Study Notes on Self-Consistency, Self-Enhancement, and Accuracy in Reactions to Feedback

INTRODUCTION

  • Article: "Self-Consistency, Self-Enhancement, and Accuracy in Reactions to Feedback"
    Authors: Lee Jussim, Hsiuju Yen, John R. Aiello
    Journal: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

  • Context: This research examines how different theories of self-consistency, self-enhancement, and accuracy affect how individuals react to feedback.

  • Model Predictions:

    • Self-enhancement will dominate affective reactions.

    • Self-consistency will dominate attributions and perceptions of feedback accuracy.

    • Self-evaluations and future performance expectations will reflect both self-consistency and accuracy.

  • Participants: 172 subjects received positive or negative feedback on an anagram test.

BACKGROUND

  • Self-Concept and Feedback: People actively respond to evaluations, influenced by their perceptions of self.

  • Key Theories:

    • Self-Consistency (Lecky, 1945; Secord & Backman, 1965; Swann, 1987).

    • Individuals assimilate favorable feedback and reject inconsistent feedback.

    • High self-esteem individuals accept positive feedback more and see it as accurate; low self-esteem individuals do the opposite.

    • Self-Enhancement (Epstein, 1973; Taylor & Brown, 1988).

    • Motivation to view oneself positively leads to optimism and favorable evaluations regardless of self-esteem level.

    • Accurate Self-Perception (Festinger, 1954; Strube & Roemmele, 1985).

    • Individuals desire accurate self-evaluation, affecting their utilization of feedback.

METHODOLOGY

  • Experiment Design:

    • Participants were told they were part of a teacher-student training program.

    • Feedback (positive or negative) was randomly assigned after performance on anagram tests.

  • Measures:

    • Self-Esteem Score Assessment: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

    • Feedback Reaction Assessments:

    • Affective responses via the Anxiety-State Scale.

    • Cognitive reactions (attributions and perceived feedback accuracy).

    • Self-evaluation of performance and expectations for future tests.

MODEL OF REACTIONS TO FEEDBACK

1. STAGE ONE: AFFECTIVE REACTIONS

  • Dominant Motive: Self-Enhancement

    • People generally feel better after receiving positive feedback than negative feedback.

    • Results: Significant positive affect from positive feedback.

2. STAGE TWO: COGNITIVE REACTIONS

  • Dominant Motive: Self-Consistency

  • Key Findings:

    • High self-esteem individuals accept responsibility for positive feedback and reject negative feedback, viewing it as inaccurate.

    • Low self-esteem individuals do the reverse (accept negative feedback).

  • Outcome: Self-esteem interacts with feedback type in cognitive interpretations.

3. STAGE THREE: SELF-EVALUATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS

  • Dominant Motive: Accuracy

  • Key Findings:

    • Both positive and negative feedback have main effects on self-evaluations and expectations.

    • Higher self-esteem correlates with favorable self-evaluations and higher performance expectations.

  • Accuracy importance: Acceptance of feedback influences the extent to which self-evaluations and future expectations are altered.

RESULTS

  • Confirmations of Hypotheses:

    • Self-enhancement influenced affective responses (positive feedback = higher positive affect).

    • Self-consistency moderated cognitive responses (interaction between self-esteem and feedback accuracy).

    • Predictions regarding mixed accuracy and self-consistency effects on self-evaluations and expectations were supported.

DISCUSSION

  • Contributions:

    • Developed a model that integrates self-consistency, self-enhancement, and accuracy in feedback reactions.

    • Highlighted the necessity of incorporating accuracy into understanding self evaluative processes.

    • Established that individuals' feedback responses are not solely biased but also sensitive to feedback validity.

  • Limitations:

    • Assessed motivation indirectly; relations between self-esteem and outcomes are correlational, not causal.

  • Conclusion:

    • The interplay between self-consistency, accuracy, and self-enhancement shapes individuals' responses to feedback, with implications for academic and social evaluations.