6/27/2023 0 Comments Examples of unrealistic optimismThese benefits are achieved through a variety of means, but the most important is that positive illusions promote a problem-focused approach to coping. For example, cancer patients who believe they can prevent the recurrence of cancer enjoy greater health than do those who are realistic, and preoperative patients who are unduly optimistic about their operation’s success fare better than those who more accurately perceive the procedure’s dangers and risks. Finally, positive illusions help people cope with life’s challenges. People who view their romantic partners through rose-colored glasses are more satisfied with their relationship and more committed to it than are those who have a more realistic view of their partners’ actual strengths and weaknesses. Third, positive illusions promote interpersonal relationships. These effects are most apparent at tasks of moderate difficulty. People who are confident in their abilities often perform better at achievement-related activities (e.g., exams, sporting contests) than do those who are more modest, even when their confidence is not entirely warranted. Second, under some circumstances, positive self-views can also beget success. People who hold positive self-views are happier and more content than are those who are more realistic. First, positive illusions are linked with subjective well-being. If not too excessive, positive illusions can be beneficial. For example, although smokers think they are less likely to get cancer than are most other smokers, they readily acknowledge they are at greater risk than are nonsmokers. Moreover, positive illusions do take reality into account. In most cases, the degree of distortion is modest, resulting in a self-portrait that is just a bit too good to be true. The prevalence of illusions does not mean that people are wildly inaccurate. ![]() For example, even though the current divorce rate in industrialized countries is approximately 50%, roughly three-quarters of newlyweds believe they will never divorce. Believing they are “good” and “powerful,” leads people to believe their futures will be brighter than base rate data justify. Together, these beliefs give rise to unrealistic optimism. They readily credit themselves when things go well, but deny responsibility when things go awry. People also exaggerate their abilities to bring about desired outcomes. The bias even extends to friends, family, loved ones, and fellow group members, and is characteristic of people from a variety of cultures. They also believe their judgments are less distorted by greed, self-aggrandizement, or personal gain than are other people’s judgments and that their opinions are grounded in facts, but other people’s opinions are driven by ideology. People believe they are more competent, flexible, and intelligent than others drive better than others are more caring, adaptive, and fairer than others are happier and have better interpersonal relationships than others and are more deserving of good fortune and good health. ![]() Furthermore, this effect occurs for a wide variety of personality traits and abilities. Instead, most people say they are more intelligent than most other people. ![]() One way to address this issue is to ask, “Do most people know what they are really like?” For example, suppose we randomly sample a group of people and ask them, “Compared with most other people, how intelligent are you?” Logically, most of the people in our sample should say they are as intelligent as most other people, with the rest equally split between saying they are less intelligent and more intelligent than most other people. It is entirely possible that excessively positive self-views are detrimental, but mildly positive ones are beneficial. Whether accuracy is best, however, is another matter. People who harbor delusions of grandeur or believe they control the moon and stars are not paragons of mental health. Positive Illusions History and BackgroundĪccurate self-views were once thought to be an essential feature of psychological well-being.
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