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Cited by 697

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 70 of the 70 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Positive Illusions and Coping with Adversity

Taylor, Shelley E., Armor, David A.·1996·Journal of Personality

Abstract

ABSTRACT We review the literature showing that positive illusions (i.e., self‐aggrandizement, unrealistic optimism, and exaggerated perceptions of control) are common and associated with successful adjustment to stressful events, including conditions of extreme adversity. Using theory and recent data, we offer a basis for integrating positive illusions with the constraints of reality. We explicitly contrast the social psychological model of positive illusions with a personality viewpoint that addresses the question “Do higher levels of positive illusions predict higher levels of adjustment?” These issues are explored in the context of people coping with an array of normal stressful events, as well as those coping with more extreme stressful events, including cancer, heart disease, and HIV infection. Life is seldom as unendurable as, to judge by the facts, it ought to be. —Brooks Atkinson Life is seldom as unendurable as, to judge by the facts, it ought to be. Brooks Atkinson

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00947.x

Cites

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Citations

Cites

Show all 70 references

Research works printed but not linked: 29

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  4. 10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.525 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.525 · Paper page
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  6. 10.1037/0033-2909.116.1.3 · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.116.1.3 · Paper page
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  9. Erikson E. H., 1950, Childhood and society
  10. Fiske S. T., 1991, Social cognition
  11. Freedman J., 1978, Happy people: What happiness is, who has it, and why
  12. Freud S., 1950, Collected papers
  13. Fromm E., 1941, Escape from freedom
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  16. 10.1037/0022-3514.51.2.389 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.2.389 · Paper page
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  18. Oettingen G., 1995, The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behavior, 236
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  21. Skinner E. A., Why, how, and when do we plan? The developmental psychology of planning
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  28. Weinberger D. A., 1990, Repression: Defense mechanism and personal style, 337
  29. 10.1037/0022-3514.49.5.1169 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.49.5.1169 · Paper page

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Taylor, S. E., & Armor, D. A.
Venue
Journal of Personality
Publisher
Wiley
Published
1996-12
Volume
64
Issue
4
Pages
873-898
ISSN
  • 0022-3506 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-6494
OpenAlex
W2151882519
Cited by
697
References
70
FWCI
13.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Positive Illusions and Coping with Adversity. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00947.x
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Taylor, S. E., & Armor, D. A. (1996). Positive Illusions and Coping with Adversity. Journal of Personality. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00947.x

Data sources

Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.