Many prominent theorists have argued that accurate perceptions of the self, the world, and the future are essential for mental health. Yet considerable research evidence suggests that overly positive self-evaluations, exaggerated perceptions of control or mastery, and unrealistic optimism are characteristic of normal human thought. Moreover, these illusions appear to promote other criteria of mental health, including the ability to care about others, the ability...

The perception of the effectiveness of instrumental actions is influenced by depressed mood. Depressive realism (DR) is the claim that depressed people are particularly accurate in evaluating instrumentality. In two experiments, the authors tested the DR hypothesis using an action-outcome contingency judgment task. DR effects were a function of intertrial interval length and outcome density, suggesting that depressed mood is accompanied by reduced contextual processing...

Examined whether depressed individuals make more realistic judgments than their nondepressed peers in real world settings. Depressed and nondepressed Ss in 2 studies were asked to make predictions about future actions and outcomes that might occur in their personal academic and social worlds. Both groups of Ss displayed overconfidence, that is, they overestimated the likelihood that their predictions would prove to be accurate. Of key...

In 4 experiments, 144 depressed and 144 nondepressed undergraduates (Beck Depression Inventory) were presented with one of a series of problems varying in the degree of contingency. In each problem, Ss estimated the degree of contingency between their responses (pressing or not pressing a button) and an environmental outcome (onset of a green light). Depressed Ss' judgments of contingency were suprisingly accurate in all 4...

A replication of an earlier study of the illusion of control in mildly depressed students with a clinically depressed sample found an illusion of control in a nondepressed patient group but not among depressed patients. The present results were similar to those obtained with mildly depressed students. The absence of the illusion of control was viewed as reflecting a general sense of personal incompetence among...

It was hypothesized that subjects would show greater restraint in risk-taking behavior when forced to wager after the outcome-determining physical event as compared with subjects who wagered in the normal (before the event) sequence. It was also expected that subjects defined as internally controlled would take greater risks than those defined as externally controlled. The former hypothesis was supported, as was the latter under the...

Three studies investigated a boundary condition on the illusion-of-control effect (the tendency to behave as if one can control random events). Subjects wagered poker chips on the roll of a die, either to win money or to reduce the amount of time they would have to spend on unpleasant tasks. To induce illusory control, half of the subjects were allowed to choose the face of...

Conducted a series of 6 studies involving 631 adults to elucidate the "illusion of control" phenomenon, defined as an expectancy of a personal success probability inappropriately higher than the objective probability would warrant. It was predicted that factors from skill situations (competition, choice, familiarity, involvement) introduced into chance situations would cause Ss to feel inappropriately confident. In Study 1 Ss cut cards against either a...

Examined the long-term effects of participating in a field experiment on the effects of control and predictability-enhancing interventions. 40 retirement home residents who had initially benefited from being exposed to a specific positive predictable or controllable event (visits by college students) were assessed at 3 different intervals after the study was terminated. Health and psychological status data collected 24, 30, and 42 mo after the...

Reevaluated 26 elderly nursing home residents who were tested by the present authors (see record 1976-28515-001) as part of an intervention designed to increase feelings of choice and personal responsibility over daily events. Nurses' ratings and health and mortality indicators suggest that the experimental treatment and/or the processes that it set in motion had sustained beneficial effects.   Rodin, J., & Langer, E. J. (1977). Long-term...