Carver et al. propose that expecting a desired outcome is more important than the perception of personal control over that outcome in predicting distress among individuals facing threatening circumstances. They support this hypothesis through an analysis of data from two studies of women with early stage breast cancer. This article turns to the existing empirical literature, to recent theories of adjustment to serious illness, and to the methods employed in the Carver et al. studies to comment on their proposal. The authors conclude that an adequate comparison of how expectancies and control perceptions contribute to the adjustment of individuals in threatening situations will require more attention to the selection of research participants, the appropriate time frame for such studies, and measurement strategies.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Affleck, G. , Tennen, H., Croog, S., & Levine, S. (1987a). Causal attribution, perceived benefits, and morbidity after a heart attack: An 8-year study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 29-35.
2.
Affleck, G. , Tennen, H., Croog, S., & Levine, S. (1987b). Causal attribution, perceived control, and recovery from a heart attack. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 5, 339-355.
3.
Affleck, G. , Tennen, H., Pfeiffer, C., & Fifield, J. (1987). Appraisals of control and predictability in adapting to a chronic disease. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 273-279.
4.
Affleck, G. , Tennen, H., & Rowe, J. (1991). Infants in crisis: How parents cope with newborn intensive care and its aftermath. New York: Springer-Verlag.
5.
Alloy, L. B. , & Abramson, L. Y. (1979). Judgment of contingency in depressed and nondepressed students: Sadder but wiser?Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 108, 441-485.
6.
Armor, D. A. , & Taylor, S. E. (1998). Situated optimism: Specific outcome expectancies and self-regulation. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 211-238). San Diego: Academic Press.
7.
Aspinwall, L. G. , & Taylor, S. E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 417-436.
8.
Carver, C. S. (1998). Optimism. In E. A. Blechman & K. D. Brownell (Eds.), Behavioral medicine and women: A comprehensive handbook (pp. 145-151). New York: Guilford.
9.
Carver, C. S. , Harris, S. D., Lehman, J. M., Durel, L. A., Antoni, M. H., Spencer, S. M., & Pozo-Kaderman, C. (2000). How important is the perception of personal control? Studies of early stage breast cancer patients. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(2), 139-149.
10.
Cohen, J. (1983). The cost of dichotomization. Applied Psychological Measurement, 7, 249-253.
11.
Croog, S. , & Levine, S. (1977). The heart patient recovers. New York: Human Sciences Press.
12.
Epstein, S. , & Meier, P. (1989). Constructive thinking: A broad coping variable with specific components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 332-350.
13.
Fishbein, M. (1980). A theory of reasoned action: Some applications and implications. In H. E. Howe & M. M. Page (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1979 (pp. 65-116). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
14.
Fitzgerald, T. E. , Tennen, H., Affleck, G., & Pransky, G. S. (1993). The relative importance of dispositional optimism and control appraisals in quality of life after coronary artery bypass surgery. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 16, 25-43.
15.
Griffin, K. W. , & Rabkin, J. G. (1998). Perceived control over illness, realistic acceptance, and psychological adjustment in people with AIDS. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 17, 407-424.
16.
Janoff-Bulman, R. (1979). Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1798-1809.
17.
Janoff-Bulman, R. , & Brickman, P. (1982). Expectations and what people learn from failure. In N. T. Feather (Ed.), Expectations and actions: Expectancy-value models in psychology (pp. 207-237). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
18.
Jenkins, H. M. , & Ward, W. C. (1965). Judgment of contingency between response and outcome. Psychological Monographs, 79(1, Whole No. 594).
19.
Reed, G. M. , Kemeny, M. E., Taylor, S. E., Hui-Ying, J. W., & Visscher, B. R. (1994). Realistic acceptance as a predictor of decreased survival time in gay men with AIDS. Health Psychology, 13, 299-307.
20.
Reed, G. M. , Taylor, S. E., & Kemeny, M. E. (1993). Perceived control and psychological adjustment in gay men with AIDS. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 791-824.
21.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. San Francisco: Freeman.
22.
Smith, C. (1991). The self, appraisal, and coping. In C. R. Snyder & D. R. Forsyth (Eds.), Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective (pp. 116-137). Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.
23.
Taylor, S. E. , Kemeny, M. E., Aspinwall, L. G., Schneider, S. C., Rodriguez, R., & Herbert, M. (1992). Optimism, coping, psychological distress, and high-risk sexual behavior among men at risk for AIDS. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 460-473.
24.
Tennen, H. , & Affleck, G. (1987). The costs and benefits of optimistic explanations and dispositional optimism. Journal of Personality, 55, 377-393.
25.
Tennen, H. , Affleck, G., Urrows, S., Higgins, P., & Mendola, R. (1992). Perceiving control, construing benefits, and daily processes in rheumatoid arthritis. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 24, 186-203.
26.
Thompson, S. C. , Sobolew-Shubin, A., Galbraith, M. E., Schwankovsky, L., & Cruzen, D. (1993). Maintaining perceptions of control: Finding perceived control in low-control circumstances. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 293-304.
27.
Weeks, J. C. , Cook, F., O’Day, S. J., Peterson, L. M., Wenger, N., Reding, D., Harrell, F. E., Kussin, P., Dawson, N. V., Connors, A. F., Lynn, J., & Phillips, R. S. (1998). Relationship between cancer patients’ predictions of prognosis and their treatment preferences. Journal of the American Medical Association, 279, 1709-1714.
