surgery for breast cancer reported less distress during the year following the
surgery and showed higher levels of adjustment several years later than pessi-mistic women going through the same experience (Carver et al., 1993, 2005).
In another investigation, rheumatoid arthritis patients high in dispositional
optimism scored higher on measures of psychological adjustment than did
pessimistic patients (Long & Sangster, 1993). In yet another study, men re-
covering from coronary artery bypass surgery were compared for general
mood and quality of life 6 months after the surgery (Scheier et al., 1989). Asin the other investigations, the dispositionally optimistic men looked much
better after their surgery than did the pessimists.
The results of these studies clearly demonstrate that optimists deal with
adverse situations better than pessimists. But the benefits of optimism are notlimited to extreme situations like war and surgery. One team of investigators
looked at students ’adjustment to college life (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1992).
Freshman students with an optimistic outlook had a significantly easier time
adjusting to the demands of their first quarter of college than did pessimistic
students.
Clearly, dispositional optimists do a better job of handling stressful situa-
tions than pessimists. But why is this the case? What is it about an optimistic
disposition that helps some people come through life ’s crises and challenges
so well? One answer is that optimists and pessimists use different strategies
to cope with their problems (Lai & Wong, 1998; Peacock & Wong, 1996;
Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 2001; Scheier, Weintraub, & Carver, 1986).
Optimists are more likely to deal with their problems head-on —that is, to
use active coping strategies (Chapter 6). On the other hand, pessimists are
more likely to distract themselves or resort to denial when faced with a diffi-
cult problem. Consider an investigation that compared the coping strategies
optimistic and pessimistic college students used when facing a big exam
(Chang, 1998). As shown in Figure 8.4, the optimists dealt with the stress ofthe upcoming exam by using direct problem solving, such as preparing for the
test and talking with other students about their experience. In contrast, the
pessimists dealt with their anxiety by relying on wishful thinking and with-drawing from others.
Researchers find a similar pattern when examining optimists and pessi-
mists facing other types of stressors. Optimistic cancer patients in one studywere more likely than pessimists to use active coping strategies (Friedman et al.,
1992). The optimistic patients did what they could to deal with their cancer
and talked to other people about their feelings. The pessimistic patientsavoided thinking about their situation and kept their feelings to themselves.
The optimistic women in the breast cancer study mentioned earlier were
more likely than the pessimists to make plans early in the course of the dis-ease and to rely on such positive coping strategies as humor (Carver et al.,
1993). The pessimistic patients were more likely to use denial. A similar
pattern was found for the men recovering from bypass surgery (Scheier et al.,1989). Even the freshman students dealing with the stresses of entering
college showed this different use of coping strategies. The optimistic students
dealt with the stress of new classes, new friends, and new social pressures214 CHAPTER 8 The Trait Approach