The primary objective of this study was to estimate the level and distribution of optimism among individual investors in Poland and to investigate whether they are more optimistic than the general population. The second objective was to compare the author’s results on the dispositional optimism of individual investors with those of a survey conducted by the Association of Individual Investors. The third objective was to analyze the relationship between optimism and the socio-demographic variables of age, gender, education level, place of residence, and investment experience. The results of the survey indicate that individual investors show an average optimism level of 15.72 points, which is significantly higher than the average standardized score for Poland (14.55 points). The survey showed that the age and investment experience are significant, but that education, gender, and place of residence are not.