Performance estimates, comparative optimism, and reality: A study of students before and after examinations

• Authors: Klonowicz T.
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

A quasi-experimental study was carried out to examine the relationships between unrealistic optimism and reality. Unrealistic optimism was operationalized as (1) pre-examination performance estimates and (2) comparative optimism, i.e., assessment of the likelihood that a number of positive and negative events would occur to self relative to the average student. It has been hypothesized that unrealistic optimism would be only moderately related to performance and would decrease under the impact of reality. The three intrusions of reality were temporal proximity of an exam, the actual exam score, and the difference between pre-examination prediction and the actual examination score. The data indicated that: (1) the two measures of unrealistic optimism were only weakly related to the level of performance and (2) optimistic performance estimates were positively associated with both the actual examination score and comparative optimism. Moreover, the data showed that participants lowered their pre-examination performance estimates as the exam neared. This effect was particularly strong in those participants who earlier provided unrealistically optimistic performance estimates. The occurrence of postexamination unrealistic pessimism suggests that biased estimates of own performance may reflect different stages of the coping process.

Keywords

EN

COMPARATIVE OPTIMISM; EXAMINATION STRESS; UNREALISTIC OPTIMISM; UNREALISTIC PESSIMISM

Discipline

• PSYCHOLOGY: PSYCHOLOGY

• Publisher: Committee for Psychological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Polish Psychological Bulletin
• Year: 2005
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 77-88
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Klonowicz T.

• T. Klonowicz, Szkola Wyzsza Psychologii Spolecznej, ul. Chodakowska 19/31, 03-815 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

06PLAAAA01763811