Dispositional optimism can be viewed as a powerful emotional engine that both affects the management of positive and negative emotions and enhances emotional attunement. After bridging core features of the dispositional optimism construct with theorizing and research on emotional coping and emotion regulation, the pathways through which optimism shapes the emotional experience will be outlined, focusing on major implications for interpersonal communication.

Finally, empirical evidence regarding optimists’ and pessimists’ narratives of their emotional experiences will be discussed, corroborating literature findings regarding emotion regulation strategies that shape optimists’ sharing and communication of emotions.