Self-Enhancement: Food for Thought

2008/03/01 by Constantine Sedikides, Aiden P. Gregg · 874 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Psychology #Self-enhancement #Phenomenon #Trait #Id, ego and super-ego #Self #Personality #Social psychology #Analogy #Cognitive psychology #Ego depletion #Epistemology #Self-control #Philosophy

paper · open access · doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2008.00068.x

published in Perspectives on Psychological Science 3(2), 102-116 (SAGE Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2008/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

Self-enhancement denotes a class of psychological phenomena that involve taking a tendentiously positive view of oneself. We distinguish between four levels of self-enhancement-an observed effect, an ongoing process, a personality trait, and an underlying motive-and then use these distinctions to organize the wealth of relevant research. Furthermore, to render these distinctions intuitive, we draw an extended analogy between self-enhancement and the phenomenon of eating. Among the topics we address are (a) manifestations of self-enhancement, both obvious and subtle, and rival interpretations; (b) experimentally documented dynamics of affirming and threatening the ego; and (c) primacy of self-enhancement, considered alongside other intrapsychic phenomena, and across different cultures. Self-enhancement, like eating, is a fundamental part of human nature.

Citations

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Cited by

• Self-Enhancement and Psychological Adjustment: A Meta-Analytic Review
• Self-Event Connections in Life Stories, Self-Concept Clarity, and Dissociation: Examining Their Relations with Symptoms of Psychopathology
• The evolution and psychology of self-deception
• Positive illusions [wikipedia]
• Self-enhancement [wikipedia]