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Selectivity in Generalizations about Self and Others from Performance

University of Utah

Lora L. Harpster

University of Utah

Sharon A. Akimoto

Carleton College

James B. Moulin

University of Utah

The willingness of perceivers to generalize about self and others from observed performance was investigated. In the first experiment, subjects judged the specific memory ability and the global intelligence of self or another after performance on a short-term memory task. Subjects drew strong inferences about the specific memory abilities of both self and others from performance. Global inferences about intelligence, however, were drawn about others but not self The second experiment examined the effects of chronic self-esteem on willingness to generalize about self: High- and low-self-esteem subjects judged their specific and global qualities after performing an anagram task. High-self-esteem subjects drew global inferences about self after good performance but not poor performance, whereas low-self-esteem subjects drew global inferences about self after poor performance but not good performance. The study provides evidence of an important mechanism that may contribute to the maintenance of global self-appraisals and chronic self-esteem.

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