The Relationship Between Optimism and Perceived Control of Life Events Moderated by the Belief in a Just World

Abstract

There has been an immense amount of research suggesting that individuals tend to have a biased outlook on life. Previous research has demonstrated that people exhibit three positive cognitive ‘illusions’: believing in a just world (BJW), optimism for the future, and the illusion of control. These psychological constructs have been investigated in great depth respectively; however, there is very limited research that explores these ‘illusions’ together. This study aims to explore the interaction between optimistic bias and control while moderating the level of BJW. A total of 192 participants completed an online self-report survey including the Belief in a Just World Scale, and rating the probability and controllability of experiencing 42 positive and negative life events. Results of this study reveal no significant interaction between BJW-s, control and optimistic bias for positive events. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between BJW-s, control and optimistic bias for negative events, revealing that people who have high BJW-s and high control have lower optimistic bias that negative events will occur to them. These results play a critical role in enhancing overall wellbeing and reducing unwanted health behaviours, such as smoking, by eliminating the optimistic bias that illness will affect others and not oneself.