Self-perception & Self-evaluation

Self-perception & Self-evaluation

1. Self-perception theory

   • "Individuals come to 'know' their own attitudes, emotions, & other internal states partially by inferring them from observations of their overt behaviour and/or circumstances in which this behaviour occurs"
     • Bem (1972)

2. Embodied social cognition

   • Self-perception can be subtle, automatic & implicit, rather than conscious
   • Studies of 'embodied social cognition'
     • Changing facial expressions -> changing emotions
       • Laird (1974) - Lewis (2012)
     • Making a fist -> feeling assertive & powerful
       • Schubert & Koole (2009) - only among men
     • Open posture -> feelings of power
       • Carney, Cuddy, & Yap (2010) - but hormones & risk tolerance not replicated

3. Self-perception - how accurate are we?

   • Generally, not very accurate
     • Self-evaluations of ability correlate 'moderately' w performance outcomes - mean r = .29
       • Zell & Krizan (2014)
       • Self-perceptions share ~8.4% variance w objective matters
       • For many dimensions, accuracy cannot be defined

4. Self-perception effects

   • Effects on self-concept strongest when:
     • Behaviour interpreted as freely chosen
     • Prior self-concept weak/uncertain
     • Behaviour observed by an audience
     • When one expects to meet audience again

5. Self-serving attributions

   • Heider (1958) claimed that people selectively tend to attribute their success internally & failures externally (= 'self-serving bias'
     • Campbell & Sedikides (1999) meta-analysed 70 experiments & reported a 'small-to-moderate' average effect size (d = .467)
     • Effects significantly larger in situations of 'self-threat'

6. Social Comparison

   • Social Comparison theory - Festinger (1954)
     • We try to evaluate our opinions & abilities accurately
     • If no objective means, we compare w similar ones
   • Much subsequent research
     • People often seem to prefer downward comparisons, especially after 'ego threat' - Wills (1981)
     • Comparing upward can be threatening - Clay et al (2005)
     • Upward comparisons can be fine, if we assimilate or expect to improve in the future - Collins (1996)

7. Better than average effect

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