These findings have implications for health promotion campaigns and self-protective behaviors. Delay was not related to the magnitude of optimistic bias. Optimistic bias was significantly greater for the two events high in control (skin cancer and accident as the driver) than for those low in control (accident as a passenger and hearing aid). Data analysis using a repeated-measures MANOVA showed that optimistic bias occurred for all four events. It also assessed respondents' perceptions of control and delay for each event.
#Does unrealistic optimism occur with single or divorced skin
The highly structured interview schedule assessed respondents' perceptions of their own risk, and the risk of an average person of their age and sex for experiencing four negative life events: developing skin cancer, being involved in a serious car accident as the driver, being involved in a serious car accident as a passenger and having to wear a hearing aid. Respondents were interviewed over the telephone. A sample of 100 participants aged 18–30 years was randomly selected from the local residential telephone directory. Two event characteristics were explored: control and delay. Our aim was to determine whether optimistic bias varied according to the nature of the event. Optimistic bias is a commonly observed but poorly explained phenomenon.