Resources

Useful resources on the optimism bias and related topics:

Hope and Optimism Resources (from the Hope and Optimism Initiative Page)

Life Orientation Test - Revised (University of Miami, Psychology)

The Optimism Bias as an Adaptation (an evolutionary explanation of the optimism bias and other biases)

The Optimism Bias (overview paper by Tali Sharot)

The Will to Believe (William James' famous defence of choosing to believe under uncertainty)

The Neural Basis of Unrealistic Optimism (Owen O'Sullivan on brain processes underlying the optimism bias)

The Slow Decay and Quick Revival of Self-Deception (A study by Chance et al. on processes of self-deception)

Forming Beliefs: Why Valence Matters (Sharot and Garrett on the different ways we process desirable and undesirable information)

Delusions of Success (paper by Lavallo and Kahneman on the shortcomings on optimism in business)

Personality and Success (brief overview of the literature on optimism as linked to success)

Optimism and Academic Performance (paper by Lewine and Sommers on effects of optimism on students)

Can Positive Thinking be Negative? (article on the limitations of optimism)

Relevant posts on the Imperfect Cognitions blog:

Moutsiana, Brain Architecture and Biased Beliefs, June 2017.

van Elk, Self-attribution Bias and Paranormal Beliefs, May 2017.

Jefferson, What is Unrealistic Optimism?, April 2017.

Harris, What Can Attention Teach Us about Optimism?, March 2017.

Garrett, Optimistic Update Bias Holds Firm, February 2017.

van Leer, The Optimist Within, January 2017.

Blanco, Positive and Negative Implications of Causal Illusions, 5 December 2016.

Tappin, The Illusion of Moral Superiority, 7 November 2016.

Hoorens and Sedikides, The Hubris Hypothesis, 3 October 2016.

Shepperd, Pogge and Howell, Assessing the Consequences of Unrealistic Optimism, 5 September 2016.

Jefferson, Hope and Optimism Conference in Colorado, 1 August 2016.

Bortolotti, Optimism and Love, 4 July 2016.

Jefferson, Is Unrealistic Optimism an Adaptation?, 6 June 2016.

Bortolotti, Are Positive Illusions Epistemically Innocent?, 2 May 2016.

Bortolotti, Optimism Workshop, 4 April 2016.

Garrett, Are People with Depression more Realistic?, 7th March 2016.

Jefferson, Beliefs that Feel Good Workshop, 1st February 2016

Matute, Causal Illusions and the Illusion of Control (Interview), 18th January 2016.

Harris, Questioning Optimism, 7th December 2015.

Jefferson, Workshop on Unrealistic Optimism, 16th November 2015.

Jefferson, A Tale of two Optimists, 5th October 2015.

Jefferson, Falsity Workshop, 7th September 2015.

Bortolotti, Optimism and the Creation of Everyday Myths, 1st September 2015.

Kuzmanovic, Neural Correlates of the Optimism Bias, 18th November 2014.

Jefferson, Optimism Bias and Belief Updating, 11th November 2014.

Bortolotti, What's Positive about Positive Illusions?, 31st October 2013.