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Positive illusions and positive collusions: How social life abets self-enhancing beliefs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2010

Jonathon D. Brown
Jonathon D. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1525. [email protected]://faculty.washington.edu/jdb
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Abstract

Most people hold overly (though not excessively) positive self-views of themselves, their ability to shape environmental events, and their future. These positive illusions are generally (though not always) beneficial, promoting achievement, psychological adjustment, and physical well-being. Social processes conspire to produce these illusions, suggesting that affiliation patterns may have evolved to nurture and sustain them.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 32 , Issue 6 , December 2009 , pp. 514 - 515
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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