Positive intelligence illusions: on the relation between intellectual self-enhancement and psychological adjustment

The relation between self‐enhancement and psychological adjustment has been debated for over 2 decades. This controversy is partly due to the variety of approaches implicated in the assessment of mainly self‐enhancement but also psychological adjustment. We adopted a face‐valid approach by statistically removing actual intellectual ability variance from self‐rated intellectual ability variance. Study 1 (N = 2,048), a concurrent Internet investigation, provided initial insight into the relation between intellectual self‐enhancement and psychological adjustment. Study 2 (N = 238), a longitudinal round‐robin investigation, allowed a closer examination of the dynamic processes underlying this relation. Self‐enhancement was positively linked to multiple indicators of intrapersonal and interpersonal adjustment, and predicted rank‐order increases in adjustment over time. The links between intellectual self‐enhancement and intrapersonal adjustment were mediated by self‐esteem. Finally, the interpersonal costs and benefits of self‐enhancement systematically varied depending on methodology.