Figure 39 enhancing the self shows the number of

Figure 3.9, “Enhancing the Self,” shows the number of students in each condition who listed an
extroverted behavior first, and the number who listed an introverted behavior first. You can see that
the first memory listed by participants in both conditions tended to reflect the dimension that they had
read was related to success according to the research presented in the first experiment. In fact, 62% of
the students who had just learned that extroversion was related to success listed a memory about an
extroverted behavior first, whereas only 38% of the students who had just learned that introversion
was related to success listed an extroverted behavior first.
Figure 3.9 Enhancing the Self
The Feeling Self: Self-Esteem 138

Sanitioso, Kunda, and Fong (1990) found that students who had learned that extroverts did better
than introverts after graduating from college tended to list extroverted memories about themselves,
whereas those who learned that introverts did better than extroverts tended to list introverted
memories.
It appears that the participants drew from their memories those instances of their own behavior that
reflected the trait that had the most positive implications for their self-esteem—either introversion or
extroversion, depending on experimental condition. The desire for positive self-esteem made events
that were consistent with a positive self-perception more accessible, and thus they were listed first on
the questionnaire.
Other research has confirmed this general principle—people often attempt to create positive self-
esteem whenever possible, even it if involves distorting reality. We tend to take credit for our
successes, and to blame our failures on others. We remember more of our positive experiences and
fewer of our negative ones. As we saw in the discussion of the optimistic bias in the previous chapter
about social cognition, we judge our likelihood of success and happiness as greater than our likelihood
of failure and unhappiness. We think that our sense of humor and our honesty are above average, and
that we are better drivers and less prejudiced than others. We also distort (in a positive way, of course)
our memories of our grades, our performances on exams, and our romantic experiences. And we
believe that we can control the events that we will experience to a greater extent than we really can
(Crocker & Park, 2004).
Once again, though, there are some important cultural differences to note with people in
individualistic cultures pursuing these self-enhancing strategies more vigorously and more often than
those from more collectivistic backgrounds. Indeed, in a large-scale review of studies on self-
enhancement, Heine (2004) concluded that these tactics are not typically used in cultures that value
interdependence over dependence. In cultures where high self-esteem is not as socially valued, people
presumably do not feel the same need to distort their social realities to serve their self-worth.