|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
First published on May 9, 2008, doi:10.1177/0146167208317603
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2008;34:1037.
A more recent version of this article appeared on August 1, 2008
© 2008 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.
Conceptions of the Self and Others Across Time
Elanor F. Williams*
and
Thomas Gilovich
Cornell University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: efw7{at}cornell.edu.
 |
Abstract |
|---|
People are full of plans, goals, hopes, and fears—future-oriented thoughts that constitute a significant part of the self-concept. But are representations of others similarly future oriented? Studies 1a and 1b demonstrate that the future is seen as a larger component of the self than of another person. Study 2 found that because self-identity is tied to an unrealized future, the self is thought to be less knowable than others in the present. Study 3 indicates that people believe that others need to know who they are striving to be in order to be understood—more so than they believe they need to know others’ strivings to understand them. Studies 4a and 4b tested an important implication of these findings, that because so much of who they are is tied to the future, people believe they are further from their ideal selves than others are. Implications for judgment and decision making are discussed.
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati What's this?
|
