in expectation-states theory, any of certain general personal qualities, such as age, sex, and ethnicity, that people intentionally and unintentionally consider when estimating the relative competency, ability, and social value of themselves and others. Unlike specific-status characteristics, diffuse-status characteristics have no particular relevance in the given setting. See status generalization.
n. hopefulness: the attitude that good things will happen and that people’s wishes or aims will ultimately be fulfilled. Optimists are people who anticipate positive outcomes, whether serendipitously or through perseverance and effort, and who are confident of attaining desired goals. Most individuals lie somewhere on the spectrum between the two polar opposites of pure optimism and pure pessimism but tend to demonstrate sometimes strong, relatively stable or situational tendencies in one direction or the other. See also expectancy-value model. —optimisticadj.