Autism, optimism and positive events: Evidence against a general optimistic bias

Adam J.L. Harris, Punit Shah, Caroline Catmur, Geoffrey Bird, Ulrike Hahn

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference paperpeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The conclusion that people are optimistic concerning personal risk does not have a sound evidential basis. Following Harris and Hahn's (2011) critique of unrealistic optimism research, we consider the evidence from a recent series of high profile neuroscience papers. We demonstrate that the methods used are fundamentally flawed. A simulation and an empirical comparison of autism spectrum condition participants with typical adults confirm that we have learnt nothing about optimism from these studies.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCooperative Minds
Subtitle of host publicationSocial Interaction and Group Dynamics - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2013
EditorsMarkus Knauff, Natalie Sebanz, Michael Pauen, Ipke Wachsmuth
PublisherThe Cognitive Science Society
Pages555-560
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9780976831891
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Event35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - Cooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics, CogSci 2013 - Berlin, Germany
Duration: 31 Jul 20133 Aug 2013

Publication series

NameCooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2013

Conference

Conference35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - Cooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics, CogSci 2013
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityBerlin
Period31/07/20133/08/2013

Keywords

  • belief updating
  • human rationality
  • Optimism
  • statistical artifact

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