"We felt like this was an important topic to investigate and to our knowledge, it's the first study to examine the link between optimism and cognitive impairment in older adults," said lead author Katerina Gawronski, a U-M graduate now at the University of Pennsylvania. "We found that optimism was indeed associated with better cognitive health over time."That is complete unmitigated bullshit.
Gawronski and Eric Kim of Harvard University conducted the research as students at U-M.
They say that randomized controlled trial studies have shown that optimism can be modified using fairly simple paper and pencil exercises. For example, writing about one's "best possible self" has been shown to increase optimism.
The only conclusions that should be taken away from this study are:
1. This crap was sufficient to fulfill the author's graduation requirements.
2. Psychology departments do not know or teach- and Psychology graduates do not learn or understand- even the slightest bit about sickness behavior.
