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Self-enhancement diminished.

Authors :
Heck PR
Krueger JI
Source :
Journal of experimental psychology. General [J Exp Psychol Gen] 2015 Oct; Vol. 144 (5), pp. 1003-20.
Publication Year :
2015

Abstract

Self-enhancement is a positive bias in self-perception, which may imply error. However, conventional measures of self-enhancement are difference scores that do not distinguish a positive bias from a self-enhancement error, that is, they fail to identify those individuals who hold an irrationally or inaccurately positive view of themselves. We propose 2 new measures to separate error from bias. In the domain of personality judgment, we estimate a defensible bias and an enhancement error from individuals' actual and perceived similarity with others. In the domain of performance, we adapt a decision-theoretic framework to distinguish those who falsely believe to be better than average from those who actually are better. We illustrate the properties of these measures in 3 empirical studies and computer simulations. Implausibly high majorities of people consider themselves to be above average on various dimensions.<br /> ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1939-2222
Volume :
144
Issue :
5
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of experimental psychology. General
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
26413893
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000105