PERSONAL CONTACT, INDIVIDUATION, AND THE BETTER-THAN-AVERAGE EFFECT

Research in which people compare themselves with an average peer has c onsistently shown that people evaluate themselves more favorably than they evaluate others. Seven studies were conducted to demonstrate that the magnitude of this better-than-average effect depends on the level of abstraction in the comparison. These studies showed that people we re less biased when they compared themselves with an individuated targ et than when they compared themselves with a nonindividuated target, n amely, the average college student. The better-than-average effect was reduced more when the observer had personal contact with the comparis on target than when no personal contact was established. Differences i n the magnitude of the better-than-average effect could not be attribu ted to the contemporaneous nature of the target's presentation, commun ication from the target, perceptual vividness, implied evaluation, or perceptions of similarity.