Self-Assessment Motives and Evidence from Experimental Research

All flashcards

Self-assessment

Examining identity-relevant aspects of oneself to judge whether one’s current self-view is accurate.

Self-verification

Seeking information that confirms one’s existing self-concept.

Self-enhancement

Seeking to maintain or improve a positive view of oneself.

Central traits

Traits that are especially important to a person’s identity and self-concept.

Objective reflection

Examining one’s own traits impartially, as if conducting a scientific assessment.

Quiz questions

1. In Sedikides’s fifth experiment, how did an instruction to reflect objectively affect participants?Answer: It increased their concern for accuracy compared with participants given no such instruction.
2. What pattern did Sedikides and Strube’s review report about tasks described as highly accurate?Answer: Participants tended to prefer tasks described as highly accurate measures of their characteristics.
3. What did research in the review suggest about choosing an accurate task when participation was required?Answer: People were more likely to choose a highly accurate task than when stating a preference alone.
4. How did task accuracy relate to persistence and success in the reviewed research?Answer: Participants could persist more on lower-accuracy tasks yet succeed more on highly accurate tasks.
5. Why might evaluating a peripheral trait be less threatening than evaluating a central trait?Answer: Peripheral traits are less central to a person’s identity and self-concept.