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Behaving Optimistically: How the (Un)Desirability of an Outcome Can Bias People’s Preparations for It

dc.contributor.authorStuart, Jillian O’ Rourke
dc.contributor.authorWindschitl, Paul D.
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Andrew R.
dc.contributor.authorScherer, Aaron M.
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-10T19:09:52Z
dc.date.available2018-03-01T16:43:51Zen
dc.date.issued2017-01
dc.identifier.citationStuart, Jillian O’ Rourke; Windschitl, Paul D.; Smith, Andrew R.; Scherer, Aaron M. (2017). "Behaving Optimistically: How the (Un)Desirability of an Outcome Can Bias People’s Preparations for It." Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 30(1): 54-69.
dc.identifier.issn0894-3257
dc.identifier.issn1099-0771
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/135587
dc.description.abstractPast research on the desirability bias and on bracing for bad news has focused on the potential influence of outcome desirability on people’s stated expectations. The present studies examined its influence on behavior—that is, what is done in anticipation of, or preparation for, an uncertain outcome. In five studies, the desirability of possible outcomes for an event, which was uncertain and uncontrollable by the participant, was manipulated, and preparation behavior was measured. Study 1 used a hypothetical‐events paradigm. Studies 2 and 3 involved a computer activity in which behavior was tracked on a trial‐by‐trial basis. In Studies 4 and 5, the uncertain event was the ending of a videotaped basketball game. Rather than exhibiting bracing or a reluctance to tempt fate, participants tended to behave in a manner consistent with an optimistic desirability bias. In a subset of studies, predictions and likelihood judgments were also solicited; the differential effects of outcome desirability on these measures are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.publisherWiley Periodicals, Inc.
dc.subject.otherreadiness
dc.subject.otherdecision making
dc.subject.otherrisk
dc.subject.otherpreparedness
dc.subject.otheroptimism bias
dc.subject.otherwishful thinking
dc.subject.otherdesirability bias
dc.titleBehaving Optimistically: How the (Un)Desirability of an Outcome Can Bias People’s Preparations for It
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.rights.robotsIndexNoFollow
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelPsychology
dc.subject.hlbtoplevelSocial Sciences
dc.description.peerreviewedPeer Reviewed
dc.description.bitstreamurlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135587/1/bdm1918_am.pdf
dc.description.bitstreamurlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135587/2/bdm1918.pdf
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/bdm.1918
dc.identifier.sourceJournal of Behavioral Decision Making
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dc.owningcollnameInterdisciplinary and Peer-Reviewed


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