Effects of Objective Self-awareness on Unrealistically Optimistic Predictions about Task Performance

Using a field setting of the midterm examination in introductory psychology, the present study examined whether objective self-awareness would reduce unrealistically optimistic predictions about task performance. Two weeks before the examination, 88 high and low self-esteem participants predicted their task performance in either self-focus or no-focus condition. Then, all participants took the examination, and their actual performances were recorded. Generally, compared to low self-esteems, high self-esteems tended to predict their performances higher than their actual performances. However, high self-esteems reduced their optimism if they self-focused. Neither selfefficacy nor negative affect mediated between unrealistic optimism and self-focused attention among high self-esteems. The implications for a mechanism of unrealistic optimism and self-focus were discussed.