Optimism/pessimism and information-processing styles: can their influences be distinguished in predicting psychological adjustment?

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which optimism and pessimism predicted variance in depressive symptoms and life satisfaction beyond what was accounted for by individual differences in perceived information-processing styles (Burns, L. R., & D'Zurilla, T. J. (1999). Individual differences in perceived information-processing styles in stress and coping situations: development and validation of the Perceived Modes of Processing Inventory. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 23, 345–371) in a sample of 402 college students. Consistent with expectations, results indicated that modes of information processing accounted for a significant amount of the variance in both adjustment measures. Moreover, optimism and pessimism accounted for a significant amount of additional unique variance in adjustment. Taken together, these findings indicate that optimism and pessimism reflect cognitive processes that are not redundant with information-processing styles.