Individual Differences in Self-Enhancement in Terms of One’s Personality Traits: Relationships with Ruminations and Regulatory Focus

Abstract

While personality researchers have shown interest in studying self-enhancement, they have not extensively focused on its relationships with distinct cognitive and motivational variables. This exploratory study aims to investigate whether overestimating one’s personality traits is related to a lower level of ruminations, a higher promotion regulatory focus, and a lower prevention focus. Promotion regulatory focus involves self-regulation based on one’s striving for an ideal-self, as opposed to an ought-self, which is typical of a prevention regulatory focus. Self-enhancement occurs when the level of self-rated personality traits exceeds that of informant-rated personality traits. The Five-Factor personality traits were considered: emotional stability, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Certain hypotheses found empirical support. Self-enhancement in different traits were linked to different cognitive and motivational variables. Primarily, an overly positive self-view of one’s emotional stability was accompanied by a lower level of intrusive rumination, a higher level of promotion focus, and a lower prevention focus. The self-enhancement in extraversion was related to a higher level of promotion focus and a lower level of intrusive ruminations while self-enhancement in conscientiousness was linked to a higher promotion focus. Methodological issues and hypothesis formulation were further discussed.