title: Social acceptance of comparative optimism and realism.
abstract: Studies of optimism and realism (the accuracy of people's outlook on the future) seek to understand the respective effects of these elements on social approbation. Two experiments examined how comparative optimism (vs. pessimism) and realism (vs. unrealism) interacted to influence the targets' social acceptance based on their perceptions about the future. The results showed that realism, or accuracy of prediction, increased the positive social effects of a comparatively optimistic outlook on the future. In contrast, targets who exhibited comparative pessimism were more socially acceptable when their predictions were unrealistic rather than realistic. This phenomenon was examined by also considering the polarity of the events about which judgments were expressed. These results contribute to the body of research about the relationship between optimism and pessimism and the relationship between optimism and realism.
authors.affiliation: Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive et Sociale 24, av. des Diables Bleus, 06357 Nice cedex 4, France. Isabelle.milhabet@unice.fr
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Milhabet
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Verlhiac
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001240:Aspirations, Psychological; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012929:Psychological Distance; D011936:Reality Testing; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult