Individuals tend to make unrealistically optimistic self assessments about themselves and their future behavior. While little studied in marketing, unrealistic optimism by consumers may have negative consequences for both marketers and consumers. This dissertation proposes and explores a selective hypothesis testing view of unrealistic optimism. Specifically, I propose that consumers adopt the tentative hypothesis that they will behave in an ideal fashion when predicting their future behavior. They then selectively test this hypothesis by accessing information consistent with it, with the ultimate consequence being unrealistically optimistic predictions of future behavior. To validate this theory I use the following experimental paradigm. I have individuals first provide an idealized estimate for the behavior of interest (e.g., In an ideal world, how often would you exercise next week?) and then provide a second estimate (e.g., How often will you exercise next week?). The idea here is that by making the idealized nature of the ideal behavior salient consumers will be less likely to test a hypothesis of ideal behavior when subsequently providing an estimate. In a series of ten studies, I find that prior consideration of idealistic performance does indeed temper optimism in subsequent self-assessments (henceforth post-ideal estimates). Specifically, post-ideal estimates are free of relative optimism versus expectations of others behaviors, are more reflective of actual past behavior, and better predict actual future behavior. Furthermore, this attenuation of optimism is mediated by increased consideration of realistic thoughts and is moderated by both expertise and decisiveness. All of these results are consistent with selective hypothesis testing being a key driver of unrealistic optimism. Additionally I demonstrate that the debiasing effect of my method extends from behaviors to above average (and in some cases below average) views of traits and abilities. As such my work raises the possibility that selective hypothesis testing underlies a wide variety of self assessment biases. Having found strong support for my selective hypothesis testing view of unrealistic optimism, I also explore the potential consequences that unrealistic optimism may have for consumer decisions. In particular, I demonstrate that unrealistically optimistic predictions of future behavior appear to be associated with greater willingness to pay for socially desirable products (e.g., treadmills) and that attenuation of such optimism can reduce willingness to pay. Some researchers have argued that unrealistic optimism with respect to future behavior causes people to make vice choices in the present because they expect to make virtuous choices in the future (Kahn and Dhar 2007). If so, then the current research suggests one way to help consumers from falling into the trap of justifying vice behaviors with optimistically held views about future actions. / Dissertation

Current accounts of self-control are highly individualistic. When individuals succeed at exerting self-control, we assume that they possess some positive internal characteristic that explans their success. Similarly, when individuals do not succeed, we blame their failure on an internal flaw. Yet many factors may influence the likelihood that an individual will exert self-control, including not only internal characteristics of individuals but also external factors. In this dissertation, I develop a framework for understanding the multiple sources of influence on individuals' state self-control that groups these factors into three categories: social, personal, and environmental. Further, I detail the multiple mechanisms by which the factors in the Social, Personal, and Environmental Control of Self (SPECS) model may influence self-control. Specifically, I examine the potential role of regulatory accessibility as a mechanism of influence on state self-control. In Study 1, I show that individuals who think about a friend with good self-control demonstrate increased performance on a persistence task than do participants who think about a friend with bad self-control. In Study 2, I replicate this effect, showing increased inhibitory capacity among individuals who wrote about a friend with good self-control compared to a control group, and decreased inhibitory capacity among individuals who wrote about a friend with bad self-control. In Study 3, I show that regulatory exertion increases among individuals subliminally primed with the name of a friend with good self-control and that regulatory exertion decreases among indivdiuals primed with the name of a friend with bad self-control. These findings support my hypothesis that models of self-control should account for sources of influence external to the individual, as well as explore the multiple pathways by which regulatory exertion is influenced. These findings support my hypothesis that social factors influence regulatory exertion, or state self-control. Further, they provide evidence that state self-control is influenced not only by regulatory capacity, but also by other mechanisms, including regulatory accessibility. Further research following the SPECS model will investigate the combined influence of social and environmental influences on self-control and the indirect influences of personal characteristics, such as trait self-control, on regulatory exertion. / Dissertation

Diss. Uppsala : Univ., 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in School Psychology." Includes bibliographic references (p. 148-150).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: B, page: 3830. Adviser: Nicole E. Allen. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-92) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1983.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-93).

<p> Infancy and toddlerhood is an important time for the development of emotion regulation, with interactions between parents and children critical to these processes. Negative parenting behaviors can have a deleterious impact on this development; however, for infants and toddlers in child care, the classroom environment, including teacher-child interactions, provides an important setting for emotional development and may serve as a protective factor when parenting risk at home is high. The aim of the three papers presented in this dissertation was to explore the potential for child care to act as a protective factor for infants and toddlers experiencing different dimensions of parenting risk that threaten emotion regulation development: minimal sensitivity and support, harsh and intrusive behaviors, and physical abuse and neglect. Results confirmed the negative impact of unsupportive, harsh, and intrusive parenting behaviors on emotion regulation, but child care was either insignificant in mitigating these effects or operated as a buffer for certain children only. Additionally, a review of the extant literature suggested that understanding the optimal caregiving experiences in child care that meet the unique regulatory needs of maltreated infants and toddlers is limited. Collectively, implications of these findings include the need to ensure measurement validity when assessing children&rsquo;s experiences within child care, the importance of considering the interactive nature of child, parent, and child care factors, and the pressing need for more research regarding child care teachers&rsquo; roles in facilitating emotional experiences in the classroom that meet the unique regulatory needs infants and toddlers facing risk at home.</p>

This was an exploratory study that investigated loneliness, depression, social support, marital satisfaction, and spiritual well-being among clergy wives to examine the levels of these variables present in the lives of these highly stressed women. A questionnaire was sent to 785 wives of ministers ordained and working in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Scales of measurement included the UCLA Loneliness Scale, an adapted Relational Assessment Scale (RAS), a six item segment of the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB), and a qualitatively coded statement asking for a recent loneliness experience. The scales were preceded by a short demographic section that included a Likert-type rating of the difficulty of the wife's role as clergy wife and of the husband's role as a minister. Results indicate that clergy wives exhibit higher levels of loneliness than would be expected among happily married women. Overall, they have relatively small social networks, but claim to be highly satisfied with them, a counterintuitive finding. Depression levels for this group are no higher than those found in the general population. As expected, the wives exhibit high levels of spiritual well-being. These variables are highly correlated. A multiple regression analysis produced a model composed of depression, social support network number, social support satisfaction, spiritual well-being, and marital satisfaction that explains 53% of the variance in loneliness, although the last two variables explain only 1% additional variance above and beyond the first three. The findings are congruent with nonscientific and anecdotal evidence that indicate loneliness to be a problem for clergy wives while marital dissatisfaction and depression are rare. The qualitative data support the distinctions of Weiss (1973) that there are two major types of loneliness, emotional and social loneliness. The findings also indicate that loneliness and marital satisfaction do not always co-occur, that loneliness and depression do not always co-occur, that social support satisfaction may not always be interpreted identically by participants and social scientists, and that spiritual well-being should be studied further.

This thesis presents the results of two field studies: a preliminary qualitative ethnographic study and an empirical field survey. The research investigated the strategies used by customer-contact workers in service industries when they experience role stress. Four strategies emerged: effort, negotiation, preempting, and avoiding. Negotiation was positively related to role conflict and role ambiguity. Job satisfaction was positively related to effort and negatively related to avoiding. Implications of the findings for service industry managers and researchers are discussed.