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Dziura SL, Hosangadi A, Shariq D, Merchant JS, Redcay E. Partner similarity and social cognitive traits predict social interaction success among strangers. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad045. [PMID: 37698369 PMCID: PMC10516339 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interactions are a ubiquitous part of engaging in the world around us, and determining what makes an interaction successful is necessary for social well-being. This study examined the separate contributions of individual social cognitive ability and partner similarity to social interaction success among strangers, measured by a cooperative communication task and self-reported interaction quality. Sixty participants engaged in a 1-h virtual social interaction with an unfamiliar partner (a laboratory confederate) including a 30-min cooperative 'mind-reading' game and then completed several individual tasks and surveys. They then underwent a separate functional MRI session in which they passively viewed video clips that varied in content. The neural responses to these videos were correlated with those of their confederate interaction partners to yield a measure of pairwise neural similarity. We found that trait empathy (assessed by the interpersonal reactivity index) and neural similarity to partner both predicted communication success in the mind-reading game. In contrast, perceived similarity to partner and (to a much lesser extent) trait mind-reading motivation predicted self-reported interaction quality. These results highlight the importance of sharing perspectives in successful communication as well as differences between neurobiological similarity and perceived similarity in supporting different types of interaction success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Dziura
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Aditi Hosangadi
- Center for Mind and Brain University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95618, USA
| | - Deena Shariq
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Junaid S Merchant
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Elizabeth Redcay
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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Sedikides C. On the doggedness of self-enhancement and self-protection: How constraining are reality constraints? SELF AND IDENTITY 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/15298868.2018.1562961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Constantine Sedikides
- Center for Research on Self and Identity, Psychology Department, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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Ohmann K, Burgmer P. Nothing compares to me: How narcissism shapes comparative thinking. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Sedikides C, Green JD, Saunders J, Skowronski JJ, Zengel B. Mnemic neglect: Selective amnesia of one’s faults. EUROPEAN REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/10463283.2016.1183913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Constantine Sedikides
- Centre for Research on Self and Identity, Psychology Department, University of Southampton, Southampton, S017 1BJ, England, UK
| | - Jeffrey D. Green
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
| | - Jo Saunders
- School of Psychological Sciences & Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1QE, Scotland, UK
| | - John J. Skowronski
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2892, USA
| | - Bettina Zengel
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2892, USA
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Abstract
Research has found that narcissists behave aggressively when they receive a blow to their ego. The current studies examined whether narcissistic aggression could be reduced by inducing a unit relation between the target of aggression and the aggressor. Experimental participants were told that they shared either a birthday (Study 1) or a fingerprint type (Study 2) with a partner. Control participants were not given any information indicating similarity to their partner. Before aggression was measured, the partners criticized essays written by the participants. Aggression was measured by allowing participants to give their partner loud blasts of noise through a pair of headphones. In the control groups, narcissists were especially aggressive toward their partner. However, narcissistic aggression was completely attenuated, even under ego threat, when participants believed they shared a key similarity with their partner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Konrath
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA
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Sedikides C, Wildschut T, Routledge C, Arndt J, Hepper EG, Zhou X. To Nostalgize. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aesp.2014.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
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Vess M, Arndt J, Routledge C, Sedikides C, Wildschut T. Nostalgia as a Resource for the Self. SELF AND IDENTITY 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/15298868.2010.521452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Hepper EG, Sedikides C, Cai H. Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection Strategies in China. JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1177/0022022111428515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The motive to enhance and protect positive views of the self manifests in a variety of cognitive and behavioral strategies, but its universality versus cultural specificity is debated by scholars. We sought to inform this debate by soliciting self-reports of the four principal types of self-enhancement and self-protection strategy (positivity embracement, favorable construals, self-affirming reflections, defensiveness) from a Chinese sample and comparing their structure, levels, and correlates to a Western sample. The Chinese data fit the same factor structure and were subject to the same individual differences in regulatory focus, self-esteem, and narcissism, as the Western data. Chinese participants reported lower levels of (enhancement-oriented) positivity embracement but higher levels of (protection-oriented) defensiveness than Western participants. Levels of favorable construals were also higher in the Chinese sample, with no differences in self-affirming reflections. These findings support and extend the universalist perspective on the self by demonstrating the cross-cultural structure, yet culturally sensitive manifestation, of self-enhancement motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Huajian Cai
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
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Gramzow RH, Willard G. Exaggerating current and past performance: motivated self-enhancement versus reconstructive memory. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2006; 32:1114-25. [PMID: 16861314 DOI: 10.1177/0146167206288600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The authors propose distinct reasons why individuals exaggerate their current and past performance. Current performance is of motivational and self-evaluative significance, and exaggerations of current performance often stem from motivated self-enhancement concerns. Self-reports of past performance are influenced less by motivated self-enhancement, instead reflecting more subtle biases in reconstructive memory. For students currently in college, grade point averages (GPAs) reflect a currently important goal pursuit, whereas Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores reflect a goal that was important in the past. Study 1 demonstrated that dispositional self-enhancement predicted greater GPA (but not SAT) exaggeration, whereas advanced class standing predicted greater SAT (but not GPA) exaggeration. Study 2 demonstrated that a self-affirmation manipulation attenuated the association between dispositional self-enhancement and GPA exaggeration but not the association between class standing and SAT exaggeration. The distinction between motivated self-enhancement and reconstructive memory bias has important implications for the broader literature on self-evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard H Gramzow
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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Sedikides C, Gaertner L, Vevea JL. Pancultural self-enhancement reloaded: A meta-analytic reply to Heine (2005). J Pers Soc Psychol 2005; 89:539-51. [PMID: 16287417 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.89.4.539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 237] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
C. Sedikides, L. Gaertner, and Y. Toguchi (2003) reported findings favoring the universality of self-enhancement. S. J. Heine (2005) challenged the authors' research on evidential and logical grounds. In response, the authors carried out 2 meta-analytic investigations. The results backed the C. Sedikides et al. (2003) theory and findings. Both Westerners and Easterners self-enhanced tactically. Westerners self-enhanced on attributes relevant to the cultural ideal of individualism, whereas Easterners self-enhanced on attributes relevant to the cultural ideal of collectivism (in both cases, because of the personal importance of the ideal). Self-enhancement motivation is universal, although its manifestations are strategically sensitive to cultural context. The authors respond to other aspects of Heine's critique by discussing why researchers should empirically validate the comparison dimension (individualistic vs. collectivistic) and defending why the better-than-average effect is a valid measure of self-enhancement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantine Sedikides
- Center for Research on Self and Identity, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, England.
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Delelis G, Desombre C. Inter-Group Interactions and Coping: Similar Processes. A Similar Base? SWISS JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2005. [DOI: 10.1024/1421-0185.64.2.73] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
This paper provides a brief review of the literature on inter-group relations and coping. It aims to try and bring together arguments for treating inter-group behaviours as coping activities. Differences and similarities between the two corpuses are considered. Some evidence for our proposal is also presented in terms of (a) search for similarity, (b) social comparison (and whether or not it is upward or downward comparison), and (c) links between emotions and inter-group relations. The concluding comments leave the matter open to further discussion and evidence but raise the question of the role of emotions and coping with those emotions in group-to-group positive and negative relations. We also raise the possibility that conflict management and resolution could operate as interventions based on cognitive-behavioural practices.
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Sedikides C, Rudich EA, Gregg AP, Kumashiro M, Rusbult C. Are normal narcissists psychologically healthy?: self-esteem matters. J Pers Soc Psychol 2004; 87:400-416. [PMID: 15382988 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.87.3.400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 319] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Five studies established that normal narcissism is correlated with good psychological health. Specifically, narcissism is (a) inversely related to daily sadness and dispositional depression, (b) inversely related to daily and dispositional loneliness, (c) positively related to daily and dispositional subjective well-being as well as couple well-being, (d) inversely related to daily anxiety, and (e) inversely related to dispositional neuroticism. More important, self-esteem fully accounted for the relation between narcissism and psychological health. Thus, narcissism is beneficial for psychological health only insofar as it is associated with high self-esteem. Explanations of the main and mediational findings in terms of response or social desirability biases (e.g., defensiveness, repression, impression management) were ruled out. Supplementary analysis showed that the links among narcissism, self-esteem, and psychological health were preponderantly linear.
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