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Self-Esteem and Self-Serving Biases in Reactions to Positive and Negative Events: An Integrative Review

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Self-Esteem

Part of the book series: The Plenum Series in Social / Clinical Psychology ((SSSC))

Abstract

The self-serving bias refers to the tendency of people to interpret and explain outcomes in ways that have favorable implications for the self. The term bias often implies distorted or inaccurate perception that can be shown to be erroneous according to some objective standard. But according to the Random House College Dictionary (1975), a bias is also “a tendency or inclination of outlook; a subjective point of view” (p. 131). Similarly, the Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1976) defines a bias as “an inclination of temperament or outlook; esp. a highly personal and unreasoned distortion of judgment” (p. 106). In this chapter, we regard self-serving biases as judgments or interpretations of oneself, one’s behavior, and the behavior of others in ways that are favorable to the self, without requiring that such judgments be accurate according to some objective standard. We also begin with no assumptions that biases necessarily reflect motivated distortions in reasoning, rather than normal cognitive processes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, 14260, Amherst, NY, USA

    Bruce Blaine & Jennifer Crocker

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  1. Bruce Blaine
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  2. Jennifer Crocker
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  1. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Roy F. Baumeister

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© 1993 Plenum Press, New York

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Blaine, B., Crocker, J. (1993). Self-Esteem and Self-Serving Biases in Reactions to Positive and Negative Events: An Integrative Review. In: Baumeister, R.F. (eds) Self-Esteem. The Plenum Series in Social / Clinical Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8956-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8956-9_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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