... 1980; Muren, 2004). The illusion of control (McKenna, 1993) is an area that has been studied in depth and has been found to cause some unrealistic optimism. Past research has found that when a negative event is perceived to be controllable one can envisage acts to lead to a desirable outcome (Weinstein, 1980; McKenna, 1993). It is easier for people to see themselves taking these steps than others, and so it leads to unrealistic optimism. This was shown in McKenna's (1993) study, as the results showed people perceived themselves to be much less likely to be involved in a road accident when they were driving compared to being a passenger, thus indicating the importance of control, in relating to unrealistic optimism. Additionally research indicates that as a person's perceived controllability of events increases so does their unrealistic optimism (Weinstein, 1980; McKenna, 1993). This defensive attribution has potentially dangerous consequences, as ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now