Describe three biases that lead to self-enhancement. Explain how these biases bolster the self-concept

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The textbook describes four biases that lead to self-enhancement: self-serving
cognitions, self-handicapping, basking in reflected glory, and downward social
comparisons. Self-serving cognitions are unjustified positive beliefs that people hold
about themselves. For example, people may exaggerate their actual performance on
the SAT or be much more optimistic about their chances of avoiding a divorce or
getting cancer than the rates corresponding to these events justify. Self-serving
cognitions provide evidence of the robust nature of the self-concept and comprise the
means by which positive self-conceptions are maintained even when they are not
accurate. Self-handicapping is the purposeful engagement in actions that will
undermine a later performance. These actions provide the self-handicapper with a
reasonable excuse for poor performance on the later task, thereby bolstering his or her
self-concept from the negative implications of failure (as well as making actual success
all the more impressive). Basking in reflected glory refers to the desire to affiliate with
individuals or groups that are successful. For example, people are much more likely to
wear team colors after the team wins a game than after it loses. By associating with
the winning group, people can claim some of its success, thus bolstering their selfconcepts. Finally, downward social comparisons are comparisons with others who are
doing worse than you are. These comparisons can bolster the self-concept by placing
the self in a context where it appears to be doing relatively well.