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Volume 31, Issue 1
  • ISSN 0929-0907
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9943
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Abstract

Abstract

Self-enhancing statements can provide useful information. Why do we resent those who make them? We suggest that the resentment comes from a broader claim of superiority that self-enhancing statements can imply. In three experiments, we compared one condition, designed such that the self-enhancing claim would be perceived as a claim of superiority, to three conditions providing different contextual reasons for why the self-enhancing claim might not be a claim of superiority. In those conditions the self-enhancing claim is either called for, addressed to someone who performs better than the self-enhancer, or addressed to someone who doesn’t compete in the domain mentioned of the self-enhancing claim. The results show that participants disliked the self-enhancer more and were more likely to deem the self-enhancing claim to be a brag when the self-enhancing claim was manipulated to be a claim of superiority.

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2024-10-11
2025-04-21

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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): bragging; condescension; dominance; reputation management; self-enhancement

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