Early optimism

Unrealistic optimism in early-phase oncology trials.

Unrealistic optimism is a bias that leads people to believe, with respect to a specific event or hazard, that they are more likely to experience positive outcomes and/or less likely to experience negative outcomes than similar others. The phenomenon has been seen in a range of health-related contexts—including when prospective participants are presented with the risks and benefits of participat...

Provocative optimism in the treatment of early stage disease.

Dispositional optimism and therapeutic expectations in early-phase oncology trials.

BACKGROUND Prior research has identified unrealistic optimism as a bias that might impair informed consent among patient-subjects in early-phase oncology trials. However, optimism is not a unitary construct; it also can be defined as a general disposition, or what is called dispositional optimism. The authors assessed whether dispositional optimism would be related to high expectations for pers...

Optimism.

Optimism is an individual difference variable that reflects the extent to which people hold generalized favorable expectancies for their future. Higher levels of optimism have been related prospectively to better subjective well-being in times of adversity or difficulty (i.e., controlling for previous well-being). Consistent with such findings, optimism has been linked to higher levels of engag...

Forsaking Optimism

ly, focusing on desirable rather than feasible outcomes, and the salience of worst-case scenarios give way to better prospects. Shifts in predictions across time represent a natural response to changes in the prevailing informational and emotional context that maximize preparedness for possible outcomes and consequences. Fluctuations in predictions across time should not be taken as evidence of...