Citation

Andre N. Pers. Individ. Dif. 2006; 40(7): 1461-1472.

Affiliation

Equipe Savoirs, Cognition et Relations sociales, Universite de Poitiers, France

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.paid.2005.10.022

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Studies on luck and chance have developed models, which tend to demonstrate two kinds of people: those who perceive chance as a personality trait and those as a random event. In other respects, studies on counterfactual thinking have shown that people construct a belief about their capacities to identify favourable occasions when they can succeed. In this case, people consider that opportunity is a kind of irrational belief like chance and luck. According to these conceptualisations, an instrument was constructed including positive and negative perceptions of fortune, luck and opportunity. In total, 195 students completed this instrument. Principal component and confirmatory factor analyses revealed the predicted four components marked by luck, good fortune, bad fortune and opportunity. Finally, it appeared that these four perceptions confirmed previous studies concerning relations between self-esteem, anxiety and achievement motivation and irrational beliefs in chance.