Two distinct styles of self-enhancement were proposed, an Offensive Self-Enhancement Style which consisted of people exaggerating their abilities, putting themselves above others and being sensitive to failures, and a Defensive Self-Enhancement Style which consisted of acknowledgment of abilities in response to successes while buffering against failure. It was proposed that Offensive Self- Enhancement would be detrimental to happiness while Defensive Self-Enhancement would promote happiness. To test the theory, participants performed a word-arranging task and then were given either positive or negative false feedback. Participants' self-ratings of their ability at the task were analyzed and compared with various measures of happiness to determine whether the proposed self-enhancement styles exist. Results failed to support the existence of self-enhancement styles. Results were found to support a theory that accurate self-assessment acts to improve self-enhancement through motivated selection of behaviors and experiences.
","abstract_html":"<p>Two distinct styles of self-enhancement were proposed, an Offensive Self-Enhancement Style which consisted of people exaggerating their abilities, putting themselves above others and being sensitive to failures, and a Defensive Self-Enhancement Style which consisted of acknowledgment of abilities in response to successes while buffering against failure. It was proposed that Offensive Self- Enhancement would be detrimental to happiness while Defensive Self-Enhancement would promote happiness. To test the theory, participants performed a word-arranging task and then were given either positive or negative false feedback. Participants' self-ratings of their ability at the task were analyzed and compared with various measures of happiness to determine whether the proposed self-enhancement styles exist. Results failed to support the existence of self-enhancement styles. Results were found to support a theory that accurate self-assessment acts to improve self-enhancement through motivated selection of behaviors and experiences.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fors, Jason D."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Masters of Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)","degree_discipline":"Department of Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Richard Rogers","Michael Nielson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2001,"date_issued":"2001-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2001-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:00Z","subjects":["ETD","Offensive self-enhancement style","Defensive self-enhancement style","Happiness","Psychiatry and Psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd_legacy/80","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Richard Rogers","Michael Nielson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fors, Jason D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-11-03T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Masters of Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Offensive self-enhancement style","Defensive self-enhancement style","Happiness","Psychiatry and Psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd_legacy/80"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Two distinct styles of self-enhancement were proposed, an Offensive Self-Enhancement Style which consisted of people exaggerating their abilities, putting themselves above others and being sensitive to failures, and a Defensive Self-Enhancement Style which consisted of acknowledgment of abilities in response to successes while buffering against failure. It was proposed that Offensive Self- Enhancement would be detrimental to happiness while Defensive Self-Enhancement would promote happiness. To test the theory, participants performed a word-arranging task and then were given either positive or negative false feedback. Participants' self-ratings of their ability at the task were analyzed and compared with various measures of happiness to determine whether the proposed self-enhancement styles exist. Results failed to support the existence of self-enhancement styles. Results were found to support a theory that accurate self-assessment acts to improve self-enhancement through motivated selection of behaviors and experiences.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Self-Enhancement Styles Sorting Out Conflicting Evidence on the Effects of Self-Enhancing"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Richard Rogers","Michael Nielson"],"dc:creator":["Fors, Jason D."],"dc:date.available":["2014-11-03T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Two distinct styles of self-enhancement were proposed, an Offensive Self-Enhancement Style which consisted of people exaggerating their abilities, putting themselves above others and being sensitive to failures, and a Defensive Self-Enhancement Style which consisted of acknowledgment of abilities in response to successes while buffering against failure. It was proposed that Offensive Self- Enhancement would be detrimental to happiness while Defensive Self-Enhancement would promote happiness. To test the theory, participants performed a word-arranging task and then were given either positive or negative false feedback. Participants' self-ratings of their ability at the task were analyzed and compared with various measures of happiness to determine whether the proposed self-enhancement styles exist. Results failed to support the existence of self-enhancement styles. Results were found to support a theory that accurate self-assessment acts to improve self-enhancement through motivated selection of behaviors and experiences.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd_legacy/80"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Offensive self-enhancement style","Defensive self-enhancement style","Happiness","Psychiatry and Psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Self-Enhancement Styles Sorting Out Conflicting Evidence on the Effects of Self-Enhancing"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Masters of Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:00Z"}