Exploring the limits of optimism: The case of smokers' decision making

• Published in: The British journal of psychology Vol. 84; no. 3; pp. 389 - 394
• Main Authors: McKenna, F. P., Warburton, D. M., Winwood, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.1993; British Psychological Society; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Attitude to Health; Biological and medical sciences; Decision Making; Defense Mechanisms; Factors; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health risk assessment; Humans; Life Change Events; Male; Medical sciences; Optimism; Personality Inventory; Psychological aspects; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk-Taking; Self image; Smokers; Smoking; Smoking - adverse effects; Smoking - psychology; Human; Disease; Self evaluation; Smoker; Decision making; Risk factor; Optimism pessimism; Tobacco smoking
• ISSN: 0007-1269; 2044-8295
• DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1993.tb02490.x

Smokers consider themselves less likely than others to contract smoking‐associated diseases. This result has been interpreted as a weak form of irrationality. Alternatively, it can be interpreted as indicating that smokers show an optimism bias. The optimism explanation was examined by having smokers and non‐smokers rate the likelihood of future negative events falling into three categories: (1) smoking associated, (2) health related and (3) health unrelated. Subjects rated their likelihood of the event happening to (1) themselves, (2) the average smoker and (3) the average non‐smoker. Smokers and non‐smokers rated their own likelihood of negative events as less than for the average smoker and the average non‐smoker. But, while smokers rated their own risk as higher for both smoking‐associated and other health‐related problems, they rated their own risk as lower than the average smoker, a standard optimism bias.