Self-Insight: Roadblocks and Detours on the Path to Knowing Thyself (Essays in Social Psychology)

People base thousands of choices across a lifetime on the views they hold of their skill and moral character, yet a growing body of research in psychology shows that such self-views are often misguided or misinformed. Anyone who has dealt with others in the classroom, in the workplace, in the medical office, or on the therapist's couch has probably experienced people whose opinions of themselves depart from the objectively possible. This book outlines some of the common errors that people make when they evaluate themselves. It also describes the many psychological barriers - some that people build by their own hand - that prevent individuals from achieving self-insight about their ability and character. The first section of the book focuses on mistaken views of competence, and explores why people often remain blissfully unaware of their incompetence and personality flaws. The second section focuses on faulty views of character, and explores why people tend to perceive they are more unique and special than they really are, why people tend to possess inflated opinions of their moral fiber that are not matched by their deeds, and why people fail to anticipate the impact that emotions have on their choices and actions. The book will be of great interest to students and researchers in social, personality, and cognitive psychology, but, through the accessibility of its writing style, it will also appeal to those outside of academic psychology with an interest in the psychological processes that lead to our self-insight. Behavioral Sciences BOOK COVER 1 HALF-TITLE 2 TITLE 5 COPYRIGHT 6 CONTENTS 8 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 14 PREFACE 15 CHAPTER 1 Thales’s Lament 18 Evidence of Inaccurate Self-Views 20 Correlational Evidence 20 Overconfidence 23 The Journey Ahead 26 CHAPTER 2 Ignorance as Bliss 28 The Anosognosia of Everyday Life 29 Awareness among the Incompetent: Empirical Studies 31 Complaints 34 Evidence for Metacognitive Deficits Among the Incompetent 35 Assessing Metacognitive Skill 35 Altering Metacognitive Skill 37 Further Complaints 38 When People Recognize Their Incompetence 38 The Burden of the Highly Competent 39 Other Processes That Interfere with Self-Insight 42 Denial 42 Errors of Omission 43 Concluding Remarks 47 Endnote 48 CHAPTER 3 Clues for Competence 50 This Chapter’s Agenda 50 Basing Confidence on Explicit Reasoning 52 Our Knowledge Is Accurate, but Incomplete 53 Our Knowledge Is Largely Accurate but Has a Few “Bugs” 53 Our Knowledge Is Only “Pseudorelevant” 54 The Problem of Confirmatory Bias 58 Basing Confidence on Fluency 61 Problems 62 Recent Exposure Can Mislead 63 Repetition Can Mislead 63 Implications for Learning 64 Top-Down Confidence: The Use of Pre-Existing Self-Views 66 Altering Performance Estimates by Playing with Self-Views 68 Problems with Self-Perceived Expertise 69 Societal Consequences 70 Concluding Remarks 72 CHAPTER 4 The Dearest Teacher 74 Learning from Experience: Some Data 75 Why Feedback Fails to Inform 76 Feedback Is Probabilistic 76 Feedback Is Incomplete 77 Feedback Is Hidden 77 Feedback Is Ambiguous 78 Feedback Is Absent 78 Feedback Is Biased 79 Flawed Habits in Monitoring Feedback 80 People Focus on Positive Co-occurrences 81 People Create Self-Fulfilling Prophecies 82 People Fail to Recognize Their Mistakes in Hindsight 82 People Disproportionately Seek Feedback Consistent with Their Self-Image 83 People Accept Positive Feedback, Scrutinize Negative 84 People Code Positive Actions Broadly, Negative Ones Narrowly 85 People Attribute Positive Outcomes to Self, Negative Ones to Anyone or Anything Else 87 People Misremember Feedback 87 Concluding Remarks 88 CHAPTER 5 False Uniqueness 90 Controllability 91 Missing Insights 94 Beliefs About Others 94 Beliefs About the Self 94 Overcoming the Controllability Bias 96 A Digression About Comparative Judgment 97 Egocentric Thought 99 Observability 101 Pluralistic Ignorance 102 Emotion 102 Uncertainty and Ambivalence 103 Inhibition 103 Consequences 104 Interventions 105 Concluding Remarks 106 CHAPTER 6 In a Word 108 The Vagueness of Traits 109 Judging Others 110 Self-Bias 111 The Genesis of Self-Serving Trait Definitions 113 Vertical Versus Horizontal Ambiguity 115 Consequences 117 Concluding Remarks 118 CHAPTER 7 The Merest Decency 120 The Moral Pedestal 121 Moral Behavior Is Desirable 122 Moral Behavior Is Controllable 122 Moral Behavior Is Ambiguous 123 A Vexing Ambiguity 123 Which Error Is It? 124 Basic Findings 124 Sensitivity to Moral Principles Versus Self-Interest 125 Why Wrong About the Self? 128 A Surprising Competence 128 Internal Versus External Approaches to Prediction 129 The Neglect of Distributional Information 130 Application to Moral Prediction 131 Accentuating the Positive a Little Too Much 132 Long-Term Sources of Error 133 What Good Is Self-Knowledge? 135 Consequences of Illusory Perceptions of Moral Superiority 137 Attributional Consequences 137 Behavioral Consequences 138 Concluding Remarks 141 CHAPTER 8 Beyond One’s Self 144 The Importance of Getting the Situation Right 144 Misconstruing the Situation 145 “Underconstruing” the Situation 147 Implications 150 Time Course of Confidence 150 The Relation of Attitudes to Behavior 150 The Emotional Dimension 152 Fear, Embarrassment, and Social Inhibition 154 Emotions in the Long Term 157 Misunderstanding Ownership 158 Learning About Endowment, or Rather, Not 161 Concluding Remarks 163 9 CHAPTER Reflections on Self-Reflection 166 Themes and Variations 167 The Inherent Difficulty of Self-Judgment 167 The Information Environment 168 Unburying the Lede: Blame the Task, Not the Person 170 Judgment as an Arrogant Act 170 Neglected Sources of Wisdom 172 Data from the Past 172 Data from Others 172 Thinking Others Are Not Relevant to the Self 173 Not Thinking of Others at All 173 Using Others as a Crucial Source of Information 174 Summary 175 Lingering Questions 176 Is Self-Judgment Always So Inaccurate? 176 An Example of Accurate Self-Appraisal 177 Peeling Away the Advantages 178 Is It So Bad to Hold Erroneous Views of Self? 179 A Stipulation About Optimism 179 Reconciliation 184 Correcting Erroneous Self-Views 186 Self-Affirmation 186 Specificity of Feedback 187 Focusing on the Malleability of Skills 189 Summary 189 Minor Everests 190 REFERENCES 192 AUTHOR INDEX 224 SUBJECT INDEX 236 "People base thousands of choices across a lifetime on the views they hold of their skill and moral character, yet a growing body of research in psychology shows that such self-views are often misguided or misinformed. Anyone who has dealt with others in the classroom, in the workplace, in the medical office, or on the therapist' s couch has probably experienced people whose opinions of themselves depart from the objectively possible. This book outlines some of the common errors that people make when they evaluate themselves. It also describes the many psychological barriers - some that people build by their own hand - that prevent individuals from achieving self-insight about their ability and character. The first section of the book focuses on mistaken views of competence, and explores why people often remain blissfully unaware of their incompetence and personality flaws. The second section focuses on faulty views of character, and explores why people tend to perceive they are more unique and special than they really are, why people tend to possess inflated opinions of their moral fiber that are not matched by their deeds, and why people fail to anticipate the impact that emotions have on their choices and actions. The book will be of great interest to students and researchers in social, personality, and cognitive psychology, bu, through the accessibility of its writing style, it will also appeal to those outside of academic psychology with an interest in the psychological processes that lead to our self-insight"--Unedited summary from book cover People Base Thousands Of Choices Across A Lifetime On The Views They Hold Of Their Skill And Moral Character, Yet A Growing Body Of Research In Psychology Shows That Such Self-views Are Often Misguided Or Misinformed. Anyone Who Has Dealt With Others In The Classroom, In The Workplace, In The Medical Office, Or On The Therapist's Couch Has Probably Experienced People Whose Opinions Of Themselves Depart From The Objectively Possible. This Book Outlines Some Of The Common Errors That People Make When They Evaluate Themselves. It Also Describes The Many Psychological Barriers -- Some That People Build By Their Own Hand -- That Prevent Individuals From Achieving Self-insight About Their Ability And Character. The First Section Of The Book Focuses On Mistaken Views Of Competence, And Explores Why People Often Remain Blissfully Unaware Of Their Incompetence And Personality Flaws. The Second Section Focuses On Faulty Views Of Character, And Explores Why People Tend To Perceive They Are More Unique And Special Than They Really Are, Why People Tend To Possess Inflated Opinions Of Their Moral Fiber That Are Not Matched By Their Deeds, And Why People Fail To Anticipate The Impact That Emotions Have On Their Choices And Actions. The Book Will Be Of Great Interest To Students And Researchers In Social, Personality, And Cognitive Psychology, But, Through The Accessibility Of Its Writing Style, It Will Also Appeal To Those Outside Of Academic Psychology With An Interest In The Psychological Processes Which Lead To Our Self-insight. This Book Outlines Some Of The Common Errors That People Make When They Evaluate Themselves. It Also Describes The Many Psychological Barriers - Some That People Build By Their Own Hand - That Prevent Individuals Form Achieving Self-insight About Their Ability And Character. The First Section Of The Book Focuses On Mistaken Views Of Competence, And Explores Why People Often Remain Blissfully Unaware Of Their Incompetence And Personality Flaws. The Second Section Focuses On Faulty Views Of Character, And Explores Why People Tend To Perceive They Are More Unique And Special Than They Really Are, Why People Tend To Possess Inflated Opinions Of Their Moral Fiber That Are Not Matched By Their Deeds, And Why People Fail To Anticipate The Impact That Emotions Have On Their Choices And Actions. The Book Will Be Of Great Interest To Students And Researchers In Social, Personality, And Cognitive Psychology, But, Through The Accessibility Of Its Writing Style, It Will Also Appeal To Those Outside Of Academic Psychology With An Interest In The Psychological Processes That Lead To Our Self-insight.--jacket. Ch. 1. Thales's Lament : On The Vagaries Of Self-assessment -- Ch. 2. Ignorance As Bliss -- Ch. 3. Clues For Competence -- Ch. 4. The Dearest Teacher -- Ch. 5. False Uniqueness -- Ch. 6. In A Word -- Ch. 7. The Merest Decency -- Ch. 8. Beyond One's Self -- Ch. 9. Reflections On Self-reflection. David Dunning. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 185-207) And Indexes. Focuses on mistaken views of competence, and explores why people often remain blissfully unaware of their incompetence and personality flaws. This book also focuses on faulty views of character, and explores why people tend to perceive they are more unique and special than they really are. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be standing just outside the village of Namche, in the crisp and arid air of Nepal, staring up at the mountain that the locals refer to as Sagarmatha, the goddess of the sky.