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Jochen Gebauer and I organized a symposium about self-enhancement for the upcoming Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (or short TeaP) which is a small annual conference focusing on the experimental approach in psychology. In 2012 it will be held in Mannheim from April 1st to 4th. Apart from Jochen Gebauer and me there’ll be talks by Michael Dufner, Daniel Leising, and Michela Schröder-Abé. See the symposium abstract for details.

Abstract

Humans self-enhance. That is, humans are motivated to evaluate themselves positively. Self-enhancement is a powerful process that builds the basis for many classical self-theories (e.g., dissonance theory, social-identity theory). This symposium aims to show that self-enhancement is also a powerful process driving diverse social phenomena going beyond the immediate self-concept. Specifically, Leising shows how two independent self-enhancer traits—leadership potential and self-regard—drive positive illusions of intelligence. Schröder-Abé shows that speed-daters, who self-enhance regarding their attractiveness, are chosen particularly frequently as short-term partners. Dufner shows that narcissism (the self-enhancer trait) is also linked to more mate appeal because of lowered inhibition among narcissists. Kopietz shows that while we are good at remembering positive self-related feedback we tend to neglect negative feedback and discusses potential mechanisms. Gebauer revisits whether self-enhancement is prevalent in collectivist cultures and shows that highhanded self-reports of prosociality among collectivists is mediated by communal self-enhancement. Together, the five talks showcase that self-enhancement is a powerful process driving divergent believes and behaviors, such as positive intelligence illusions, mate appeal, memory bias, and self-reported prosociality.