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Economic indicators predict changes in college student optimism for life events
Author(s) -
Lench Heather C.,
Bench Shane W.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/jasp.12262
Subject(s) - optimism , recession , psychology , futures contract , pessimism , great recession , social psychology , demographic economics , economics , macroeconomics , finance , keynesian economics , philosophy , epistemology
This investigation explored the extent to which an economic recession predicted changes in college students' optimism about the length and quality of their futures. In a cross‐sectional design, college students in the U nited S tates rated their likelihood of divorcing, being unhappy in their career, and living past age 60, at time points before, during, and in the aftermath of an economic recession (2007–2010). Economic indicators, particularly gas prices, predicted decreased optimism as the indicators worsened. After the recession, however, optimism rebounded. The findings reveal that people's expectations for their personal futures are generally sensitive to the state of the national economy.