Synonyms
Definition
Self-enhancement is a term encompassing a range of psychological phenomena whose common denominator is the possession or pursuit of a tendentiously positive view of self – in terms of what the self can do, currently is, or will be in future (Taylor and Brown 1988).
Description
For the purposes of exposition, the phenomena comprising self-enhancement can be divided into one of three classes: ostensible signs, dynamic processes, and personality traits (Sedikides and Gregg 2008).
Ostensible signs provide prima facie evidence of self-enhancement. A well-known ostensible sign is the better-than-average effect, whereby most people rate themselves above most of their peers in terms of desirable abilities or characteristics (Alicke and Govorun 2005). Other examples include people’s tendency to make self-serving attributions (i.e., claim credit for success but disavow blame for failure; Sedikides and Alicke 2012),...
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References
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Gregg, A., Sedikides, C. (2023). Self-Enhancement. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_2634
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