Table 4.

Good events: comparative likelihood estimates, India.

Good events	India
Socioeconomic status	All, N = 200		Lower, n = 100			Higher, n = 100
	% Chance for other		% Self-other difference1		Ratio2	% Self-other difference1		Ratio2
	Mean	SD	Mean	SD		Mean	SD
Unexpectedly inheriting some money	21.36	19.74	−12.65***	19.52	0.11***	−3.90	21.41	0.22***
Winning the lottery	22.74	21.51	−8.67***	21.11	0.43**	−12.22***	20.08	0.09***
Exotic foreign travel	38.32	27.64	−4.95	27.08	0.57*	13.30***	27.04	3.71***
Son/daughter getting a very good job	40.71	25.70	−8.08***	24.07	0.48**	3.06	22.49	1.63
Good health in old age	46.68	21.88	1.30	25.92	0.87	3.74	22.14	1.71*
Moving to a better house	48.95	26.48	2.32	26.58	1.38	2.10	23.54	1.50
Son or daughter does well at school	49.70	26.13	−0.10	23.33	0.83	8.56***	21.08	2.88***
Living a long life	50.81	22.37	1.24	22.03	1.24	0.40	17.46	1.43
Son/daughter being happily married	52.78	23.81	−1.03	20.96	0.78	7.42**	14.65	5.63***
Success for self or spouse at work	55.13	23.63	0.90	20.77	1.28	10.61***	21.12	4.08***
Being on good terms with relatives	56.03	25.08	2.02	28.67	1.54	10.60***	22.10	5.30***
Average	44.23	14.99	−2.60**	11.55		3.66***	10.61

¹% self-other difference: mean values significantly different from zero (one sample t test) are marked with asterisks (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001).

²Ratio of optimists to pessimists: values significantly different from 1 (chance distribution, χ² test) are marked with asterisks (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001).