Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Individual Factors That Influence the Response to Stress511also inclined to believe that no amount of personal effort will improve their situation.Not surprisingly, pessimists tend to experience more stress than optimists.Let’s look at these two explanatory styles in action. Optimistic Olive sees an attractiveguy at a party and starts across the room to introduce herself and strike upa conversation. As she approaches him, the guy glances at her, then abruptly turnsaway. Hurt by the obvious snub, Optimistic Olive retreats to the buffet table.Munching on some fried zucchini, she mulls the matter over in her mind. At thesame party, Pessimistic Pete sees an attractive female across the room and approachesher. He, too, gets a cold shoulder and retreats to the chips and clam dip.Standing at opposite ends of the buffet table, here is what each of them is thinking:OPTIMISTIC OLIVE: What’s his problem? (External explanation: The optimistblames other people or external circumstances.)PESSIMISTIC PETE: I must have said the wrong thing. She probably saw me stickmy elbow in the clam dip before I walked over. (Internal explanation: Thepessimist blames self.)OPTIMISTIC OLIVE: I’m really not looking my best tonight. I’ve just got to getmore sleep. (Unstable, temporary explanation)PESSIMISTIC PETE: Let’s face it, I’m a pretty boring guy and really not verygood-looking. (Stable, permanent explanation)OPTIMISTIC OLIVE: He looks pretty preoccupied. Maybe he’s waiting for his girlfriendto arrive. Or his boyfriend! Ha! (Specific explanation)PESSIMISTIC PETE: Women never give me a second look, probably because I dresslike a nerd and I never know what to say to them. (Global, pervasive explanation)OPTIMISTIC OLIVE: Whoa! Who’s that hunk over there?! Okay, Olive, turn onthe charm! Here goes! (Perseverance after a rejection)PESSIMISTIC PETE: Maybe I’ll just hold down this corner of the buffet table . . . orgo home and soak up some TV. (Passivity and withdrawal after a rejection)Most people, of course, are neither as completely optimistic as Olive nor as totally pessimisticas Pete. Instead, they fall somewhere along the spectrum of optimism and pessimism,and their explanatory style may vary somewhat in different situations (Peterson& Bossio, 1993). Even so, a person’s characteristic explanatory style, particularlyfor negative events, is relatively stable across the lifespan (Burns & Seligman, 1989).Like personal control, explanatory style is related to health consequences (Gillham& others, 2001; Wise & Rosqvist, 2006). One study showed that explanatorystyle in early adulthood predicted physical health status decades later. On the basisof interviews conducted at age 25, explanatory style was evaluated for a large groupof Harvard graduates. At the time of the interviews, all the young men were in excellentphysical and mental health. Thirty-five years later, however, those who hadan optimistic explanatory style were significantly healthier than those with a pessimisticexplanatory style (Peterson & others, 1988; Peterson & Park, 2007).Other studies have shown that a pessimistic explanatory style is associatedwith poorer physical health (Bennett & Elliott, 2005; Jackson &others, 2002; Peterson & Bossio, 2001). For example, first-year lawschool students who had an optimistic, confident, and generally positiveoutlook experienced fewer negative moods than did pessimistic students(Segerstrom & others, 1998). And, in terms of their immune systemmeasures, the optimistic students had significantly higher levels oflymphocytes, T cells, and helper T cells. Explaining the positive relationshipbetween optimists and good health, Suzanne Segerstrom andher colleagues (2003) suggest that optimists are more inclined to perseverein their efforts to overcome obstacles and challenges. Optimistsare also more likely to cope effectively with stressful situations than pessimists,perhaps because they attribute their failures to their copingstrategies and adjust them accordingly (Iwanaga & others, 2004).How Do You Explain Your Setbacks andFailures? Everyone experiences setbacks, rejection,and failure at some point. The wayyou explain your setbacks has a significantimpact on motivation and on mental andphysical health. If this California car dealerblames his business failure on temporaryand external factors, such as a short-liveddownturn in the economy, he may be morelikely to try opening a new dealership inthe future.