Optimistic vs. Pessimistic locking

Question

I understand the differences between optimistic and pessimistic locking. Now could someone explain to me when I would use either one in general?

And does the answer

Answer 1

Optimistic locking is used when you don't expect many collisions. It costs less to do a normal operation but if the collision DOES occur you would pay a higher price to resolve it as the transaction is aborted.

Pessimistic locking is used when a collision is anticipated. The transactions which would violate synchronization are simply blocked.

To select proper locking mechanism you have to estimate the amount of reads and writes and plan accordingly.