Indirect Ingratiation: Pleasing People by Associating Them with Successful Others and by Praising Their Associates

Most of the literature on impression management considers direct tactics such as self‐promoting by mentioning personal achievements and ingratiating by complimenting others. These direct tactics can backfire if the target recognizes the hidden motive behind them. Therefore, people often use indirect impression management tactics. Previous research has shown that people promote themselves indirectly by associating themselves with successful others or by magnifying the characteristics of others to whom they are connected. The current research suggests that when the motive is ingratiation, the impression manager highlights the success of a person who is close to the target of ingratiation. The four experiments of the current research documented this tactic and examined its consequences for the impression manager and for the target.