Is self-enhancement healthy? Conceptual, psychometric, and empirical analysis. 1998

J B Asendorpf, and F Ostendorf
Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. asen@rz.hu-berlin.de

Whereas S.E. Taylor and J.D. Brown (1988) proposed that positive illusions foster mental health, C.R. Colvin, J. Block, and D.C. Funder (1995) presented empirical evidence that suggested the opposite: The extent to which self-ratings are more favorable than ratings by others (self-enhancement) is correlated with unfavorable personality traits (self-enhancement correlation). Our conceptual analysis shows that these propositions are not incompatible. Our psychometric analysis reveals that self-enhancement correlations are a function of the self-other agreement and the consensus of others across 830 traits indicates that (a) self-enhancement is consistent across highly evaluative traits, but not across traits low in evaluativeness, and (b) self-enhancement correlations are minimal for non-evaluative traits and increase with increasing trait evaluativeness. We conclude that people consistently differ in their tendency to enhance their trait descriptions and that this tendency is linked to the unfavorability of their traits.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D011582 Psychological Theory Principles applied to the analysis and explanation of psychological or behavioral phenomena. Social Cognitive Theory,Psychologic Theory,Psychological Theories,Theories, Psychological,Theory, Psychological,Cognitive Theories, Social,Cognitive Theory, Social,Psychologic Theories,Social Cognitive Theories,Theories, Psychologic,Theories, Social Cognitive,Theory, Psychologic,Theory, Social Cognitive
D011594 Psychometrics Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures. Psychometric
D003674 Defense Mechanisms Unconscious process used by an individual or a group of individuals in order to cope with impulses, feelings or ideas which are not acceptable at their conscious level; various types include reaction formation, projection and self reversal. Mechanisms, Defense
D005260 Female Females
D005858 Germany A country in central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark. The capital is Berlin.
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000223 Adaptation, Psychological A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed). Behavior, Adaptive,Healthy Adaptation,Positive Adaptation,Psychological Recovery,Adaptation, Psychologic,Adjustment,Psychological Adaptation,Adaptation, Healthy,Adaptation, Positive,Adaptive Behavior,Adaptive Behaviors,Healthy Adaptations,Positive Adaptations,Psychologic Adaptation,Psychological Recoveries,Recovery, Psychological
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths

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