Personality and Individual Differences 66 (2014) 24–26

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Personality and Individual Differences

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Self-control and optimism are distinct and complementary strengths

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.02.0410191-8869/� 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

⇑ Tel.: +1 305 284 2817; fax: +1 305 284 3402.E-mail address: ccarver@miami.edu

Charles S. Carver ⇑Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history:Received 14 October 2013Received in revised form 6 February 2014Accepted 14 February 2014

Keywords:OptimismSelf-controlHostility

Optimism and self-control are two traits that have been linked to a wide range of positive life outcomes—indeed, to many of the same outcomes. Does that suggest the two are somehow redundant? In this studymeasures of optimism and self-control were related to each other and to a set of scales measuring sociallyproblematic tendencies. Optimism correlated only .30 with self-control, suggesting that they are fairlydistinct. Both correlated significantly with anger, hostility, verbal aggression, borderline tendencies,and endorsement of a ‘‘code of honor.’’ Multiple regression analyses determined that optimism andself-control made distinct contributions to predicting all of these outcomes other than verbal aggression.Findings are consistent with a view in which both optimism and self-control have important self-regu-latory functions, but functions that differ from one another.

� 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In the past two decades, psychology has turned increasingattention to properties of human experience that representstrengths, or virtues (e.g., Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Two exam-ples of traits representing such strengths are optimism (Scheier,Carver, & Bridges, 1994) and self-control (Tangney, Baumeister, &Boone, 2004). Higher levels of each of these traits have been foundto be beneficial in multiple ways (Carver, Scheier, & Segerstrom,2010; de Ridder, Lensvelt-Mulders, Finkenauer, Stok, & Baumeister,2012; Segerstrom, 2006). Indeed, many of the benefits of one ofthese traits are strongly reminiscent of benefits of the other.

Self-control is related to greater psychological well-being, moreacademic success, and better interpersonal relations, and to lessevidence of substance abuse, eating disorder, and aggression(Tangney et al., 2004). People high in self-control are better ableto inhibit negative emotions (Kieras, Tobin, Graziano, & Rothbart,2005), and are more accommodating to their partners in close rela-tionships, thus experiencing less interpersonal conflict (Finkel &Campbell, 2001). People low in self-control also engage in morebehaviors that constitute health risks, such as greater use of tobac-co and alcohol (Wills, Walker, Mendoza, & Ainette, 2006), andhigher dietary levels of saturated fat (Wills, Isasi, Mendoza, &Ainette, 2007). Indeed, self-control is beneficial throughout life(Moffitt, Poulton, & Caspi, 2013).

For many of these findings for self-control, there exists a paral-lel finding for optimism. Optimism relates to greater psychologicalwell-being (Carver et al., 2010), greater persistence in pursuit ofeducational goals (Solberg Nes, Evans, & Segerstrom, 2009), betterinterpersonal relations (Räikkönen, Matthews, Flory, Owens, &Gump, 1999), and greater ease in forming social networks(Brissette, Scheier, & Carver, 2002). People high in optimism arebetter able to inhibit negative emotions (Assad, Donnellan, &Conger, 2007), and they work harder (or more effectively) at closerelationships, thus experiencing less interpersonal conflict(Srivastava, McGonigal, Richards, Butler, & Gross, 2006). Optimistsengage in more health promoting behaviors and fewer health-damaging behaviors than pessimists: they are less likely to reportdrinking problems (Ohannessian, Hesselbrock, Tennen, & Affleck,1993), they are less likely to smoke (Tindle et al., 2009), less likelyto be sedentary (Steptoe, Wright, Kunz-Ebrecht, & Iliffe, 2006; Tin-dle et al., 2009), and have better diets, in terms of fruit and vegeta-ble consumption (Boehm, Williams, Rimm, Ryff, & Kubzansky,2013) and dietary fat intake (Scheier & Carver, 1992).

These similar patterns of associations raise an intriguing ques-tion. Is there more overlap or connection between these two con-structs than has been realized? Clearly they differ from oneanother on their surface. The dimension of optimism concernsexpectations about one’s future. Predictions for optimism derivefrom the logic of expectancy-value motivation theories, in whichconfidence is associated with greater effort and persistence towarddesired goals (Carver & Scheier, in press; Carver et al., 2010). Thedimension of self-control, in contrast, is about acting in disciplinedways, restraining problematic impulses and avoiding distractions

C.S. Carver / Personality and Individual Differences 66 (2014) 24–26 25

in order to reach goals. Predictions for self-control derive from thelogic of optimizing outcomes by choosing one’s actions thought-fully instead of impulsively. Thus there are distinct differences inthe core elements ascribed to the two constructs.

Nonetheless, personality traits inherently face the problem thattraits link to other traits, and it can be difficult to attribute out-comes unambiguously. Is optimism important because optimistsact with greater self-control? Is self-control important because itreflects confidence and greater motivation toward one’s goals?Do these two constructs have more connection than has been real-ized? Or are they instead complementary strengths, both of whichhelp people deal more effectively with life’s challenges? The studyreported here addresses these questions. Because some of theclearest benefits of self-control are in areas of interpersonal func-tioning (de Ridder et al., 2012), this study focused on interpersonalwell-being versus disruption. To that end, participants completedmeasures of aggressiveness; borderline personality tendencies,which are characterized by interpersonal difficulties; and endorse-ment of a ‘‘code of honor,’’ in which the defending of one’s personalhonor and status leads to abrasive interpersonal relations.

2. Method

Participants were 165 undergraduates (97 female) at the Uni-versity of Miami, who completed self-report measures in groupsessions. Self-control was measured by the 13-item short versionof the Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004), a measure of gen-eral self-control tendencies. Optimism was measured by the 6-item Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R; Scheier et al., 1994).Both measures consist of statements, to which participants re-sponded on a 5-point scale (1 = ‘‘I agree a lot;’’ 5 = ‘‘I disagree alot’’). Scales for each measure were scored by averaging item re-sponses, after reverse coding as necessary. Scoring was such thathigher values indicate higher self-control (M = 3.21, SD = .70,a = .81) and higher optimism (M = 3.57, SD = .83, a = .81),respectively.

2.1. Measures of social disruption

2.1.1. Aggression Questionnaire Short Form (AQ)The AQ (Buss & Perry, 1992) assesses four aspects of aggression

using a 5-point scale. Bryant and Smith (2001) developed a shorterversion, omitting items with low or multiple loadings, as well asitems with reverse-scored wording, yielding a 12-item scale thatis psychometrically more sound than the original (Bryant & Smith,2001). Responses were made on a 1–5 scale, and were averaged foreach subscale. Subscales are Anger (3 items, e.g., ‘‘I have troublecontrolling my temper,’’ M = 2.32, SD 1.01, a = .67), Hostility (3items, e.g., ‘‘I wonder why I am so bitter about things,’’ M = 2.58,

Table 1Correlations of self-control and optimism with diverse indicators of social problems; betaoptimism (along with sex as a control); and R-square for each regression analysis.

Bivariate correlations Multiple regression

Self-control Optimism Self-control Optimis

Anger �.35*** �.25** �.29*** �.17*

Hostility �.37*** �.41*** �.28*** �.32***

Verbal aggr �.20* �.22** �.13 �.19*

Physical aggr �.40*** �.11 �.37*** .00Borderline �.35** �.32* �.34*** �.19*

Code of honor �.32*** �.24** �.25** �.17*

N = 165, except for analyses involving the Borderline screener, where N = 159.* p < .05.** p < .01.*** p < .001.

SD = 0.91, a = .64), Verbal Aggression (3 items, e.g., ‘‘I often findmyself disagreeing with people,’’ M = 2.55, SD = 0.93, a = .70), andPhysical Aggression (3 items, e.g., ‘‘I have threatened people Iknow,’’ M = 1.98, SD = 1.05, a = .74). The four subscales correlatedfrom .26 (hostility with verbal aggression) to .60 (anger with verbalaggression), M = .44.

2.1.2. McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline PersonalityDisorder (MSI-BPD)

The MSI-BPD (Zanarini et al., 2003) is a screening instrument forborderline personality disorder. This 10-item true–false self-reportmeasure (false = 0, true = 1) was derived from the borderline per-sonality disorder module of the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IVPersonality Disorders, a reliable semi-structured interview for AxisII disorders. Each DSM diagnostic criterion is assessed by a singleitem, with the exception of paranoia/dissociation, which is as-sessed by two items. The MSI-BPD has shown good specificity(.85) and sensitivity (.81) compared to clinical interviews (Zanariniet al., 2003). In this sample, reliability was adequate (a = .75) with14.5% of the sample scoring at or above the cutoff score of 7 (Zana-rini et al., 2003; M = 3.27, SD = 2.80). Because 6 participants failedto use the true–false format, N for this variable = 159.

2.1.3. Code of honorMcCullough, Pederson, Schroder, Tabak, and Carver (2013) used

items from preexisting scales (Berry, Worthington, O’Connor, Par-rott, & Wade, 2005; Brezina, Agnew, Cullen, & Wright, 2004; Eisen-berger, Lynch, Aselage, & Rohdieck, 2004; Stewart, Schreck, &Simons, 2006) to create a measure of endorsement of a ‘‘code ofhonor.’’ It assesses approval of revenge (7 items, e.g., ‘‘If someonetreats me badly, I feel I should treat them even worse’’), endorse-ment of ‘‘street code’’ beliefs (10 items, e.g., ‘‘Sometimes, you haveto fight to uphold your honor or put someone in his or her place’’),and negative attitudes towards forgiveness (7 items, e.g., ‘‘I try toforgive others even when they don’t feel guilty for what theydid’’ [reverse-coded]). Responses were made on a 1–5 scale, andwere averaged, after appropriate reversals such that higher scoresrepresent greater endorsement of the code of honor (M = 2.46, SD =.61 a = .88).

3. Results

The Self-Control Scale correlated .30 with the LOT-R, a positiveassociation, as would be expected, but not so strong as to suggestthat the measures are redundant. The correlations of self-controland optimism with the measures of social disruption are displayedin the first two columns of Table 1. As can be seen there, both opti-mism and self-control were inversely related to all other scales,

weights from multiple regression analyses simultaneously entering self-control and

R-square change when added last Equation

m Sex Self-control Optimism R-square

.15 .073 .025 .15�.07 .071 .095 .24

.14 .014 .031 .09

.30*** .125 .000 .25�.09 .103 .032 .19

.26*** .054 .027 .19

26 C.S. Carver / Personality and Individual Differences 66 (2014) 24–26

with one exception: optimism was unrelated to physicalaggression.

A series of multiple regression analyses was then conducted oneach measure of disruption, in each case simultaneously enteringself-control, optimism, and sex (as a control variable). The next 3columns of Table 1 display the results of these analyses (b weightsfor each predictor). For the most part, these results echoed the cor-relations. Self-control and optimism made independent contribu-tions to prediction of anger, hostility, borderline tendencies, andendorsement of a code of honor. As in the correlations, optimismwas unrelated to physical aggression; unlike the correlations theassociation of self-control with verbal aggression slipped from sig-nificance. Gender made a significant contribution to prediction oftwo of the outcomes.

Finally, regression models were run in which optimism was en-tered after the other two variables and (separately) self-controlwas entered after the other two variables. Change in r-square forthese last steps are displayed in the next 2 columns of Table 1.The final column displays the overall R-square for the entire model.

4. Discussion

This study tested whether the two personality traits of self-con-trol and optimism rely on a common core, or a shared strength.That possibility was raise by similarities in the patterns in whichthese two measures have been associated with other variables inprior work. The answer the data provided is a clear no. The traitsare complementary strengths, each contributing uniquely to pre-diction of several measures of social disruption.

Obviously there are limitations to the study. All the measureswere self-report rather than behavioral, and as is commonly thecase there is some concern about content overlap between predic-tors and outcomes. The findings do not by any means indicate thatboth constructs contribute independently to all of the many out-comes to which they have been linked. Indeed, it seems likely thatthere are some outcomes to which only one of the two constructswill relate (as was the case for physical aggression in this study).Nonetheless, the findings do militate against a view in which thetwo constructs are simply variations on a shared theme.

The independent contributions of these variables to the depen-dent measures of this study are consistent with a view in whichboth traits under study have adaptive self-regulatory functions,but functions that differ from one another. Self-control as a con-struct draws on a line of theory in which evaluations about the bestpaths to positive long-term outcomes are used to choose whatbehaviors to engage in or refrain from. Optimism as a constructdraws on a line of theory in which confidence about eventual goodoutcomes is held to keep the person engaged in efforts to fosterthose outcomes. These two processes are conceptually distinct,they likely influence behavior in different ways and at differentstages in behavior, but both contribute in important ways to suc-cessful self-regulation.

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