Abstract
The main purpose of the article under analysis is the investigation of the influence of optimism on social relationships. For the purposes of this research, the authors of the article made two correlated hypotheses. The first one is the suggestion that couples, with at least one optimist, are more stable and gratified. The second is the supposal, that the reason for the better relationship among optimists is determined by their persuasion, that their mates are supportive. Trying to confirm or deny these two hypotheses, the authors used reports of the investigated couples.
The aim of this work is to give a brief review of this article.
Main Text
The problems of the perceived support, the optimism, and their mutual dependence were investigated by different researchers. The authors of this article in their research rest on the works of their predecessors. Comparing the different definitions of optimism and the social relationship given by these scientists, the authors come to the conclusion, that optimism has an influence on individuals behavior. The authors introduce such a notion as perceived support. By the perceived support, the authors understand a person believes in the ability and the willingness of his or her partner to provide support if necessary.
The article under analysis is logically divided into three parts. The first one examines relations between the partners and their relationship satisfaction. The second part deals with the research of the partners reaction to the conflict situation and their attitude to it one week later. The last part represents the outcome of their relationship one year later.
In their investigation, the researchers examined the data from 108 couples. The major part of the couples was from California. Before the research starts, every couple had been living together for at least six months. The average relationship length of the couples was 16 months. A small percentage of the couples were cohabiting. The mean age of the couples, which took part in the study, was approximately 20 years, ranging from 28 to 35 years. Among the couples, there were representatives of different nationalities, such as African, American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, and others.
In the first part of their study, the authors made a suggestion, that optimism could be associated with greater relationship satisfaction (Buttler, Gross, McGonigal, Richards & Srivastova, 2006, p.145). There was made a presumption, that a mate of the optimist would be more satisfied, than that of a pessimist. In course of the study, by means of data analyses, this suggestion was approved. At the end of the first part, the authors come to the conclusion, that the optimists receive more satisfaction from the relations, thus positively influencing their partners.
In the second part of the experiment, the same couples were taken. In the previous parts of the study, the researchers used mainly such methods as the interview and the questionnaire, while in the second part the members of the experiment were facilitated a conflict situation in the laboratory. The aim of the laboratory experiment was to distinguish the difference in the behavior of a pessimist and an optimist in a conflict situation, and their influence on their partners. The results showed that the optimists were more successful in the settlement of the conflict. This effect is achieved by the optimists peculiarity to conceive their mates as supportive.
The last part of the experiment was carried out one year later after the mentioned researches. It was aimed to investigate how many of the dating couples were still together. It was suggested, that the optimistic couples would have a better social relationship. The results were somewhat unexpected. They pointed out an important social outcome. It was clarified, that the male optimism played the more important role in the survival and the longitude of the relations, in comparison with the female optimism. This very fact in a certain manner contradicted the results of the two previous tests, which had indicated that the mens and the women’s optimism had the same effect on perceived support.
Conclusion
Thus, it is possible to say that the study made by the authors of the article, is of great importance for contemporary science as it provides additional insights on the different social aspects of daily living, in such a way helping to avoid matrimonial difficulties.
Reference
Buttler, E., Gross J., McGonigal, K., Richards, J.,& Srivastova, S. (2006). Optimism in Close Relationships: How Seeing Things in a Positive Light Makes Them So. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91(1), 143-153. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.143