Dispositional optimism is an adopted orientation in which one believes that goals will generally be attained and that tasks can generally be successfully completed, whereas pessimists orient toward less belief in successful task or goal completion. A related concept, individuals with high self-efficacy believe they will be successful at particular tasks. The type of self-efficacy related to learning tasks is termed "Academic self-efficacy" and it, along with generalized optimism/pessimism, appear to influence motivation and engagement decisions pertaining to completion of goal-oriented tasks. A cluster sample (n = 105) of undergraduate students at a regional university in the midsouth was administered two instruments. The 19-item "Self-Efficacy for Learning Form--Abridged" (SELF-A) was employed to gauge student academic self-efficacy. Participants also completed the Revised Life Orientation Test, an instrument designed to measure outcome expectancies and dispositional optimism/pessimism. Students that reported higher self-efficacy reported significantly lower pessimism whereas participants with reported lower self-efficacy displayed significantly higher levels of pessimism. Questions still remain, but educators desiring students to attain successful outcomes in class should employ instructional strategies that orient learners toward optimism and higher rates of self-efficacy. The following are appended: (1) Self-Efficacy for Learning Form (Self); and (2) Life Orientation Test-Revised.