Conceptions of own versus others' outcomes: Manipulation by monaural attentional orientation

Previous research found that greater personal optimism was produced during selective left hemisphere activation. In that research the selective activation was manipulated by contralateral visual orientation of attention. The present experiment replicated and extended this effect using monaural stimulation. In addition, a significant reduction in variability of responding was found, as expected, in the monaural as compared to binaural groups, and a significant correlation was found between individual desire for control and optimism.