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Is social interaction based on guile or honesty?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2011

Matthew L. Brooks  and
William B. Swann Jr.
Matthew L. Brooks
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-0187. mattlbrooks@gmail.comswann@mail.utexas.eduhttp://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/faculty/swann/
William B. Swann Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-0187. mattlbrooks@gmail.comswann@mail.utexas.eduhttp://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/faculty/swann/
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Abstract

Von Hippel & Trivers suggest that people enhance their own self-views as a means of persuading others to adopt similarly inflated perceptions of them. We question the existence of a pervasive desire for self-enhancement, noting that the evidence the authors cite could reflect self-verification strivings or no motive whatsoever. An identity negotiation framework provides a more tenable approach to social interaction.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , February 2011 , pp. 17 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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