Biomedical subjects

Lise Solberg Nes

Publications and source records attributed to Lise Solberg Nes.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

When Goals Conflict But People Prosper: The Case of Dispositional Optimism.

Optimistic persistence in pursuing goals may have beneficial consequences such as protection against negative affect and greater likelihood of goal attainment, but persistence can also result in greater likelihood of goal conflict, which can have negative consequences. Two studies, one cross-sectional (N = 100) and one longitudinal (N = 77), found that optimism associated with higher goal conflict. However, objectively rated goal conflict did not significantly undermine adjustment, and when balance among goal value, expectancy, and conflict was considered, optimism associated with better balance. In turn, balance accounted for part of optimists' better goal progress over the course of a semester. Although goal conflict may have costs, these costs appear to be offset by accompanying benefits, particularly for optimists.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Dispositional optimism and coping: a meta-analytic review.

The relation between dispositional optimism and better adjustment to diverse stressors may be attributable to optimism's effects on coping strategies. A meta-analytic review (K = 50, N = 11,629) examined the impact of dispositional optimism on coping. Dispositional optimism was found to be positively associated with approach coping strategies aiming to eliminate, reduce, or manage stressors or emotions (r = .17), and negatively associated with avoidance coping strategies seeking to ignore, avoid, or withdraw from stressors or emotions (r = -.21). Effect sizes were larger for the distinction between approach and avoidance coping strategies than for that between problem and emotion-focused coping. Meta-analytic findings also indicate that optimists may adjust their coping strategies to meet the demands of the stressors at hand, and that the optimism-coping relationship is strongest in English-speaking samples.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

Engagement and arousal: optimism's effects during a brief stressor.

Optimism is usually associated with better psychological and physiological adjustment to stressors, but some contradictory findings exist. The purpose of this study was to investigate how optimism could result in negative immunological changes following difficult stressors. Because optimists are likely to see positive outcomes as attainable, they may invest greater effort to achieve their goals. It is proposed that such engagement would be more physiologically demanding when pursuing difficult goals. Participants (N = 54) worked on 11 difficult or insoluble anagrams. Optimism when combined with high self-awareness increased time spent working on the anagrams and skin conductance and salivary cortisol during the recovery period. The results support the notion that the increased engagement that arises from optimism may lead to short-term physiological costs.

Adolescent↗