Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So—Whom: Disease or the Person?
<b>Objective</b>: The results of numerous empirical studies have showed the occurrence of so-called unrealistic optimism. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether in the situation of an imminent coronavirus pandemic, people would still perceive themselves as being less exposed to the diseas...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/5/1464 |
| _version_ | 1797568076788531200 |
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| author | Dariusz Dolinski Barbara Dolinska Barbara Zmaczynska-Witek Maciej Banach Wojciech Kulesza |
| author_facet | Dariusz Dolinski Barbara Dolinska Barbara Zmaczynska-Witek Maciej Banach Wojciech Kulesza |
| author_sort | Dariusz Dolinski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Objective</b>: The results of numerous empirical studies have showed the occurrence of so-called unrealistic optimism. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether in the situation of an imminent coronavirus pandemic, people would still perceive themselves as being less exposed to the disease than others. <b>Methods</b>: Survey studies were conducted to examine the level of unrealistic optimism. Participants (<i>n</i> = 171, 67.3% of women) in a subjective way judged the risk of their coronavirus infection and the likelihood that this would happen to an average student of the same sex from their class. The survey was conducted in three waves: prior to the announcement of the first case of coronavirus (2–3 March), immediately after that announcement (5–6 March), and a few days later (9–10 March). <b>Results</b>: We showed that women estimated the chances of being infected as significantly higher (<i>M</i> = 4.52, <i>SD</i> = 2.079; <i>t</i> = 2.387; <i>p</i> = 0.018; <i>Cohen’s d</i> = 0.393) than men (<i>M</i> = 3.71, <i>SD</i> = 2.042). The phenomenon of unrealistic optimism was observed especially in men (as compared to other male participants) as it appeared in all three measures (<i>M</i> (you) = 3.95 vs. <i>M</i> (other male student) = 4.63; <i>M</i> = 3.71 vs. <i>M</i> = 4.68, and <i>M</i> = 4.46 vs. <i>M</i> = 5.38 in phase one, two, and three, respectively; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.006 for all comparison), but also in women in the last two measures (<i>M</i> (you) = 4.55 vs. <i>M</i> (other female student) = 4.95, and <i>M</i> = 4.99 vs. <i>M</i> = 5.38 in phase 2 and 3, respectively; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.012 for both comparisons). <b>Conclusions</b>: The study revealed a fairly general occurrence of unrealistic optimism, which was mainly observed in men as it appeared in all three measures, but also in women in the last two measures. This result is important for health experts who are responsible for making people comply with regulations concerning social distancing, putting masks on to stop infection, and staying at home. It is possible that unrealistically optimistic people will behave much less in line with the aforementioned recommendations, causing coronavirus to spread widely. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:51:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1fa9efeba90d465fa3c33c562c595209 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:51:16Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-1fa9efeba90d465fa3c33c562c5952092023-11-20T00:21:24ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832020-05-0195146410.3390/jcm9051464Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So—Whom: Disease or the Person?Dariusz Dolinski0Barbara Dolinska1Barbara Zmaczynska-Witek2Maciej Banach3Wojciech Kulesza4Faculty of Psychology in Wroclaw, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 53-238 Wroclaw, PolandFaculty of Social Sciences, University of Opole, 45-052 Opole, PolandFaculty of Social Sciences, University of Opole, 45-052 Opole, PolandDepartment of Hypertension, WAM University Hospital, Lodz, Medical University, 93-338 Lodz, Poland; Polish Mothers Memorial Hospital Research Institute (PMMHRI), 93-338 Lodz, PolandFaculty of Psychology in Warsaw, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland<b>Objective</b>: The results of numerous empirical studies have showed the occurrence of so-called unrealistic optimism. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether in the situation of an imminent coronavirus pandemic, people would still perceive themselves as being less exposed to the disease than others. <b>Methods</b>: Survey studies were conducted to examine the level of unrealistic optimism. Participants (<i>n</i> = 171, 67.3% of women) in a subjective way judged the risk of their coronavirus infection and the likelihood that this would happen to an average student of the same sex from their class. The survey was conducted in three waves: prior to the announcement of the first case of coronavirus (2–3 March), immediately after that announcement (5–6 March), and a few days later (9–10 March). <b>Results</b>: We showed that women estimated the chances of being infected as significantly higher (<i>M</i> = 4.52, <i>SD</i> = 2.079; <i>t</i> = 2.387; <i>p</i> = 0.018; <i>Cohen’s d</i> = 0.393) than men (<i>M</i> = 3.71, <i>SD</i> = 2.042). The phenomenon of unrealistic optimism was observed especially in men (as compared to other male participants) as it appeared in all three measures (<i>M</i> (you) = 3.95 vs. <i>M</i> (other male student) = 4.63; <i>M</i> = 3.71 vs. <i>M</i> = 4.68, and <i>M</i> = 4.46 vs. <i>M</i> = 5.38 in phase one, two, and three, respectively; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.006 for all comparison), but also in women in the last two measures (<i>M</i> (you) = 4.55 vs. <i>M</i> (other female student) = 4.95, and <i>M</i> = 4.99 vs. <i>M</i> = 5.38 in phase 2 and 3, respectively; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.012 for both comparisons). <b>Conclusions</b>: The study revealed a fairly general occurrence of unrealistic optimism, which was mainly observed in men as it appeared in all three measures, but also in women in the last two measures. This result is important for health experts who are responsible for making people comply with regulations concerning social distancing, putting masks on to stop infection, and staying at home. It is possible that unrealistically optimistic people will behave much less in line with the aforementioned recommendations, causing coronavirus to spread widely.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/5/1464unrealistic optimismunrealistic pessimismrisk perceptionhealthy illusionthreat and fear |
| spellingShingle | Dariusz Dolinski Barbara Dolinska Barbara Zmaczynska-Witek Maciej Banach Wojciech Kulesza Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So—Whom: Disease or the Person? Journal of Clinical Medicine unrealistic optimism unrealistic pessimism risk perception healthy illusion threat and fear |
| title | Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So—Whom: Disease or the Person? |
| title_full | Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So—Whom: Disease or the Person? |
| title_fullStr | Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So—Whom: Disease or the Person? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So—Whom: Disease or the Person? |
| title_short | Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So—Whom: Disease or the Person? |
| title_sort | unrealistic optimism in the time of coronavirus pandemic may it help to kill if so whom disease or the person |
| topic | unrealistic optimism unrealistic pessimism risk perception healthy illusion threat and fear |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/5/1464 |
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