![]() Discover the ways in which your past may be distorting your present. To achieve that you must be honest with yourself about your usual approach to life. So when it comes to optimism or pessimism, “hope for the best, prepare for the worst” is an ideal motto. In contrast, the unrealistic pessimist is prone to chronic depression and anxiety, which brings its own set of problems. But the illusions they create mean they are less capable of connecting and developing real intimacy with others, which can make them lonely and miserable. They also are deceived about the rosiness of their future. For this they pay a heavy price, and are much more prone to feeling stressed and suffering physical illnesses, from common psychosomatic complaints such as unexplained tummy trouble and headaches to life-threatening heart attacks.Īnother group of people who are unrealistically optimistic are the overly narcissistic who only are happy when they are the center of attention. They just cannot stand the bad news about life. They systematically delete negative information about themselves and their lives. Unrealistic people include those who repress problems, insisting that everything is fine and the future is rosy, almost regardless of reality. Warszawa: Akademos.Realistic optimism is actually a sign of and byproduct of mental health, says James. The Journal of Social Psychology, 127(5), 511-516. Doliński, D., Gromski, W., Zawisza, E.Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 21(2), 119-129. (The lack of) optimistic biases in response to the 1994 Northridge earthquake: The role of personal experience. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18(1), 39-43. Changes in and generalization of unrealistic optimism following experiences with stressful events – reactions to the 1989 California earthquake. Warszawa: Instytut Studiów Społecznych UW. Jakość życia Polaków w czasie zmiany systemowej. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(5), 806-820. Unrealistic optimism about future life events. The worse the mood according to the depression scale, the lower the unrealistic optimism, but interestingly, even the most depressed people are optimistic in assessing the chances of various events in the future, so it seems that depression does not cause pessimism, but increases realism … References Unrealistic optimism is lowered in depressive people (Czapiński, 1992). A greater percentage of pessimists than realists and optimists drank Lugol’s liquid, refrained from eating dairy products and spring vegetables, minimized staying outdoors and undertook other activities that could reduce the effects of radiation (Doliński, Gromski, & Zawisza, 1987). Pessimists were more likely than realists and optimists (and there was no difference between them) to take action that could prevent radiation-induced diseases. Their illusion had some advantages, however. Many people felt they were more exposed to harmful radiation than others. It seems that a tragedy has to happen to us personally to make us believe that they do not only happen in the media … After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, even the phenomenon of unrealistic pessimism (the so-called defensive pessimism) was observed. People, when asked shortly after the earthquake what the probability of it happening again, realistically assess the risk, although in the case of other negative events they are still convinced that it is more likely that it will happen to others than them (Burger, Palmer, 1992 Helweg-Larsen, 1999). Unrealistic optimism is very common in everyday life but fades away in some specific situations. So, according to many Poles, nothing positive or anything negative will happen to them in their lives. But in the case of positive events, unlike Americans who say that they have a greater chance of them, Poles believe that they have a lower chance than other people of the same sex and age (Czapiński, 1998). We believe that what is bad can only happen to others. Here, unrealistic optimism only concerns negative events. However, there are intercultural differences in this matter. ![]() Most Americans believe that they have a better chance than their peers of the same sex for a good job, a trip overseas, owning a home and living to over eighty years. We do not wear seat belts, we cycle without a helmet, we do not insure our apartments, we do not regularly attend medical examinations because we are convinced that everything bad happens only to other people and it will not happen to us.Īmerican research (Weinstein, 1980) shows that many people not only believe that negative events are more likely to other people than themselves, but are also convinced that positive events are more likely to them than to others. Many studies show that people are often characterized by unreasonably high optimism, which can also be seen in everyday life. Unrealistic optimism is a concept that is very well known in psychology.
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