Title

Knowing More than We Can Tell: People Are Aware of their Biased Self-Perceptions

Author

Kathryn Leigh Bollich, Washington University in St. LouisFollow

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

Author's Department/Program

Psychology

Language

English (en)

Date of Award

Summer 8-1-2012

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Chair and Committee

Simine Vazire

Abstract

There is no question that biases exist in people’s self-perceptions of their personality. However, it is not known whether people are aware of these self-biases. In two studies: N = 130), I examined whether people have insight into their positive and negative self-biases across a range of traits. I predicted that self-biases result from self-deception: i.e., the intentional distortion of more realistic self-views), and as such, people should have some awareness of their self-biases. As predicted, people with positive biases: i.e., self-perceptions that are more positive than a reputation-based criterion measure) described themselves as positively biased, and people with overly negative self-views described themselves as negatively biased. These findings suggest that people may know more about themselves than they initially admit, and provide support for the existence of everyday self-deception in people’s views of their personality. Implications for the use of self-reports and the study of self-knowledge are discussed.

Comments

This work is not available online per the author’s request. For access information, please contact digital@wumail.wustl.edu or visit http://digital.wustl.edu/publish/etd-search.html.

Permanent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7936/K7JW8C0R

Recommended Citation

Bollich, Kathryn Leigh, "Knowing More than We Can Tell: People Are Aware of their Biased Self-Perceptions" (2012). All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). 1032.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/1032