the analysis of attitudes toward the future, questions on the nature and emergence of future 
orientations are of interest (e.g., whether attitudes about the future are less positive in adults than in 
young people, or whether young women are less optimistic about the future than young men; 
Trommsdorff, 1994). Furthermore, making assumptions about the future makes it possible to plan and 
anticipate one’s future actions. Attitudes about the future should therefore provide the basis for 
decisions and planning behavior. 
 
**Scale Development**

The question about attitudes toward the future was included in the SOEP on the recommendation of 
Gisela Trommsdorff. Additional information on the validity of this individual item can be found in 
Trommsdorff (1994). 

**References**

*Trommsdorff, G. (1994). Zukunft als Teil individueller Handlungsorientierungen. In E. Holst, J. P. 
Rinderspacher & J. Schupp (Hrsg.), Erwartungen an die Zukunft. Zeithorizonte und Wertewandel 
in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Diskussion (pp. 45-76). Frankfurt a. M.: Campus.*

**Items**

When you think about the future (Wenn Sie an die Zukunft denken): 

	1. Are you ... (Sind Sie da ...)

Scale: 1 (optimistic / optimistisch) to 4 (pessimistic / pessimistisch)

**Test-Retest Correlations**

In 2009, this item was included in a retest taken by a subsample (N = 174) within 30 to 49 days after 
the initial test.  Test-retest correlation was .60. 

**Items and Scale Statistics**

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