Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 1986 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.

1986, Vol. 51, No. 6, 1257-1264 0022-3514/86/$00.75

Coping With Stress: Divergent Strategies of Optimists and Pessimists

Michael F. Scheier
Carnegie-Mellon University

Jagdish Kumari Weintraub and Charles S. Carver

University of Miami

Previous research has shown that dispositional optimism is a prospective predictor of successful
adaptation to stressful encounters. In this research we attempted to identify possible mechanisms
underlying these effects by examining how optimists differ from pessimists in the kinds of coping
strategies that they use. The results of two separate studies revealed modest but reliable positive
correlations between optimism and problem-focused coping, seeking of social support, and empha-
sizing positive aspects of the stressful situation. Pessimism was associated with denial and distancing
(Study 1), with focusing on stressful feelings, and with disengagement from the goal with which the
stressor was interfering (Study 2). Study 1 also found a positive association between optimism and
acceptance/resignation, but only when the event was construed as uncontrollable. Discussion centers
on the implications of these findings for understanding the meaning of people's coping efforts in
stressful circumstances.

Over the years, a great deal of research and theory has focused pectancy-based theories assume that the best prediction of an
on the ways people deal with difficulties they encounter in their outcome occurs when the expectancy in question matches the
day to day lives. Scheier and Carver (1985, in press) have re- level of specificity that the outcome suggests (or from some
cently suggested that dispositional optimism may have implica- combination of specific, moderately general, and very general
tions for the manner in which people deal with these stresses outcome expectancies; see, e.g., Lefcourt, 1976; Rotter, 1954).
of life (cf. Lazarus, Kanner, & Folkman, 1980; Reker & Wong, If so, generalized expectancies, like dispositional optimism,
1985). This possibility was derived from a consideration of their should be particularly important for outcomes that are either
theoretical model of behavioral self-regulation (see, e.g., Carver general in scope or are multiply determined. Generalized ex-
& Scheier, 1981, 1983, 1985), a portion of which describes the pectancies might also be expected to play a major role in deter-
sequence of events presumed to occur when obstacles to goal mining outcomes for which the person has had no previous ex-
attainment are encountered. In brief, the theory assumes that perience or that unfold slowly over long periods of time.
expectations of successful outcomes cause people to renew their A number of studies have now explored the impact of opti-
efforts to attain set goals, if and when disruption of goal-di- mism on coping. Consider, for example, a study by Scheier and
rected activities occurs. If expectancies are sufficiently unfavor- Carver (1985, Study 3). College undergraduates were asked to
able, the result is reduced vigor or even a complete disengage- complete a measure of dispositional optimism and a checklist
ment from further goal-directed efforts (cf. Bandura, 1977; of physical symptoms at two different times, presumably mark-
Feather, 1982;Kanfer, 1977;Klinger, 1975; Rotter, 1954). ing a particularly stressful period in the students' lives. A pro-
Presumably, one's overall expectancy judgment often repre- spective inverse association between optimism and symptom
sents a synthesis of individual judgments made at a number of reporting was found, which remained significant even when ini-
different levels of specificity. Stated more concretely, expec- tial symptom levels were partialed out (see also Carver &
tancy judgments in the context of any particular stressful epi- Gaines, in press; Humphries, 1986; Reker & Wong, 1983;
sode can range from the very specific (e.g., can I lift the weight Scheier & Carver, in press; Strack, Carver, & Blaney, 1986).
one inch more with my leg?) to the moderately general (e.g., do
I think I will recover from this auto accident?) to the very gen- Ways of Coping
eral (e.g., am I usually successful at what I attempt?). Most ex-
The findings just described suggest that dispositional opti-
mism is a mediator of how well people respond to stress. What
is less clear is the nature of the mechanism that underlies the
This research was supported by NSF Grants BNS 84-06235 and BNS effect. Presumably, optimists are doing something differently
84-14601 to the first and third authors, respectively. from pessimists to allow these better outcomes to occur. But
We would like to thank Sheldon Cohen and Karen Matthews for read-
what? The answer to this question may lie at least in part in the
ing and commenting on an earlier version of this article. We are also
different strategies that optimists and pessimists use to cope
grateful to Salome Perez and Jeanine Reade for their efforts as raters in
Study 2. with stress.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mi- Lazarus and his colleagues (e.g., Coyne, Aldwin, & Lazarus,
chael F. Scheier, Department of Psychology, Carnegie-Mellon Univer- 1981; Folkman & Lazarus, 1980; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984;
sity, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213. Lazarus & Launier, 1978; see also Mechanic, 1962) have re-

1257
1258 M. SCHEIER, 1. WEINTRAUB, AND C. CARVER

cently described two general ways in which people cope with Study 1
stressful situations. The first, termed problem-focused coping,
is action that has the goal of removing or circumventing the Method
source of the stress. The second strategy, termed emotion-fo-
Subjects and Procedures
cused coping, is the attempt to reduce or eliminate the emo-
tional distress associated with, or cued by, the stressful situa- Subjects were 181 male and 110 female undergraduates. The research
tion. Although problem-focused and emotion-focused coping was conducted in small groups, ranging in size from 1 to20(M= 10.4).
Subjects were told simply that the purpose of the study was to determine
can occur together in the same coping context, problem-fo-
how different aspects of one's peisonality interrelated. Consequently,
cused coping is generally more likely in situations where people
they were to complete a questionnaire packet containing two different
believe that something constructive can be done about the stres-
personality inventories, the exact nature of which would be explained
sor. Emotion-focused coping is more likely when people believe to them at the close of the session.
that the situation is one that must be endured (see, e.g., Folk-
man & Lazarus, 1980;McCrae, 1984).
Measures
It is implicit in our discussion thus far that coping—whether
problem-focused or emotion-focused—will eventually amelio- The questionnaire packet contained two assessment instruments (in
rate the stress. Attempts to cope with difficult circumstances are counterbalanced order): the Life Orientation Test (LOT; Scheier &
not always successful, however. If people find that they cannot Carver, 1985) and a slightly modified version of the Ways of Coping
Checklist (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980).
remove or even reduce the threat, they may give up their efforts
Optimism. The LOT is a 12-item scale designed to measure disposi-
to attain the goals that are impeded by the stressor (Carver &
tional optimism. Sample items are "In unusual times, I usually expect
Scheier, 1985). Such a giving-up response or disengagement,
the best" and "I hardly ever expect things to go my way." Scheier and
though not a central element of Lazarus's model, does not seem Carver (1985) reported a Cronbach's alpha for the scale of .76 and a
inconsistent with it. test-retest reliability coefficient of .79 (over a 4-week interval). Evidence
The primary purpose of this research was to begin to explore of convergent and discriminant validity has also been compiled with
the possibility that optimists and pessimists differ in the strate- respect to a number of other personality variables (see Scheier & Carver,
gies they use to cope with stress. As just mentioned, other re- 1985).
searchers have found that problem-focused coping is more Ways of coping. The Ways of Coping Checklist (Folkman & Lazarus,
likely in situations that seem amenable to positive change (Folk- 1980, 1985; see also Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) provides a self-report
measure of a broad range of different coping strategies. Initial instruc-
man & Lazarus, 1980; McCrae, 1984). We suggest that prob-
tions ask subjects to describe the most stressful situation they have en-
lem-focused coping is also more likely among persons who ex-
countered in the last two months. Our subjects were also asked to pro-
pect to see positive change. We have operationalized optimism
vide information about the extent to which they thought that the event
in terms of generalized expectancies for good outcomes (Scheier was controllable. A smaller, random subset of the subjects (n = 169) was
& Carver, 1985). Thus, we predicted that optimism would also asked for their assessment of how important the event was.
be associated with active attempts to deal with stressors in a Once the stressful event is described, subjects use the Ways of Coping
problem-focused way. Checklist to provide an indication of the manner in which they at-
Prediction with regard to emotion-focused coping was some- tempted to cope with the stressful episode. The Checklist gathers this
what more ambiguous. There is evidence that people who have information by asking subjects to consider in turn a number of different
unfavorable expectancies focus on those expectancies and the coping strategies and to indicate the extent to which they had relied on
each strategy listed.
subjective distress associated with them (Carver, Blaney, &
The checklist used in our research differed in two respects from the
Scheier, 1979). A reasonable extrapolation from this finding is
measure originally devised by Folkman and Lazarus (1980). First, the
that pessimism may be associated with a tendency toward emo-
response format was changed from a yes or no answer to a 4-point Likert
tion-focused coping. It is often assumed, however, that emo- scale. Second, five additional items, all dealing with problem-focused
tion-focused coping occurs in the service of problem-focused coping, were written and added to the list in an attempt to broaden the
coping. This would seem to suggest the opposite prediction: that base of items measuring that specific coping strategy.
optimism would be associated with the use of this strategy. A
third possibility, in many ways the most reasonable, stems from Results
the fact that emotion-focused coping, as discussed by Lazarus
and Folkman (1984), is a broad category with several sub- Characterization of the Situations
classes. It may well be that optimism is positively associated
In general, the situations that the subjects described appeared
with certain subclasses of emotion-focused coping (e.g., empha-
to be quite important to them. When asked to provide an index
sizing the positive aspects of a situation) and is inversely associ-
of the situation's importance, 63% of the subjects said that the
ated with others (e.g., denial).
situation mattered a great deal to them.' When asked about the
These and other predictions were tested in two studies. The
extent to which they thought the stressful encounter was one
first study represents an explicit attempt to link our analysis of
that they could change or do something about, 58% answered
optimism with Lazarus's model of stress and coping. Subjects
affirmatively. Thus, the majority of the subjects also considered
in this study were asked to recall a stressful event that had oc-
the event described to be somewhat controllable.
curred during the previous month and to indicate how they
dealt with it. Their responses were made on a standardized in-
strument called the Ways of Coping Checklist (Folkman & La- ' The findings reported in this paper are free of significant gender
zarus, 1980). differences except where otherwise noted.
 OPTIMISM AND COPING 1259

One final issue concerns the relation between optimism and Table 2
the ratings of importance and controllability. We did not expect Study 1: Correlations Between Optimism
subjects' ratings of importance and controllability to be related and Dimensions of Coping
to their levels of optimism/pessimism, and such was the case.
Controllable Uncontrollable
Optimism correlated with neither ratings of importance,
Coping dimension situations situations Overall
r(278) = -.02, p > .50, nor ratings of controllability, r(167) =
.04,p>.50. Problem-focused coping .22** .11 .17**
Denial/distancing -.10 -.18 -.12*
Data Reduction Self-blame -.12 -.07 -.09
Acceptance/resignation .00 .33*** .13*
Our Ways of Coping Checklist contained a list of 73 specific Positive reinterpretation .26** .18 .23***
coping strategies. To reduce the data set to more manageable Escape through fantasy -.09 -.04 -.06
proportions, responses on the checklist were submitted to a Social support .01 .14 .07
principal-factors factor analysis, following the suggestions of
Note. For overall correlations, df= 283; because of missing data, df=
Lee and Comrey (1979). In this type of analysis, the main diago- 158 for controllable situations and df= 112 for uncontrollable situa-
nal of the intercorrelation matrix is estimated and iterated; in tions.
the present case an oblique rotational technique was used to *p < .05. **p< .01. ***p < .001.
achieve a solution. Following the lead of Aldwin, Folkman,
Schaefer, Coyne, and Lazarus (1980) and Coyne et al. (1981),
the number of factors retained for final rotation was determined
In Step 1, factor scores were generated for each of the subjects
by setting the eigenvalue at 2.0 (for statistical details, see Nie,
in the study on each of the seven factors emerging from the prin-
Hull, Jenkins, Steinbrenner, & Bent, 1975).
cipal-factors analysis. In Step 2, these seven sets of factor scores
Seven factors emerged from the analysis, all of which were
were correlated with dispositional optimism (i.e., subjects' LOT
psychologically meaningful and many of which were highly
scores). These correlations are reported in the last column of
similar to the factors extracted in previous analyses by other
Table 2.
researchers (Aldwin et al., 1980; Coyne et al., 1981; Folkman
As can be seen, optimism proved to be significantly corre-
& Lazarus, 1985). Our labels for these seven factors, along with
lated overall with four of the seven coping factors (all signifi-
sample items, are displayed in Table 1.
cance tests reported in this article are two-tailed). Optimism
Optimism and Coping was positively associated with the use of problem-focused cop-
ing and with positive reinterpretation. In a different vein, opti-
A two-step procedure was used to assess the relation that ex- mism was also positively correlated with acceptance/resigna-
isted between optimism and these seven dimensions of coping. tion. Finally, optimism was inversely associated with the use of
denial/distancing as a coping mechanism.
One additional significant relation emerged, but only among
Table 1 men. Optimism was positively associated with the seeking out
Study 1: Factors Emerging From Analysis of Subjects' of social support among men, r(174) = .15, p < .05, but not
Responses to Ways of Coping Checklist, With Examples of among women, r( 107) = -.10, p> .30. This difference between
Representative Items From Each Factor sexes was statistically reliable, z = 2.05, p < .05.
Factor Examples As suggested by the direction of the correlations between op-
timism and these various coping strategies, several of the strate-
Denial/distancing Refused to believe that it had happened gies were associated with each other although the associations
Tried to forget the whole thing were not large. Problem-focused coping was positively corre-
Problem-focused coping Made a plan of action and followed it
Took action quickly, before things could get
lated in this sample with the seeking of social support and with
out ofhand positive reinterpretation, rs (283) = .15 and .19, respectively,
Self-blame Realized you brought the problem on ps < .05; the latter two factors were also positively correlated,
yourself r(283) = .14, p < .05. Thus, problem-focused coping, seeking
Blamed yourself of social support, and positive reinterpretation formed a loose
Acceptance/resignation Accepted it, since nothing could be done
Made light of the situation, refused to get cluster of what might be viewed as adaptive coping functions.
too serious about it Denial/distancing, in contrast, was inversely associated both
Positive reinterpretation Changed or grew as a person in a new way with seeking of social support and with positive reinterpreta-
Found new faith or some important truth tion, rs(283) = -.16 and -.17, respectively, ps < .05. Accep-
about life
tance/resignation was not reliably associated with any of these
Escape through fantasy Daydreamed or imagined a better time or
place than one you were in other strategies (no r exceeded .10), perhaps because the role of
Thought about fantastic or unreal things this strategy varied in an important way with perceived control-
(like the perfect revenge or finding a lability.2
million dollars) that made you feel better
Social support Talked to someone about how you were
feeling 2
Although small in magnitude, the very presence of the associations
Asked someone you respected for advice between the various coping factors raises the possibility that some of the
and followed it
correlations between the factors and optimism were redundant. Con-
1260 M. SGHEIER, J. WEINTRAUB, AND C. CARVER

Role of Perceived Controllability sion of emotion-focused coping does serve the function of deal-
ing with emotions, but dealing with emotions is not the only
In order to assess the role of perceived controllability, sepa-
function served by these various responses. Indeed, different
rate correlations between optimism and the seven factor scores
emotion-focused strategies appear to serve functions that may
were computed for those persons who thought that the stressful
conflict with each other. For example, positive reinterpreta-
episode was controllable (see first column of Table 2) and for
tion—looking at things in a better light—seems likely to cause
those who thought the stressful episode was not controllable
a return to problem-focused coping. Denial/distancing and es-
(see second column of Table 2). In general, the differences in
cape through fantasy, in contrast, might well remove one from
strength of association between these groups were in the direc-
active coping efforts.
tion one might expect. Despite these directional tendencies,
In the terms of the self-regulatory model presented earlier,
however, only one difference between correlations attained sig-
these latter approaches to coping have overtones of psychologi-
nificance: the correlation between optimism and acceptance/
cal disengagement. We suggest that this disengagement ten-
resignation. Optimism was associated with acceptance as a cop-
dency may be more important than has yet been realized by
ing technique, but only when the stressful event was construed
researchers in this area. It therefore may be useful to look more
as being uncontrollable (z = 2.70, p < .Ol).3
carefully for evidence of disengagement in response to stress.
To address these limitations, we conducted another study in
Discussion which subjects were presented with descriptions of several
stressful situations and asked to describe in their own words the
Overall, the pattern of associations that emerged between the
coping responses they would make. Coding of responses was
LOT and the seven coping factors was consistent with our ex-
conceptually similar to several of the dimensions on the Ways
pectations. Optimism was positively associated with problem-
of Coping Checklist, but with additions and elaborations. Spe-
focused coping, especially so when the situation was controlla-
cifically, the large category of problem-focused coping was di-
ble. With regard to emotion-focused coping, the pattern of asso-
vided into three separate categories: problem-focused coping
ciations was more varied. That is, optimism was positively
per se, elaboration of the coping effort, and the tendency to sup-
correlated with the use of positive reinterpretation but was in-
press one's involvement in competing activities. With respect
versely correlated with denial/distancing. Optimism also was
to emotion-focused coping, we retained the self-blame and posi-
positively associated with the seeking of social support, but only
tive reinterpretation categories and added a category of focus-
among men, and with acceptance/resignation, but only among
ing on and expressing feelings. Finally, we coded separately for
subjects who saw their situations as uncontrollable.
disengagement.
We find this latter finding particularly interesting because it
For the sake of simplicity, we limited ourselves in Study 2
suggests that optimism may confer a coping advantage not only
to presenting situations that were potentially controllable. We
when something can be done to deal with the stressful event but
focused on controllable rather than uncontrollable situations
also when the event is something that must be gotten used to.
because we were most interested in replicating and extending
The tendency to rely on acceptance/resignation rather than cer-
the relation between optimism and problem-focused coping,
tain other emotion-based strategies such as denial may thus fa-
and it was for controllable situations that that relation was most
cilitate adjustment to a host of life difficulties, for example,
pronounced.
long-term physical impairment or terminal illness. Perhaps it is
Consistent with the results of Study 1, we predicted that opti-
easier to accept an isolated defeat when one is optimistic about
mists would engage in more problem-focused coping than
other events more generally.
would pessimists. We also expected this greater tendency to-
ward problem-focused coping to extend to the two other mani-
Study 2
festations of active coping (elaboration of coping and suppres-
Though the findings from Study 1 generally supported our sion of competing activies). Also in accord with Study 1, we
reasoning, they did have some limitations. For example, the predicted that optimism would be positively correlated with
procedure of providing subjects with a list of possible coping positive reinterpretation and with the seeking of social support.
responses may have resulted in overstatements about the degree On the basis of evidence that unfavorable expectancies lead to
to which a given response was actually used. In addition, allow- disengagement or withdrawal (Carver & Scheier, 1981, 1985),
ing subjects to choose a stressful situation from their own expe- we expected that optimism would be inversely associated with
riences removed all control over the situations people brought the tendency to disengage under conditions of stress. We also
to mind.
A third limitation involved conceptual rather than method-
ological issues. As we noted earlier, emotion-focused coping in- 3
Separation of subjects into two subgroups (based on the perceived
cludes a broad range of rather distinct tendencies. Each dimen-
controllability of the situations) yielded two more gender effects, both
of which were specific to one class of situation. The previously noted
association between optimism and social support among men (but not
cern over this possibility is mitigated by the fact that an orthogonal fac- women) was specific to situations perceived as uncontrollable. The over-
tor analysis yielded essentially the same seven-factor solution as did the all association between optimism and positive reinteipretation dis-
oblique analysis. More important, the pattern of correlations that played a gender difference among subjects who viewed their stressors as
emerged between optimism and these seven orthogonal factors was also uncontrollable, the association being reliable among men but not
highly similar to the analogous pattern of correlations reported here. women (z = 2.02, p < .05).
 OPTIMISM AND COPING 1261

predicted that optimism would be inversely related to the focus- Table 3

ing on and expressing of feelings (cf. Carver et al., 1979). Study 2: Simple and Partial Correlations Between Optimism
and Dimensions of Coping

Method
Partial correlations
Potential subjects, undergraduates at the University of Miami, com- Simple (controlling for
Coping dimension correlations number of words)
pleted the LOT at the beginning of the semester. Several weeks later, 100
of them {66 men and 34 women), in groups of 4 to 15 (M = 7.5), com- Problem-focused coping .14* .28**
pleted the experimental procedures to be described. Elaboration of coping .11 .26**
Subjects received booklets that began with instructions for the session Suppression of competing activities .21** .27**
and then portrayed (separately) five hypothetical situations. Each situa- Seeking social support .20** .32**
tion was constructed to be relevant to college students and to be moder- Focusing on/expressing feelings -.21** -.25*
ately stressful but potentially controllable. One, for example, read as Disengagement -.30** -.41***
follows: Positive reinterpretation .07 .18
Self-blame -.09 -.10
It is a week before finals begin. You look in the exam schedule, and
suddenly realize that three of your five final exams are on the same Note. For simple correlations, df— 98; for partial correlations, df-97.
day. All three courses are ones that'you have been finding difficult. *p<.05. «*p<.01.***p<.001.
As it happens, all three courses are in your major.

Participants were instructed to read each situation and to imagine

themselves actually confronting it. They were then to write down what or engagement in activities that would distract or remove the
they would do in each situation. The instructions emphasized two person psychologically from the behavioral dimension on which
things: that subjects should record only responses that they would actu- the stressor was occurring. Evidence of disengagement, whether
ally engage in, and that the researchers were interested in what subjects behavioral or cognitive, was also coded on a 3-point scale.
would do rather than what they would think or feel. Responses to the Finally, we coded two categories of purely cognitive responses
situations were written in a free-format fashion. to the stressor. Positive reinterpretation is reconstruing the situ-
ation in such a way as to put the best light on it so that it seems
Results better or less stressful. Self-blame involves assigning blame to
oneself for the existence of the stressful situation. Both of these
Coding of the Data dimensions were coded in a dichotomous fashion.

A coding system for rating responses was developed specifi-

cally for this study based on the two theoretical models de- Interrater Reliabilities
scribed in the introduction. The coding system for individual One rater coded all 100 protocols, and a second rater coded
coping dimensions relied upon either a 2-point or a 3-point a subsample of 55 protocols. Interrater reliabilities were com-
scale, depending on the degree of variability present in subjects' puted for each of the dimensions previously described by corre-
responses. The dimensions that were scored are briefly de- lating the ratings made by the two judges, treating each hypo-
scribed in the following paragraphs. thetical situation as the unit of analysis. The interrater reliabil-
Four categories involved the use of active coping strategies. ity coefficients ranged from .76 to .91, with an average of .84.
Problem-focused coping (coded on a 3-point scale) involved an (Nonparametric correlations yielded values that were virtually
attempt to do something that would facilitate movement toward identical to these.)
the goal with which the stressor was interfering. Descriptions of
problem-focused coping could vary in terms of their elabora-
Associations With Optimism
tion (coded on a 3-point scale). Elaboration had to do with the
extent to which people described their coping response in gen- The data for each subject were combined across the five situa-
eral terms as opposed to differentiated detail. The attempt to tions to create a total score for each dimension rated. The rela-
make progress toward a goal often entails the screening out or tion between optimism and the various coping strategies were
suppression of competing activities. This type of mental and be- assessed by computing correlations between subjects' LOT
havioral tunnel vision (scored dichotomously) would seem to scores and each of these dimensions. Nonparametric corre-
be most likely when goal attainment is severely threatened. One lations (Kendall's tau) were used because the variables cannot
final element of adaptive coping involved the seeking of social be assumed to represent equal interval scales (parametric corre-
support (coded on a 3-point scale). For present purposes, we lations yielded effects of almost identical significance levels).
defined social support simply as the extent to which subjects As can be seen in the first column of Table 3, optimism
sought other people out. proved to be significantly associated with several strategies of
In addition to engaging in active coping efforts, people who coping, as hypothesized. Optimism was positively correlated
are under stress often focus on and express openly the feelings with problem-focused coping and with the suppression of com-
that are evoked by the stressor. The tendency to focus on and peting activities. Optimism also correlated positively with the
express one's feelings was coded on a 3-point scale. Sometimes seeking of social support. However, correlations with positive
the attempt to cope with a stressor also gives way to withdrawal reinterpretation and with elaboration of coping failed to reach
or disengagement from effort. Disengagement could be mani- significance.
fest in several forms, for example, overt behavioral withdrawal The strategies just noted were also associated with each other,
1262 M. SCHEIER, J. WEINTRAUB, AND C. CARVER

though the relations were not so strong as to suggest that the mists also displayed a tendency to adopt coping strategies that
dimensions were fully confounded. Problem-focused coping implied disengagement from the goal with which the stressor
was correlated positively with elaboration of coping, r(9&) = was interfering. These findings add depth to the picture of active
.67, p < .001. Both of these were associated with the seeking coping that emerged from the first study, and contribute addi-
of social support, rs(98) = .36 and .41, respectively, ps < .002. tional information about tendencies not measured explicitly in
However, all three of these tendencies were relatively indepen- that study.
dent of the suppression of competing activities (rs ranged from We do not mean to imply by these comments that disposi-
. 13 to .09), and all four tendencies were relatively independent tional optimism is the only variable that has impact on the cop-
of positive reinterpretation (re ranged from. 12 to .04). ing process. A substantial portion of unexplained variance still
Also as hypothesized (see Table 3), optimism proved to be .remained in both studies. Other variables must also be taken
inversely correlated with the tendency to focus on and express into account if the coping process is to be fully understood: vari-
feelings and with the tendency to disengage from the goal with ables such as the availability (as opposed to the use) of social
which the stressor was interfering. These two tendencies—dis- support (Cohen & Syme, 1985; Cohen & Wills, 1985), the ex-
engagement and expressing of feelings—were correlated posi- tent to which particular coping strategies are appropriately
tively with each other, r(98) = .24, p < .002. As one might ex- matched to the parameters of particular coping contexts (Suls
pect, disengagement was negatively correlated with problem- and Fletcher, 1985), and even functions that pessimism may
focused coping, r(98) = -.26, p < .002, as was the tendency to serve that are quite different from those mentioned here
focus on and express feelings, r(98) = -. 18, p < .03. Both were (Norem & Cantor, 1986; Watson & Clark, 1984). In brief, given
also inversely associated with the seeking of social support, the complexity of the coping process, it would be naive to be-
though only the correlation for disengagement was significant, lieve that optimism is the only determinant of the manner in
/•(98) = -.21, p < .004 (for expressing feelings, r = -. 10), which people deal with stress. It does appear, however, to be a
reliable contributing factor.

Analyses Controlling for Length of Response

General Discussion
The number of words written by each subject in response to
the hypothetical situations was also recorded. This index was The results of this research make several conceptual points.
associated with several of the coping dimensions as well as being Some of these points pertain to the broad effort to understand
weakly correlated with optimism itself. Because of these associ- the ways that people attempt to cope with stressful circum-
ations, the possibility existed that word length may have exerted stances. Others pertain more specifically to the dimension of
an unwanted influence (positive or negative) on the magnitude optimism-pessimism and its role in the process of choosing cop-
of the correlations that were observed. Adjusting the simple cor- ing responses. The issues raised by these findings are taken up
relations for words written had the general effect of strengthen- in turn in the following sections.
ing the magnitude of those correlations (see Table 3). Most no-
tably, par Haling out number of words written caused the simple
Issues in Analyzing Strategies of Coping
correlation between optimism and elaboration of coping to be-
come significant, and the correlation between optimism and Divergent Functions of Coping Strategies
positive reinterpretation marginally significant, p < .08.
One point made in this research bears on the notion that cer-
tain sorts of coping strategies are functionally similar to each
Discussion
other, and different clusters of strategies differ from each other
The findings of this study complement and supplement the in important ways. We found problem-focused coping, elabora-
findings of Study 1. Once again, dispositional optimism was as- tion of coping, and seeking of social support (plus positive rein-
sociated with problem-focused coping. Optimism also was as- terpretation, in Study 1) to be positively associated with each
sociated once again with the seeking of social support, but in other, clustering together as one group. This pattern replicates
this case the effect was not limited to men. Finally, optimism both an association found by others between problem-focused
again was associated with positive reinterpretation, though the coping and the seeking of social support (Folkman & Lazarus,
effect was not as strong as in Study 1. Note that these similari- 1985; Stone & Neale, 1984) and an association between prob-
ties between the findings of the two studies occurred despite lem-focused coping and positive reinterpretation (Folkman &
a substantial difference in procedures. That is, subjects in the Lazarus, 1985).
second study had to generate coping strategies from within, A second, smaller cluster also emerged in our research (spe-
rather than simply respond to rating scales. This difference in cifically Study 2): an association between disengagement and
procedures renders more compelling the similarity between the the focusing on and expressing of feelings. Of perhaps greater
patterns of associations. interest at present is that these latter two tendencies were in-
The results of Study 2 also extended the findings of Study 1 in versely associated with the tendencies forming the first cluster.
several ways. Not only did optimists engage in problem-focused This opposition is given indirect support by the finding from
coping, but they also tended to produce elaborated plans for Study 1 that denial/distancing, which has some conceptual
coping and they reported an attempt to suppress competing ac- overlap with disengagement, was inversely associated with posi-
tivities in dealing with stressors. Independent of these effects, tive reinterpretation and seeking of social support.
pessimists tended to focus on and ventilate their feelings. Pessi- We find the opposition between these two coping clusters in-
 OPTIMISM AND COPING 1263

teresting for two reasons. First, there is at least some evidence Coping as a Temporal Process
that these two sets of coping responses differ in their adaptive-
As a final comment on the relevance of our data for general
ness. For example, Billings and Moos (1984) and Cronkite and
issues in coping, we should acknowledge an important limita-
Moos (1984) have reported that reliance on problem-focused
tion on the findings. This limitation concerns the issue of short-
coping was associated with lower levels of depression, whereas
term versus long-term adaptiveness of a given coping strategy.
reliance on emotional discharge and avoidance coping was asso-
Coping as a process often occurs over an extended period of
ciated with higher levels of depression and other indicants of
time (cf. Folkman & Lazarus, 1985). In our study, however, we
dysfunction (see also Billings & Moos, 1981; Goodhart, 1985;
assessed coping responses only once. Indeed, in the case of
Holmes & Houston, 1974; Menaghan, 1982; Pearlin &
Study 2, the responses given by subjects clearly were only initial
Schooler, 1978).
responses.
The second reason this pattern is interesting is its fit with cer-
We noted previously that one group of coping strategies
tain aspects of the Carver and Scheier (1981, 1983, 1985) de-
(problem-focused coping, seeking of social support, etc.) ap-
scription of self-regulation. In the terms of that model, the focus
pears more adaptive than does another group (emotional dis-
on the positive aspects of stressful events and the seeking of so-
charge, disengagement) when measured cross-sectionally. How-
cial support should foster favorable outcome expectancies. Fa-
ever, it is an open question whether this difference in adaptive-
vorable expectancies induce a return to problem-focused
ness is maintained over time. A disengagement, which in the
efforts. Focusing on one's emotional distress, on the other hand,
short term interferes with active coping, may in the long term
may lead to anticipations of bad outcomes. These unfavorable
act as a breather, making the person more effective as a prob-
expectancies tend to lead to disengagement, and in our data
lem-focused coper later on. Similarly, focusing on one's emo-
these two variables were indeed associated with each other. Dis-
tions may, in some circumstances, facilitate habituation to
engagement, in theory, is antithetical to problem-focused cop-
those emotions (cf. Averill, 1973), thereby freeing the person for
ing. Thus disengagement and problem-focused coping should
problem-focused coping. These issues are not addressed in our
be, and were, inversely associated with each other.
data, but obviously they deserve attention.
In brief, similarities exist between the pattern of associations
among coping strategies found here and both research and the-
ory in other areas. We find these similarities intriguing and sug- Optimism and Coping
gest that they are worthy of further study. The impact of such
Beyond these general considerations, the findings of this re-
work would be enhanced even more if behavioral measures
search also have implications concerning optimism versus pes-
(rather than self-report measures) of coping could be obtained.
simism and the role of this dispositional variable in coping.
Both studies yielded evidence of positive associations between
Divergent Aspects of Emotion-Focused Coping optimism and such coping strategies as problem-focused cop-
ing, elaboration of coping, and seeking of social support. Opti-
A second general point made by these data concerns the na-
mism also correlated inversely with denial, disengagement, and
ture of emotion-focused coping. Past theorists have applied this
focusing on and expressing feelings. To the degree that these
label to a wide range of coping responses. Billings and Moos
two sets of coping strategies are functional and dysfunctional,
(1984), for example, used it to refer to responses as diverse as
respectively, this pattern suggests that optimists engage in more
"told myself things that helped me feel better" and "tried to
adaptive coping responses than do pessimists.
reduce tension by drinking more." Similarly, Folkman and La-
Previous research has shown that optimists tend to do better
zarus (1985) considered wishful thinking, self-blame, tension
than pessimists when confronted with stressful occurrences
reduction, and self-isolation all to represent emotion-focused
(e.g., Scheier & Carver, 1985; in press). That research did little,
coping.
however, to identify the mechanism or mechanisms whereby op-
In our view, it is a serious oversimplification to treat these
timistic persons achieved their better outcomes. Our research
various strategies solely in terms of their relevance to emotions.
suggests that the divergent outcomes that optimists and pessi-
Each strategy serves functions other than dealing with emo-
mists experience are partly a function of the strategies they use
tions, and these separate functions diverge in their implications
to deal with stressful encounters. Optimists do better at least in
for successful coping. For example, to make a positive reinter-
part because they use strategies that are more likely to pay off.
pretation, or to look at things in a better light, seems likely to
induce a redirection of attention to more problem-focused cop-
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