The "better than myself effect"

Participants in three studies were asked to estimate the percentage of time s they exhibited polar ends of a trait dimension (e.g., behaved cooperative ly or uncooperatively) when the opportunity to display that trait arose, an d then to evaluate their standing on the trait based on their behavioral es timates. Approximately 6 weeks later participants were provided with behavi or estimates that purportedly represented the average estimates of their pe ers and asked to evaluate the average person's standing on the trait dimens ion. The "better than myself effect" is reflected in the finding that peopl e consistently evaluate themselves more favorably than others, even when th e behavioral estimates on which they base their ratings of the average pers on are the identical estimates they provided for themselves. Study I demons trated the basic "better than myself effect," and Study 2 showed that parti cipants did not alter their behavior estimates when they learned that the a verage person's estimates were the same as their own. Study 3 demonstrated the "better than myself" effect in comparisons with a randomly selected pee r rather than the average peer A fourth study, using a different methodolog y, showed that people who wrote behavior descriptions to represent their st anding on a trait dimension, and then read similar trait descriptions from a randomly selected peer also continued to evaluate themselves more favorab ly than others, despite basing these evaluations on behavior descriptions t hat were presumably no more favorable than those provided by others.