A new look at motivated inference: Are self-serving theories of success a product of motivational forces?

1995/07/01 by David Dunning, Ann Leuenberger, David A. Sherman · 6 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Cognitive psychology #Cultural Differences and Values #Epistemology #Inference #Product (mathematics) #Psychology #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Social psychology

paper · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.1.58

openalex publication_date 1995/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26

Abstract

People construct idiosyncratic, self-serving models of excellence or success in social domains, in part, to bolster self-esteem. In 3 studies, participants tended to articulate self-serving theories of success under experimental conditions in which pressures to maintain self-esteem were present, but not under conditions in which such pressures were absent. Participants assigned to role-play being a therapist were more self-serving in their assessments of the characteristics needed to be a successful therapist than were participants assigned to observe the role play (Study 1). Participants failing at an intellectual task articulated self-serving theories about the attributes crucial to success in marriage (Study 2) and evaluated targets similar to themselves more favorably than they did dissimilar targets (Study 3),tendencies not observed for participants succeeding at the task. Discussion centers on issues for future research suggested by these findings.

Citations

• The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior
• Global self-evaluation as determined by the desirability and controllability of trait adjectives.
• Some effects of task relevance and friendship on helping: You don't always help the one you like
• Motivated inference: Self-serving generation and evaluation of causal theories.
• Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies.
• Motivated skepticism: Use of differential decision criteria for preferred and nonpreferred conclusions.
• Unrealistic optimism about future life events.
• The case for motivated reasoning.
• Egocentric definitions of traits and abilities in social judgment.
• Evaluations of Self and Others: Self-Enhancement Biases in Social Judgments
• Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health.

Cited by

• Motivated sensitivity to preference-inconsistent information.
• Enhancement Bias in Descriptions of Self and Others
• Accountability as a deterrent to self-enhancement: The search for mechanisms.
• Better, Stronger, Faster: Self-Serving Judgment, Affect Regulation, and the Optimal Vigilance Hypothesis
• The Quest for Conviction: Motivated Cognition in Romantic Relationships
• Self-enhancement [wikipedia]