PSYC 170 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Anger Management, James W. Pennebaker, G17 Plus
Document Summary
No effect on health between 30 and 40. 45+ pessimists are more at risk for chronic illness than are optimists. Relationships to academic performance: those who did better than expected optimists, those who did worse than expected pessimists. Optimists have better heart health: greater percentage pessimists/neutral developing coronary heart disease. We all have bad things happen to us, what we tell each other about those bad things matter. Certain people have a pessimistic attribution (explanatory style) Internal if blame self, more likely to set you up for depression: stable vs. unstable. Stable more at risk for negative stuff: global vs. specific. Global more at risk for depression. Ex: fail test: i"m stupid , hard test -- less prone to negative effects. Depressive style can have other negative effects: predicts colds, accidents. Can learn to become an optimist altering explanatory style to be more positive: suggests having a more optimistic style can improve your heath.
