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Modern Classic Presentation PSY 6423
Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and
well-being: A social psychological perspectiveon mental health.
Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193-210.
- Academic genealogy
o Judice Campbell -- Neuberg -- Fiske -- Taylor
- Antecedents of this studyo Widespread assumption that mental
health involves accurate perceptions
o NIMH grant
o Modern Classic
Social cognition
Stress / coping / health
Self-soup
- Social relevanceo Positive Illusions: Creative Self-Deception
and the Healthy Mind (1989)
o Paradigm shift in mental health?
o Re-evaluation of reality perception as necessary for effective
functioning
- Impact on the fieldo 1,775 citations (Web of Science)
o 903 citations (PsycINFO)
All journals in social and personality psychology
A focus on health and clinical journals
A focus on decision-making, personnel issues
Widely cited in sociological, education, and aging journals
o Far outside of psychology: Journal of Philosophy
Transportation Research
Tax and Public Finance
Journalism & MassCommunication Quarterly
Negotiation Journal on theProcess of Dispute Settlement
Journal of Management
Journal of Marketing
Accident Analysis and Prevention
Journal of Advanced Nursing
Journal of Legal Studies
Administrative Science Quarterly
AIDS Education and Prevention
o Non-US journals:
European Journal of Social Psychology, International Social
Science Journal,
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, British Journal of Clinical
Psychology,British Journal of Hospital Medicine,International
Journal of Behavioral Development,International Journal of
Intercultural Relations
Zeitschrift fur Entwicklung Psychologie und Padagogische
Psychologie,Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie, Voprosy
Psikhologii,Praxis der Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik,
Ceskoslovenska Psychologie,Revue Canadienne des Sciences du
Comportement, Studia Psychologica
8/9/2019 Positive Illusions
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Modern Classic Presentation PSY 6423
Accuracy in perceiving the world is often nominated as an
essential feature of mental health.Taylor and Brown (1988) identify
three main illusions in normal or psychologically
healthythought:
1. Overly (unrealistic) positive self-evaluations2. Exaggerated
perceptions of personal control3. Unrealistic optimism
1. Above-average effect, social comparison, biased recall2.
Overestimated effect in chance situations3. Future pleasant events,
social comparison
Illusions Contributions to Mental Health- Positive mood- Social
functioning and helping behavior
-Cognitive benefits
- Persistence and motivation
Management of Negative Feedback- Social construction /
projecting self-conceptions- Direct feedback from others is likely
to be positive- Social relationships- Caveat to self-confirming
feedback- Biases in encoding and retrieval of negative information-
Cognitive drift- Acknowledged incompetence
the mentally healthy person appears to have the enviable
capacity todistort reality in a direction that enhances self
esteem, maintains beliefs
in personal efficacy, and promotes an optimistic view of the
future.
Colvin & Block, 1994evidence was surprisingly meager
empirical capriciousness shaky conceptual structure
Analyze the arguments made by Taylor & Brown as a three step
process:A. Identify normal behaviors and tendencies
B. Explain that these behaviors are based on positive
illusionsC. Show that individuals with low(er) self-esteem or
depression dont exhibit these
tendencies.
A fallacy in this line of reasoning: the absence of X in
dysphoric individuals should not imply thatX is present in
psychologically healthy individuals. (Additionally, many disorders
do not includedysphoric mood)
