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Optimism where there is none: Asymmetric belief updating observed with valence-neutral life events.

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Title: Optimism where there is none: Asymmetric belief updating observed with valence-neutral life events.
Authors: Burton, Jason W.1 (AUTHOR) jburto03@mail.bbk.ac.uk, Harris, Adam J.L.2 (AUTHOR), Shah, Punit3 (AUTHOR), Hahn, Ulrike1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Cognition. Jan2022, Vol. 218, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subject Terms: *Experimental design, *Motivation (Psychology), Optimism, Sampling (Process), Stimulus & response (Psychology)
Abstract: How people update their beliefs when faced with new information is integral to everyday life. A sizeable body of literature suggests that people's belief updating is optimistically biased, such that their beliefs are updated more in response to good news than bad news. However, recent research demonstrates that findings previously interpreted as evidence of optimistic belief updating may be the result of flaws in experimental design, rather than motivated reasoning. In light of this controversy, we conduct three pre-registered variations of the standard belief updating paradigm (combined N = 300) in which we test for asymmetric belief updating with neutral, non-valenced stimuli using analytic approaches found in previous research. We find evidence of seemingly biased belief updating with neutral stimuli - results that cannot be attributed to a motivational, valence-based, optimism account - and further show that there is uninterpretable variability across samples and analytic techniques. Jointly, these results serve to highlight the methodological flaws in current optimistic belief updating research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Cognition is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 153823851
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  Data: Optimism where there is none: Asymmetric belief updating observed with valence-neutral life events.
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  Data: How people update their beliefs when faced with new information is integral to everyday life. A sizeable body of literature suggests that people's belief updating is optimistically biased, such that their beliefs are updated more in response to good news than bad news. However, recent research demonstrates that findings previously interpreted as evidence of optimistic belief updating may be the result of flaws in experimental design, rather than motivated reasoning. In light of this controversy, we conduct three pre-registered variations of the standard belief updating paradigm (combined N = 300) in which we test for asymmetric belief updating with neutral, non-valenced stimuli using analytic approaches found in previous research. We find evidence of seemingly biased belief updating with neutral stimuli - results that cannot be attributed to a motivational, valence-based, optimism account - and further show that there is uninterpretable variability across samples and analytic techniques. Jointly, these results serve to highlight the methodological flaws in current optimistic belief updating research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Cognition is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104939
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 1
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Motivation (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Optimism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sampling (Process)
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      – SubjectFull: Stimulus & response (Psychology)
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      – TitleFull: Optimism where there is none: Asymmetric belief updating observed with valence-neutral life events.
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            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Text: Jan2022
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              Y: 2022
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