Question

Which of the following is an example of pessimism?

If there’s a chance it will rain, there’s also a good chance it won’t rain.

If I don’t get every answer right on today’s test, I’m a failure.

If there’s a chance it will rain, it’s going to rain.

If I don’t get every answer right on today’s test, it’s the teacher’s fault.

Answer 1

My best guess would be: If there’s a chance it will rain, it’s going to rain.

(If in the sense that rain will be the worst possible outcome)

A pessimist is a person who tends to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen.

Answer 2

Pessimism is a type of mental attitude, a state of mind and way of approaching things and situations. The pessimist is someone with a negative view at things who expects the worst.

The following is an example of pessimism: If there’s a chance it will rain, it’s going to rain.  Correct answer: C In this case the worst that would happen is to rain, and the pessimist expects that. The optimist on the other hand is expecting the best outcome and would say:   If there’s a chance it will rain, it’s not going to rain