Optimism and immunity: Do positive thoughts always lead to positive effects?

Mar 31, 2005Brain, behavior, and immunity

Optimism and immune health: do positive thoughts always help?

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Abstract

Dispositional optimism is negatively related to measures of cellular immunity during difficult stressors.

Optimism is positively related to immunity when faced with easy stressors.
The negative relationship during difficult stressors may stem from greater engagement rather than disappointment.
Conscientiousness, linked to engagement, influences the relationship between optimism and immunity.
Mixed immunological effects of optimism could explain its inconsistent impact on disease outcomes.

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The effects of dispositional optimism, as defined by generalized positive expectations for the future, on physical health are mixed, especially in diseases that can be immunologically mediated such as HIV and cancer. Both experimental and naturalistic studies show that optimism is negatively related to measures of cellular immunity when stressors are difficult (e.g., complex, persistent, and uncontrollable) but positively related when stressors are easy (e.g., straightforward, brief, and controllable). Although the negative relationship between optimism and immunity has been attributed to the violation of optimists' positive expectancies and subsequent disappointment, empirical evidence suggests that it is more likely to be a consequence of optimists' greater engagement during difficult stressors. For example, negative mood does not account for the effect, but conscientiousness, a personality facet related to engagement, does. The mixed immunological correlates of optimism may explain why it does not consistently predict better disease outcomes.

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Optimism and immunity: Do positive thoughts always lead to positive effects?

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