The DOI matches its Crossref record; 119 of the 119 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Self‐Knowledge of Personality: Do People Know Themselves?
Abstract
Abstract The intuition that we have privileged and unrestricted access to ourselves – that we inevitably know who we are, how we feel, what we do, and what we think – is very compelling. Here, we review three types of evidence about the accuracy of self‐perceptions of personality and conclude that the glass is neither full nor empty. First, studies comparing self‐perceptions of personality to objective criteria suggest that self‐perceptions are at least tethered to reality – people are not completely clueless about how they behave, but they are also far from perfect. Second, studies examining how well people’s self‐perceptions agree with others’ perceptions of them suggest that people’s self‐views are not completely out of synch with how they are seen by those who know them best, but they are also far from identical. Third, studies examining whether people know the impressions they make on others suggest that people do have some glimmer of insight into the fact that others see them differently than they see themselves but there is still a great deal people do not know about how others see them. The findings from all three approaches point to the conclusion that self‐knowledge exists but leaves something to be desired. The status of people’s self‐knowledge about their own personality has vast implications both for our conception of ourselves as rational agents and for the methods of psychological inquiry.
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In the citing paper
“Self-insight, particularly self-knowledge about internal states, rarely converges with objective criteria such as behavioral patterns or prospective outcomes.”
From Toward objective characterizations of suicide risk: A narrative review of laboratory-based cognitive and behavioral tasks (2023) · cites this paper as Vazire & Carlson, 2010
In the citing paper
“Studies have found that the average correspondence between self-perception and laboratory behavior is low to moderate (Vazire & Carlson, 2010).”
From Toward objective characterizations of suicide risk: A narrative review of laboratory-based cognitive and behavioral tasks (2023) · cites this paper as Vazire & Carlson, 2010
Citations
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“For example, behaviorists have been notoriously dismissive of people’s capacity for self-insight, Nisbett and Wilson (1977) famously asserted that people are ‘telling more than they can know’ about themselves, and the literature on positive illusions and self-enhancement paints people as blissfully…”
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Narcissistic admiration and rivalry: disentangling the bright and dark sides of narcissism.
Back, M. D., Küfner, A. C. P., Dufner, M., Gerlach, T. M., Rauthmann, J. F., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2013) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0034431 · Cited by 1,255
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The Big Five Personality Traits in the Political Arena
Gerber, A. S., Huber, G. A., Doherty, D., & Dowling, C. M. (2011) · Annual Review of Political Science · doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-051010-111659 · Cited by 586
Do People Have Insight Into Their Abilities? A Metasynthesis
Zell, E., & Križan, Z. (2014) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691613518075 · Cited by 461
Zell, E., Strickhouser, J. E., Sedikides, C., & Alicke, M. D. (2019) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000218 · Cited by 439
Metadata
- Authors
- Vazire, S., & Carlson, E. N.
- Affiliations
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- Venue
- Social and Personality Psychology Compass
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-08
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 605-620
- ISSN
- 1751-9004 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2133806650
- Cited by
- 265
- References
- 110
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 59 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 11.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social and Personality Psychology Compass (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Keywords
- self-knowledge, self-perception accuracy, self-other agreement, impression formation, self-reflection, rational agency
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