This Only Happens to Others
Different Self-Presentations in Friendship and Professional Situations
Abstract
Abstract. This paper investigates the specific self-presentational situations in which people confirm or negate their comparative optimism in order to convey a favorable self-image. One pilot study and three experiments showed that people increase their comparative optimism to convey an image of competence, but not one of warmth (Pilot Study, Study 1), as well as to present an advantageous self-image in professional situations, although not in friendship situations (Studies 2–3). These effects occur in self-presentation situations involving both low (Studies 1–2) and high (Study 3) levels of accountability. Additional findings indicate that the presentation of a risk-taking self-image is unrelated to comparative optimism, whereas the presentation of a modest self-image leads people to decrease their comparative optimism estimates (Study 3). Results are discussed in the light of the underlying self-presentational motivations in specific situations.
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