Does unrealistic optimism change following a negative experience?

One important counteracting force that may decrease the effects of unrealis tic optimism is personal experience with threat. To examine this hypothesis , several groups were examined who had been exposed to varying degrees of t hreat. It was found that only those who had been exposed to the most severe threat (being hospitalized after a road accident) showed differential comp arative risk estimates from those who had experienced no threat. Difference s between these two groups were also found for their self-reported risk beh avior. The generality of the debiasing effect was assessed by examining ris k perceptions in other domains. It was found that the effect was domain spe cific.