Illusory Control, Unrealistic Optimism, and Persistence

The current study examined the relationships between and effects of illusory control (IC), unrealistic optimism (UO), and their potential interaction on persistence regarding an impossible task. In doing so, the present study also sought to distinguish between dispositional and situational IC. The study found support for a positive relationship between IC and UO. Additionally, although UO was not found to be related to persistence in the present study, dispositional IC was negatively correlated with persistence. However, while controlling for dispositional IC, participants situationally primed to experience greater IC persisted longer at the impossible task than those experiencing realistic feedback or those experiencing an illusion of no control. No differences in persistence were observed based on UO or the interaction of UO and IC. These findings support the need to distinguish between dispositional and situational IC, as they appear to influence persistence at impossible tasks in divergent ways