Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health.

Abstract

Many prominent theorists have argued that accurate perceptions of the self, the world, and the future are essential for mental health. Yet considerable research evidence suggests that overly positive selfevaluations, exaggerated perceptions of control or mastery, and unrealistic optimism are characteristic of normal human thought. Moreover, these illusions appear to promote other criteria of mental health, including the ability to care about others, the ability to be happy or contented, and the ability to engage in productive and creative work. These strategies may succeed, in large part, because both the social world and cognitive-processing mechanisms impose niters on incoming information that distort it in a positive direction; negative information may be isolated and represented in as unthreatening a manner as possible. These positive illusions may be especially useful when an individual receives negative feedback or is otherwise threatened and may be especially adaptive under these circumstances.

Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes.

“…This very reliable result provides the basis for concluding that most people have a positive attitude toward self (Banaji & Prentice, 1994;Baumeister, 1982;Greenwald, 1980;Myers & Ridl, 1979;S. E. Taylor & Brown, 1988).…”

“…These biases, which share characteristics with the operation of a totalitarian society's propaganda apparatus, were described as adaptive, functioning to preserve the integrity of the self as a knowledge organization. S. E. Taylor and Brown (1988) more recently reviewed evidence for self-positive illusions, strongly documenting the case for the adaptive functions of these biases. And, on the basis of their analyses of cognitive processes of depressive patients, Beck (1979), Scheier and Carver (1992), and Seligman (1991) have indicated both the prominence and the adaptiveness of self-positivity in normal (nondepressive) cognitive functioning.…”

“…The broad importance of self-esteem has been recognized in many works over the past century (e.g., Allport, 1937;Cooley, 1902Cooley, /1964Epstein, 1973;James, 1890;Rogers, 1951;Rosenberg, 1979;Sherif&Cantril, 1947). Recent reviews have further expanded the case for importance of the self-attitude (e.g., Beck, 1979;Greenwald &Pratkanis, 1984;Seligman, 1991;Steele, 1988;S. E. Taylor & Brown, 1988;Tesser, 1988).…”

Psychological Defense Mechanisms: A New Perspective

“…Distortion in this context is equivalent to an alteration, modification, or transformation. The tendency to distort experience cognitively in a manner that is positive and enhancing to the self is extremely common (Alloy & Abramson, 1979;Beck & Clark, 1997;Lewinsohn et al, 1980;Taylor & Brown, 1988;Vaillant 1994). In an impressive four experiment study, Alloy and Abramson separated subjects into depressed and nondepressed based on the respondents' scores on the Beck Depression Inventory.…”

Beliefs and practices of patients with advanced cancer: implications for communication

“…In particular, some patients who exhibited a high need for control were not passive recipients of information but actively shaped information and undertook strategies to support positive illusory beliefs. Illusions contribute to the diversity of human responses to both information and circumstance, and positive illusions are well recognised in both health and illness, sometimes with beneficial outcomes (Taylor and Brown, 1988). The extent to which some patients reshape information to meet their own conative, cognitive and affective dispositions influences the intended goals of both communication and informed consent in oncology practice, and also plausibly explains their vulnerability to biased information.…”