Overview
Humans evolved in a manner so as to have a sense of self that includes the motivation to act in a way that enhances our opinion of ourselves as well as others opinions about us. This tendency motivates us to perform many behaviors that benfit us both in the short and long-term. But this tendency can also be a source of bias. We invite the reader to consider the needs of the self as a useful lens through which to view various kinds of bias towards developing a more organized understanding of the subject.
Concepts
| Name | Description | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Motivation | The experience of desire or aversion (you want something, or want to avoid or escape something). | [1] |
| Self-concept | A collection of beliefs about oneself. | [2] [3] |
| Self-esteem | An individual's subjective evaluation of their own worth. | [4] |
| Self-enhancement | A type of motivation that works to make people feel good about themselves and to maintain self-esteem. | [5] [6] |
| Self-presentation | Conveying information about oneself – or an image of oneself – to others. | [7] |
| Self-serving bias | Any cognitive or perceptual process that is distorted by the need to maintain and enhance self-esteem, or the tendency to perceive oneself in an overly favorable manner. | [8] [9] |
Perspective
- We can improve our decisions and interpretations by being aware of the self and its needs.
- We can engineer decision-making and interpretation contexts to prevent the needs of the self from being triggered and affecting our clarity of understanding. For example, not associating the success of projects or positions of interpretation with the advancement or perception of individuals (in terms of formal organizational processes).
- Consider acknowledging whether you are identifying with one option or perspective (including if the opptions differ in how they would affect your esteem or presentation); the same assessment can be made of others in decision or interpretation processes. Including by asking the question "who benefits and who loses in regard to esteem and presentation?" for each available option.
References & Acknowledgements
[1] Wikipedia contributors. "Motivation." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Jul. 2020. Web. 24 Jul. 2020.
[2] Wikipedia contributors. "Self-concept." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Jul. 2020. Web. 24 Jul. 2020.
[3] Leflot, Geertje; Onghena, Patrick; Colpin, Hilde (2010). "Teacher–child interactions: relations with children's self-concept in second grade". Infant and Child Development. 19 (4): 385–405. doi:10.1002/icd.672. ISSN 1522-7219.
[4] Wikipedia contributors. "Self-esteem." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Jul. 2020. Web. 24 Jul. 2020.
[5] Wikipedia contributors. "Self-serving bias." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 Mar. 2020. Web. 24 Jul. 2020.
[6] Wikipedia contributors. "Self-enhancement." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 15 Apr. 2020. Web. 24 Jul. 2020.
[7] Sedikides, C.; Strube, M. J. (1995), "The Multiply Motivated Self", Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21 (12): 1330–1335.
[8] Wikipedia contributors. "Impression management." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Jul. 2020. Web. 24 Jul. 2020.
[9] Myers, D.G. (2015). Exploring Social Psychology, 7th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Education.
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