This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0146167208319764v1 34/9/1236    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Rose, J. P. Articles by Suls, J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rose, J. P. Articles by Suls, J. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Cultural Differences in Unrealistic Optimism and Pessimism: The Role of Egocentrism and Direct Versus Indirect Comparison Measures

¹ University of Iowa
² Kansai University

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jason-rose{at}uiowa.edu.

	Abstract

Recent research has raised questions regarding the consistency of unrealistic optimism and related self-enhancing tendencies, both within cultures and across cultures. The current study tested whether the method used to assess unrealistic optimism influenced cross-cultural patterns in the United States and Japan. The results showed that the direct method (a single comparison judgment between self and peers) produced similar patterns across cultures because of cognitive biases (e.g., egocentrism); specifically, participants were unrealistically optimistic about experiencing infrequent/negative events but pessimistic about experiencing frequent/negative events. However, the indirect method (separate self- and peer judgments) produced different patterns across cultures because culturally specific motivational biases emerged using this method; specifically, the U.S. sample was more unrealistically optimistic than the Japanese sample. The authors discuss how these results might influence the interpretation of previous findings on culture and self-enhancement.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?