What did Martin Seligman find about optimism at West Point's Beast Barracks?

Seligman described Beast Barracks as the six-week summer ordeal for new West Point cadets, built to break them with 4 a.m. wake-ups, 10-mile runs and systematic abuse, and recalled that about a third drop out. Measuring explanatory style on day one predicted who would leave: the pessimists dropped out. Similar tests showed optimists outperforming their talent in college grades and in Olympic swimming.

• Seligman frames West Point as one of the most selective schools in the United States, so talent alone did not explain who quit.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Hidden Brain (2026-09-21). Read the whole episode summary →

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