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Agreeable fancy or disagreeable truth? Reconciling self-enhancement and self-verification.
Abstract
Three studies asked why people sometimes seek positive feedback (self-enhance) and sometimes seek subjectively accurate feedback (self-verify). Consistent with self-enhancement theory, people with low self-esteem as well as those with high self-esteem indicated that they preferred feedback pertaining to their positive rather than negative self-views. Consistent with self-verification theory, the very people who sought favorable feedback pertaining to their positive self-conceptions sought unfavorable feedback pertaining to their negative self-views, regardless of their level of global self-esteem. Apparently, although all people prefer to seek feedback regarding their positive self-views, when they seek feedback regarding their negative self-views, they seek unfavorable feedback. Whether people self-enhance or self-verify thus seems to be determined by the positivity of the relevant self-conceptions rather than their level of self-esteem or the type of person they are.
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“Self-enhancement theory states that humans desire to view themselves positively (Swann et al. 1989), with selfenhancement attempts occurring either privately or publicly (Sedikides and Gregg 2008).”
From Unintended reward costs: the effectiveness of customer referral reward programs for innovative products and services (2019) · cites this paper as Swann et al. 1989
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Metadata
- Authors
- Swann, W. B., Pelham, B. W., & Krull, D. S.
- Affiliations
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1989
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 782-791
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W2084473518
- Cited by
- 584
- References
- 90
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 10.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH-37598, MH-00498)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- self-enhancement, self-verification, feedback seeking, self-esteem, self-conception, negative self-concept, self-concept
- MeSH terms
- Feedback, Female, Humans, Male, Motivation, Psychological Theory, Self Concept
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