Self-perception of driving abilities in older age: A systematic review

Older adults have become the fastest growing age group worldwide and will continue to make up a more significant portion of the driving population. Given the increased potential for age-related perceptual, cognitive, and physical declines, it is important to understand the perception that older drivers have regarding their own driving abilities. This awareness often motivates their driving behavior and patterns.A systematic review was conducted to synthesize the literature regarding the self-perception of driving abilities in older age. The PRISMA method was used and 10 databases (SCOPUS, TRID, PsycINFO, AgeLine, Web of Science, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, Inspec, Compendex, PubMed, and Medline) were searched to identify relevant articles. A total of 25 articles met the search criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis.Overall, methods used to assess self-perception of driving abilities in older adults vary considerably. Some studies employ only subjective questionnaires, while others administer questionnaires in addition to on-road driving or simulated evaluations. Nonetheless, the studies overwhelmingly report that older drivers tend to rate highly, and often overestimate, their driving abilities. They perceive their driving abilities to be better than themselves at a younger age, their cohorts, and all other drivers. However, more work is needed to develop improved subjective assessments that guide drivers in more accurately estimating their true driving abilities, as well as to compare subjective ratings to objective performance-based measures of driving abilities.This review may assist researchers in better understanding the characteristics that influence driving self-perception and may inform the development of interventional strategies that help older drivers to better calibrate how they perceive their driving.     

Effects of Self-Perception of Reading Skill on Absolute Accuracy of Metacomprehension Judgements

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of self-perception of reading skill as a critical cue for metacomprehension assessment. To achieve our objective, we inspected how self-perception of reading skill explains judgements of reading comprehension and their absolute accuracy. The study results supported our hypotheses: (1) self-perception of reading skill was predictive of metacomprehension predictions even when actual reading skill was controlled for; (2) the extent to which self-perception of reading skill deviated from actual reading skill accounted for the degree to which absolute accuracy of predictions was limited; and (3) more-skilled readers were less likely to overestimate their general reading skill and their reading performance in specific texts than less-skilled readers. However, (4) self-perception of reading skill was more highly related to postdictions than predictions of test performance, which was counter to expectations. We conclude that self-perception of reading skill influences metacomprehension assessments and their absolute accuracy.     

Self as the Target and the Perceiver: A Componential Approach to Self-Enhancement

In this paper, we review the recent literature on the debate over the value of self-enhancement. Past studies fall into two distinct sets, each in the context of a different research tradition. The componential approach to self-enhancement integrates these two divergent perspectives and takes seriously the interplay of self-perception and interpersonal perception. Instead of global indices, the componential approach identifies specific components of person perception. By partitioning the components in self-perception, the componential approach allows for better understanding of the dynamic interactive effects of self-enhancement bias and other components in self-perception on adjustment. We conclude the paper by discussing the emerging attempts to advance a componential approach to examine self-perception in terms of components and outcomes.     

The closer we are, the more we are alike: The effect of self-other merging on depersonalized self-perception

The present study examined whether or not the extent to which people include other group members in the self, influences depersonalized self-perception (i.e., perceiving self and others as similar in terms of group characteristics). The results revealed that self-other merging positively influenced feelings of belongingness and identification with the in-group. Furthermore, a strong experience of self-other merging was shown to lead to depersonalized self-perception as measured by a self-assimilation and an in-group homogeneity index. Finally, results also revealed that feelings of belongingness and group identification mediated, at least partly, the effect of self-other merging on depersonalized self-perception. The findings are discussed in light of the literature on self-expansion.     

The Effect of Message Persistence and Disclosure on Liking in Computer-Mediated Communication

In computer-mediated communication (CMC) systems, the messages that a user types usually persist on the screen for some time, a feature that distinguishes CMC from face-to-face interaction. Persistence may activate psychological self-perception, leading communicators to infer from their persistent messaging how they feel about the subject more so than if messages did not persist. This study applies persistence and self-perception to the relationships between self-disclosure and liking. It identifies which among several disclosure or liking relationships may be most susceptible to self-perception effects. An experiment found that message persistence interacts with a conversational partner’s responses to self-disclosure and intensifies liking toward the partner. Suggestions follow for future research further exploring the mechanisms of persistence, and reconceptualizing self-perception factors in interactive media settings.     

The closer we are,the more we are alike: The effect of self-other merging on depersonalized self-perception

The present study examined whether or not the extent to which people include other group members in the self, influences depersonalized self-perception (i.e., perceiving self and others as similar in terms of group characteristics). The results revealed that self-other merging positively influenced feelings of belongingness and identification with the in-group. Furthermore, a strong experience of self-other merging was shown to lead to depersonalized self-perception as measured by a self-assimilation and an in-group homogeneity index. Finally, results also revealed that feelings of belongingness and group identification mediated, at least partly, the effect of self-other merging on depersonalized self-perception. The findings are discussed in light of the literature on self-expansion.     

儿童拒绝敏感性与自我知觉的关系:一项交叉滞后研究

采用儿童拒绝敏感性问卷与儿童自我知觉量表对596名中小学儿童进行了为期一年的追踪调查,通过交叉滞后回归分析考察儿童拒绝敏感性与多种自我知觉间的预测关系。结果发现：（1）自我知觉的年级差异显著,初中儿童的自我知觉水平较低;（2）在两次测量中,拒绝敏感性与多种自我知觉均呈显著的负相关;（3）控制性别、年级以及自身稳定性之后,第一年的多种自我知觉均可以负向预测第二年的拒绝敏感性,而第一年的拒绝敏感性仅可以负向预测第二年的体貌及一般自我知觉;（4）年级调节了拒绝敏感性与一般和行为自我知觉间的纵向关系,并在小学与初中儿童中表现出不同的模式。研究证实自我知觉是儿童拒绝敏感性形成的重要原因之一,为儿童社会认知及心理健康的相关研究提供新的实证依据。     

道德“沾光”效应：道德评价对道德自我知觉及道德行为的影响

人们喜欢关注道德事件并表达自己的立场。以往研究发现回忆自己(而非他人)的道德行为能影响个体的道德自我知觉和道德行为。本研究关注参与道德评价是否会对个体的道德自我和道德行为产生影响。2个研究共同发现：(1)存在道德“沾光”效应：评价支持他人的道德事件,或反对他人的不道德事件,能提升个体的道德自我知觉;(2)道德评价通过提升道德自我知觉,进一步增加个体的道德行为。     

儿童拒绝敏感性与自我知觉的关系:一项交叉滞后研究

采用儿童拒绝敏感性问卷与儿童自我知觉量表对596名中小学儿童进行了为期一年的追踪调查,通过交叉滞后回归分析考察儿童拒绝敏感性与多种自我知觉间的预测关系。结果发现：（1）自我知觉的年级差异显著,初中儿童的自我知觉水平较低;（2）在两次测量中,拒绝敏感性与多种自我知觉均呈显著的负相关;（3）控制性别、年级以及自身稳定性之后,第一年的多种自我知觉均可以负向预测第二年的拒绝敏感性,而第一年的拒绝敏感性仅可以负向预测第二年的体貌及一般自我知觉;（4）年级调节了拒绝敏感性与一般和行为自我知觉间的纵向关系,并在小学与初中儿童中表现出不同的模式。研究证实自我知觉是儿童拒绝敏感性形成的重要原因之一,为儿童社会认知及心理健康的相关研究提供新的实证依据。     

This time with motivation: The implications of social neuroscience for research on motivated self- and other-perception (and vice versa)

Early neural research on self-evaluation began testing whether self-evaluation was somehow neurally different than evaluations of other people and inanimate objects. Self-evaluation was lauded as potentially unique partially because of motivational and affective influences. Despite the acknowledgement that motivation influences social cognition such as self-perception, neural models of self-perception have been conspicuously silent on how motivational states affect the neural level of analysis. What can be learned by examining motivational influences on the neural systems underlying social cognition including self-perception? An emerging body of neural research on self-enhancement motivation (i.e., the motivation to see one’s self in a positive light) is described and its implications for longstanding psychological questions about self-enhancement are discussed. Finally, several additional avenues for using the neural level of analysis to test questions about motivational influences on social cognition are discussed.     

Knowing others through the self—Influence of self-perception on perception of others: A review

The literature relating to the influence of self-perception on the perception of others is reviewed. Projective effects are shown to occur in judgments of a wide range of psychological characteristics. Cognitive and dissonance theories of the projective process are critically examined. Drawing on the developmental literature, a cognitive theory of the projective process is proposed in which projective phenomena are conceptualized as side effects of a basic mechanism involved in knowing others.     

In search of information that confirms a desired self-perception: motivated processing of social feedback and choice of social interactions

The present studies examined how the motivation to see oneself as characterized by desirable attributes may influence feedback seeking and social preferences. In Study 1, participants were first led to believe that extraversion or introversion is conducive of success. Next, they received false feedback about themselves, related to extraversion and to introversion. In a surprise recall, extraversion-success participants remembered extraversion feedback more accurately and introversion feedback less, compared to introversion-success participants. Study 2 examined preferences for others as potential sources of feedback. The findings revealed that extraversion-success participants preferred others who perceived them as extraverted, whereas introversion-success participants preferred others who perceived them as introverted. Thus, people appear to rely on how others regard them to realize a desired self-perception. These processes, oriented more toward social and interpersonal aspects of the self, complement the more intrapersonal processes of motivated self-perception studied in the past.     

On the relationship of data to theory: A reply to Ronis and Greenwald

Ronis and Greenwald (Dissonance theory revised again: Comment on the paper by Fazio, Zanna, and Cooper. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 15, 1979, 62–69) question our integrative formulation of dissonance and self-perception processes. We argue that our formulation provides an explanation of both the full range of results in the literature and our own experimental data, while neither dissonance nor self-perception theory can singly explain the existing data.     

青少年早期负面评价恐惧的发展轨迹及其影响因素

采用问卷法对977名初中生在校三年间负面评价恐惧的发展状况进行三次追踪测试，通过建构潜变量增长模型，检验初中生负面评价恐惧的变化趋势，并考察学业自尊和社交自尊对负面评价恐惧变化的影响。结果发现：（1）初中青少年负面评价恐惧呈上升趋势；（2）从初一到初三，学生较高的学业自尊和社交自尊显著抑制负面评价恐惧的增长；（3）性别对负面评价恐惧发展轨迹的影响是由于自尊的性别差异引起的。     

Self-deception's adaptive value: effects of positive thinking and the winner effect

There is a puzzle about why self-deception, a process that obscures the truth, is so pervasive in human behavior given that tracking the truth seems important for our survival and reproduction. William von Hippel and Robert Trivers argue that, despite appearances, there is good reason to think that self-deception is an adaptation by arguing: (1) self-deception leads to a positive self-perception and (2) a positive self-perception increases an individual's fitness. D.S. Neil Van Leeuwen, however, gives persuasive arguments against both steps. In response, we will defend both propositions, thereby supporting the conclusion that self-deception indeed has adaptive value. The first premise will be bolstered by a survey of the philosophical literature and empirical work on self-deception, whereas the second will be strengthened by empirical research on a behavioral phenomenon known as the winner effect.     

Metaperception Accuracy: An Israeli Study

Research on meta-accuracy (the ability of people to know how others view them) has indicated that people do not know how they are differentially seen by others. Although Kenny and DePaulo (1993) have explained this finding by self-perception theory, it seems likely that feedback from the partner should be a factor in meta-accuracy. The present study examined meta-accuracy within an Israeli group-interaction setting. It was assumed that the directness and straight talk typical of interpersonal communication in Israeli society would greatly improve feedback and, therefore, would increase meta-accuracy as well. A group assessment procedure was administered to 154 female candidates to educational programs at a university and a teacher-training college. Despite the inclusion of group activities expected to enhance interaction and feedback, the assessment procedure was found to generate a rather low level of meta-accuracy, supporting Kenny and DePaulo's (1993) self-perception theory.     

Self-disclosure and liking: Effects for senders and receivers1

This experiment tested the social reward potential of self-disclosure and its impact on a receiver's attraction towards the sender. Further, a sender self-perception effect was tested. Just as a receiver is speculated to use the intimacy level of a disclosure as an indication of sender regard and trust, the self-perception hypothesis maintains that the sender also uses intimacy level to self-attribute liking and trust for the receiver. A forced-compliance procedure with college males was used to have a sender subject send either a high or low intimacy self-disclosure essay. Consistent with the social reward and self-perception hypotheses were measures of sender's behavior as trusting and measures of feelings during the disclosure process. General measures of liking and trust were not successful, however.     

Multidimensional Self-Perception of Sexually Abused Girls: Factor Models and Differences Between Sexual Abuse and Comparison Groups

This study investigated the multiple dimensions of self-perception in a sample of sexually abused and nonabused comparison girls (n = 140), with particular attention to self-perception in the scholastic, social, athletic, physical (appearance), and behavioral conduct domains. First, this study examined whether the five dimensions of self-perception were psychologically discrete. Second, the relationships between the self-perception factors and childhood sexual abuse were investigated using structural equation modeling. The results supported the multidimensionality of self-perception and suggested the presence of two distinct second-order self-perception factors: academic- and social-self. While the sexually abused girls indicated less positive perception for the academic-self than the comparison group, the two groups did not differ regarding the social-self. The findings highlight the importance of a multidimensional approach to self-perception in assessing and treating sexually abused children.     

The abused child as parent: Perception of self and other

Although not all abused children grow up to be abusive parents, it is well known that people who were severely mistreated by their parents as compared to those who were not are at higher risk for mistreating their children. It has also been shown that abusive parents often have unrealistic expectations for their children—expectations based on distorted perceptions of their children's needs, feelings, and abilities. In this paper, we examine the utility of new methods developed in social psychology to study: (1) the impact of abuse on the structure and content of interpersonal and self-perception and (2) the interrelationships among an abused mother's social and self-perception, the quality of her interactions with her child, and the child's development. Case studies will be presented to illustrate how these new methods reflect risk for abuse as predicted independently by clinicians treating the cases.