Social psychological research on self-presentation of competence

• Project/Area Number: 03610060
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Psychology
• Research Institution: Tokyo woman's Christian University
• Principal Investigator: ANDO Kiyoshi Tokyo Woman's Christian University, Department of Letters and Sciences, Professor, 文理学部, 教授 (50125978)
• Project Period (FY): 1991 – 1992
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 1992)
• Budget Amount: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000); Fiscal Year 1992: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000); Fiscal Year 1991: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000)
• Keywords: Attribution / Competence / P / Self-evaluation / Self-esteem / Self-presentation / 印象操作

Research Abstract

The present study aimed at how people present one's performance in an attempt to influence other person's impression of them.
In Experiment I, 506 undergraduates were presented one of the four scenarios, which manipulated the performance level and the publicity of the performance, and asked to imagine how they would present their grade to a friend. It was found that when they got grades higher than the average, they tend to be modest.
In contrast, when they got grades lower than the average, they tend to selfpromote by presenting grade higher than the real one.
In Experiment II, the acquaintance level was introduced as an independent variable. The procedure was almost identical to that of Exp.I.It was predicted and found that when the target of self-presentation was an intimate friend, they preferred to present their exact grades. When the target was just an acquaintance, they tend to be modest in the High-grade condition, and self-promote in the Low-grade condition.