Psych 160 Prof. Chen1 Multiply Motivated Self  Enhancement  Accuracy  Improvement  Consistency

Psych 160 Prof. Chen2 ENHANCEMENT Examples we’ve already encountered? Self-serving attributional bias Self-presentation

Psych 160 Prof. Chen3 Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model (Tesser & his colleagues) 2 Fundamental Self-Evaluative Processes Comparison Process Reflection Process

Psych 160 Prof. Chen4 Two parameters that determine whether comparison or reflection occurs: 1. relevance of domain to self-definition 2. closeness of the outperforming other  Irrelevant?  Bask in reflected glory  Closer the other is, more basking  Relevant?  Suffer by comparison  Closer the other is, more suffering

Psych 160 Prof. Chen5 Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model (Tesser & his colleagues) Close friend outperforms you in a self- relevant domain: Self-evaluation dilemma!

Psych 160 Prof. Chen6 Downward Social Comparisons Comparing ourselves to those who are worse or worse off than we are Everyday examples??? Does making downward social comparisons work? Do we feel better about ourselves?

Psych 160 Prof. Chen7 Health-Related Implications of Downward vs. Upward Social Comparisons Bogart & Helgeson (2000)  Breast-cancer patients in support groups  Report on times when they talked to, heard about, or thought about other patients  Majority of social comparisons were downward—and the more comparisons were made, better patients felt

Psych 160 Prof. Chen8 ACCURACY  Desire for accurate self-assessments  Seek out most informative, diagnostic information  E.g., social comparison theory  Related to need for prediction and control

Psych 160 Prof. Chen9 IMPROVEMENT  Desire to improve the self  Seek out information and situations relevant to “ideal” visions of self  E.g., upward social comparisons

Psych 160 Prof. Chen10 CONSISTENCY  Desire for a consistent self-concept  Seek out (or act in ways that elicit) feedback that confirms existing (positive or negative) self-conceptions  e.g., self-verification theory