TY - JOUR
T1 - Home alone yet optimistic
T2 - social identity management amidst comparative pessimism
AU - Guenther, Corey L.
AU - Zhang, Yiyue
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - In three studies (N = 553) we found that despite reporting that others enjoy a more active social life than they do, participants believed that they possessed more social traits than their peers (Study 1), that their level of social activity exceeds the necessary standards for living a satisfying social life (Study 2), and that their social lives would improve significantly in the future (Study 3). Additionally, people were not comparatively pessimistic about the number of close friends they have (Studies 1 and 3), and their pessimism about their social engagement was associated with lowered perceived importance of the social activities in question (Study 3). Taken together, these findings suggest that people’s outlook on their social lives is not as grim as others have suggested, but rather, self-enhancing beliefs reside comfortably alongside individuals’ acknowledgments of their social deficits.
AB - In three studies (N = 553) we found that despite reporting that others enjoy a more active social life than they do, participants believed that they possessed more social traits than their peers (Study 1), that their level of social activity exceeds the necessary standards for living a satisfying social life (Study 2), and that their social lives would improve significantly in the future (Study 3). Additionally, people were not comparatively pessimistic about the number of close friends they have (Studies 1 and 3), and their pessimism about their social engagement was associated with lowered perceived importance of the social activities in question (Study 3). Taken together, these findings suggest that people’s outlook on their social lives is not as grim as others have suggested, but rather, self-enhancing beliefs reside comfortably alongside individuals’ acknowledgments of their social deficits.
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U2 - 10.1080/00224545.2022.2077688
DO - 10.1080/00224545.2022.2077688
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85130791166
JO - Journal of Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Social Psychology
SN - 0022-4545
ER -