Measuring Wishful Thinking: The Development and Validation of a New Scale

This dissertation describes the development and validation of a 10-item scale measuring individual differences in wishful thinking, or the degree to which individuals’ desires bias their judgments. A study was conducted to investigate the new scale’s psychometric properties, as well as its relationships with other self-report measures. The wishful thinking measure demonstrated convergent validity with other measures of bias, including self-deceptive enhancement, belief in a just world, and social desirability. Wishful thinking showed discriminant validity with several dimensions of problem-focused coping. Wishful thinking was related to optimism and greater use of positive reinterpretation and growth…

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review
Approaches to Optimism
Optimism as the Key to Motivation
Optimism as an Illusory Belief
Optimism as a Strategy
Summary
Understanding the Complexity of Optimism
Too Much Optimism?
Placing Optimism in Context
Different Kinds of Optimism
Realistic Optimism and Wishful Thinking
Chapter 2: Wishful Thinking Studies
Study 1: Development of Items
Method
Results
Discussion
Study 2: Factor Analysis and Validation
Method
Results
Discussion
Study 3: Validation
Method
Results
Discussion
Chapter 3: General Discussion
Research Summary and Implications
Scale Development
Reliability
Validity
Implications for Theories of Optimism
Self-Regulation
Optimal Margin Hypothesis
Limitations of the Present Research
Future Directions
Appendices
Appendix A: Items Constructed for the New Measure of Wishful Thinking
Appendix B: Wishful Thinking Scale Items
Appendix C: Sample Puzzles
Appendix D: Puzzle Questionnaire
Appendix E: Wishful Thinking and Behavior-Outcome Contingencies
References

Author: Eichelberger, Angela H

Source: University of Maryland

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