Self-enhancement is variously portrayed as a positive illusion that can foster health and longevity or as defensive neuroticism that can have physiological-neuroendocrine costs. In a laboratory stress-challenge paradigm, the authors found that high self-enhancers had lower cardiovascular responses to stress, more rapid cardiovascular recovery, and lower baseline cortisol levels, consistent with the positive illusions predictions and counter to the predictions of the defensive neuroticism position. A second set of analyses, replicating the "illusory mental health paradigm" (J. Shedler, M. Mayman, & M. Manis, 1993), also did not support the defensive neuroticism hypothesis. The association between self-enhancement and cortisol was mediated by psychological resources; analyses of the cardiovascular results provided no definitive mediational pathway. Discussion centers on the potential stress-buffering effects of self-enhancing beliefs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.605 | DOI Listing |
BMC Psychol
December 2024
Department of Psychiatry, National Center for Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.
Background: Cognitive bias plays a crucial role in the onset and persistence of depression. Research has established a link between personality traits and cognitive bias; however, most of them focused on the general population, overlooking individuals with depression. We aim to explore the relationship between personality and cognitive bias in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and compare the results with healthy controls (HCs) to identify potential patterns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
August 2024
Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Self-control is important for mental and physical health, and personality traits are vital antecedents for self-control. Previous studies suggest that conscientiousness and extraversion enhance self-control, whereas neuroticism hampers it. However, the link between personality and self-control has mostly been studied using a narrow conceptualization of self-control, as the ability to resist impulses, thus excluding initiatory self-control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFmedRxiv
July 2024
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Texas A&M University, Bryan, Texas, USA.
J Clin Med
July 2024
Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movements, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
: The social distancing policies adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic forced many individuals to confront their mortality and worry about losing loved ones, making it impossible to say goodbye to them properly. Those not directly experiencing loss were inundated with information about COVID-19-related deaths throughout social media, leading to vicarious grief. This study delved into the long-term effects of direct and vicarious mourning on people's mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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