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affect and positive thinking promote following resources, capabilities and attributes: sociability
and activity (mean r =.51). Altruism (mean r =.43), adoring of self and others (mean r =.36),
bodily strength and immune system (mean r =.38) and effective conflict resolution skills (mean
r =.33). Research showed that positive mood fosters original thinking (mean r= .25).
A large amount of research on optimism and distress has been done keeping in view
the measures of coping tendencies. The researchers were able to examine whether the
differences they observed in health and well-being were moderated by differences in coping.
Optimism, a personality attribute characterized by chronic experience of positive affect, has
supported these positive outcomes (Carver & Scheier, 2002a, b) in cancer patients. At diagnosis,
59 breast cancer patients reported their overall optimism about life; 1 day pre-surgery, 10 days
post-surgery and at 3, 6, and 12-months follow-ups, they reported their current coping responses
and stress levels. Results revealed that optimism associated inversely to stress at each point, even
controlling for previous stresses. Acceptance, positive reframing and seeking religious guidance
were the most common coping reactions; denial and behavioral disengagement were the least
common reactions. Recognition, acceptance and the positive reframing prospectively predicted
lessened stress while denial and withdrawal predicted more distress. Path analyses showed that
several coping responses played moderating roles regarding the influence of optimism on stress.
It was evident that optimists experienced better physical recovery shortly after coronary artery
bypass surgery and up to six months post surgery (Carver., Pozo, Harris, Noriega, et al. 1993). In
a study on male war veterans, optimists were less likely to suffer from angina and heart
attacks(Kubzansky, Sparrow, Vokonas & Kawacgi, 2001) and evidenced higher level of
pulmonary functions and slower rates of pulmonary decline, a defensive affect that is
independent of smoking (Kubzansky,Wright, Cohen, Weiss, Rosner, & Sparrow,2002).
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Therefore, optimism is associated with less incidence and better prompt recovery, probably due
to the chronic positive emotional states that optimists experience. Recent research also shows
that the influence of dispositional positive thinking on health parallel the effects indicated by
positive emotions related to hope (Aspinwall & Leaf, 2002)
Boland (1996) examined the relations among optimism, perception of stress, coping and
adaptation in 113 women over the age of sixty. She hypothesized that optimism in older women
is associated with lower levels of appraised stress, a greater tendency to perceive stressors as
challenge rather than threats, more effective coping strategies, fewer signs of stress and greater
levels of life contentment. Optimism was correlated with most of the dependent variables.
Hierarchical regression analyses showed that it lost its predictive power when the effects of the
covariates, particularly Time 1 measures of the dependent variables and neuroticism were
statistically removed. The most important predictors of coping, stress and satisfaction with life
were initial measures of these variables, followed by neuroticism.
Scheier and Carver (1985)showed that optimist students engage in effective and
successful coping with the challenging circumstances during the semester. They were less prone
to ailments. Study questionnaires included Life Orientation Test (LOT), which measured
optimism and pessimism, the Private Self-Consciousness Scale and 39-item Physical Symptom
Check list. Results showed that the LOT correlated significantly with Physical Symptom
Checklist. Optimist individuals more successfully coped with the difficult situation during the
semester and showed fewer symptoms of somatic diseases.
Optimistic pregnant women use constructive thinking more often than the pessimistic ones
(Park et al., 1997). Moreover, a negative correlation was found between constructive thinking
and anxiety whereas a positive correlation with positive mind-set. Subsequent analyses showed
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that the relation between optimism and each of these markers of psychological adjustment was
moderated by the likelihood of optimists to engage in constructive thinking.
Affelect, Litt, Tennen and klock (1992) recorded the responses of people unsuccessful in
vitro fertilization. Optimism was assessed four months before the attempt, as were specific
expectancies for fertilization success, coping strategies, distress levels and the impact of
infertility on participant’s
lives. Two weeks after the notification of a negative pregnancy test,
distress was assessed again. Neither, demographics, obstetric history, martial adjustment, nor
the rated affect of infertility on participants
’ lives predicted Time
-2 distress levels but
pessimism did. Controlling for time-1 distress, pessimism was the strongest predictor of time-2
distress. Pessimists were found to use withdrawal as a coping technique, which in return caused
even more distress after failure in fertilization attempt.
All this research support that positive thinkers especially optimists, differ from negative
thinkers in the
kinds of coping strategies they implement while confronting health
threats. Generally, findings from these researches propose that positive thinkers are likely
to implement more problem-focused coping strategies than the negative thinkers. If
problem-focused coping is not possible, positive thinkers turn to adaptive emotion-
focused coping strat
egies such as acceptance, recognition, use of humor and
positivereframing.Pessimists or negative thinkers
tend to give up their goals if they
encounter hurdles in their pursuit of its accomplishment.
Researchers also declared positive reappraisal independently related to increases in
positive effect, denoting c
are giver’s reappraisal
of distressful experience as worthwhile. They
maintained that all caregivers were able to report positive incidents in the middle of their
ongoing stress. Techniques of positive thinking and maintaining positive moods help safeguard
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against stress (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000). These strategies help an individual to emerge
from crisis with effective coping skills, intimate relationship and a rich appreciation for life, all
of which promote psychological wellbeing.
Shiota (2006) did research on the students of West Coast University in America,
explained the influence of positive coping strategies on daily stressors. Participants completed
wellbeing measures, described the most stressful event of the day and their emotional
adjustment for seven days. Positive emotions were mostly related to positive phases of well
being, including coping techniques. Implementation of positive coping did not lessen with
elevated objective stress during the week and the implementation of particular strategy was
partially predicted by the kind of stressors that were reported.Hence, it was proved that positive
thinking played critical role in coping resources when negative incidents promote stress. Tugade
and Fredrickson (2004) reported in study 1,conducted in America, that positive emotions are
related to speed-up recovery from cardiovascular reactivity generated by negative emotions for
resilient individuals. This finding is important in screening the health- enhancing qualities
associated with positive emotions. Tugade and Fredrickson in study 2 suggested that Positive
Emotional Granularity (PEG), defined as the tendency to explain positive affect with precision
and particularity, has a significant effect on coping. The computer run custom software
(Experience Sampling Program; Barret & Feldman Barret, 2000) ESP presented 29 affect terms
for each sampling occasion. Participants indicated how they felt at the moment. Findings
indicated that PEG was negatively correlated with scores on the cope mental distraction. The
result showed that in coping context, those with higher positive emotional granularity appraised
themselves as being more focused towards the situation at hand, more likely to evaluate coping
options from every angleand less likely to respond promptly.
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An extended empirical work is present on the role of cardiovascular reactivity,
occasioned by negative emotional states of hostility, anger and anxiety plays in the etiology of
cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease and blood pressure (Blasscovich &
Katkin, 1993). Present research will test the role of these theories in Pakistani context.
2.2 Positive Thinking and Occupational Stress
A meta-analysis of 27 studies regarding affect and job satisfaction was conducted by Connolly
and Viswesvaran, (2000). They reported 10%-25% of the variance in job satisfaction due to
dispositional affect. Optimistic people were more satisfied with their jobs, usually secured better
jobs, satisfy their employers and build up their careers. In a research, it was reported that
employees high in dispositional positive affect had jobs having more authority, definition and
variety (Staw, Stutton, & Pelled, 1994). They assessed that employees high in dispositional
affect gained more favorable evaluations from supervisors and employers. Staw and colleague
researched on employees possessing high positive affects in three Midwestern organizations.
They received higher scores for quality of work, production, creativity and reliability. Staw and
Barsade (1993) proposed that those high in dispositional positive affect performed better on a
manager assessment task. Positive thinkers, optimists and well contented workers are more
likely to be high performers on the job as there is less possibility to be absent from job and
show negative behavior (Donovan, 2000). Similarly, positive affect at workplace was negatively
related with less disengaged behavior and organizational reappraisal and higher organizational
ownership (Donovan, 2000).
Winefield and Richard (2001) conducted a study on 2,040 staff members of a University.
They compared stress level between various categories of staff; psychological distress was
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highest among academic staff engaged in both teaching and research resulting in greater work
load and research funds.
Smári, Arason, Hafsteinsson and Ingimarsson, (1997) explained the role of coping styles
in anxiety and depression. Two hundred and thirty three, checking in unemployed service,
participated. They filled COPE (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub; 1998) and Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale. They gave information about the duration of unemployment and their
appraisal of the situation. Results revealed that women focus on emotional coping as well as
avoidant which is related to higher anxiety and depression score. For men, only avoidance was
related to anxiety and depression.
Ferreira (2006) examined the role of direct action coping and palliative coping in the
relationship between work stressors and psychological wellbeing in a sample of 464 bank
employees. Three components of psychological distress were stress, psychosomatic complaints
and job satisfaction. The results revealed that work related stressors correlated positively with
psychological distress and psychosomatic complaints. Direct action coping strategy correlated
negatively with these two measures of distress. Hierarchical analysis revealed main influence of
direct action coping on wellbeing. Palliative coping was correlated with higher level of
psychological distress. The interaction between two types of coping was important for
psychosomatic complaints and psychological distress, but not for the job.
Healy and Mckay (2000) studied 129 nurses (F=125, M = 4) to find out the relationship
between nurses work related stressors, efficient coping strategies and its effect on the job
contentment and mood variations. It was suggested that higher level of appraised work stress
and implementation of avoidant coping strategies would elevate mood disturbance, while
problem focused coping would be related to lessened mood disturbance. They completed nurses
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stress scale, ways of coping questionnaire, cope humor scale, job satisfaction and profile of
mood states. The possible stress buffering effect of humor coping and job satisfaction upon the
relationship between work stressor and mood disturbance was explored. Results showed
positive correlation between nurs
e’s stress and mood disturbance
and a significant negative
relation
between nurse’s stre
ss and job satisfaction. The implementation of avoidant coping and
the appraisal of work overload were found to be significant predictors of mood disturbance. No
major or resistive effect was found for humor coping upon the relation between stress and mood
disturbance.
From a social-environmental outlook, relationship has been found between job strain,
defined as high psychological demands and lack of control and elevated ambulatory blood
pressure (Schnall, Schwartz, Landsbergis, Warren, & Pickering, 1992). As a strong link
between the two, high blood pressure has sometimes been used as an index of job stress
Hogan (2002) studied job and daily stress, bio psychosocial stress, emotionality, medical
symptoms and appraised social support in a sample (N = 831) of university personnel. The result
revealed that job and non-work stress correlated positively with behavioral, cognitive and
physiological reactions to stress in addition to negative emotionality. Stress also correlated with
medical symptoms (Hogan, Carlson, & Due, 2002).A sample of 345 custom workers and dentists
was studied, using a longitudinal framework, to test several competing mechanisms specifically
perception, hypersensitivity and causality mechanisms on the relationship between work
stressors and psychological well-being. Results strongly supported the perception mechanism,
indicating that the effects of NA on psychological health were partly intermediated by work
stressors.
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