Self-deception as a mediator of the relationship between dispositions and subjective well-being

The impact of social comparison on self-deception: An event-related potentials study

Self-deception refers to an individual holding inflated beliefs about their abilities, and it plays a crucial role in human behavior and decision-making. The present study employed event-related potentials (ERPs) technique to explore the neural responses to the impacts of social comparison direction and comparison gap on self-deceptive behavior. They were instructed to predict their performance in the forward-looking paradigm. Behavioral responses and neural reactions during the decision-making process were documented. The behavioral results indicated that, in contrast to the downward comparison condition, participants engaged in upward comparison exhibited more occurrences of self-deception. However, within the context of upward comparison, participants demonstrated a higher frequency of self-deception in the large gap condition compared with the small gap condition. The ERP results showed that induced self-deception under conditions with a large comparative gap between participants and their paired counterparts stimulated larger P300 and smaller N400 amplitude than under conditions with a small gap. However, when participants were in the upward comparison situation, the late positive potential (LPP) amplitude induced by self-deception behavior in the condition of a large comparison gap between participants and paired opponents was larger than that in the condition of a small comparison gap. These results indicated that individuals in the large gap group feel strong unfairness and negative emotions. More importantly, the self-deception induced by the large gap group in the upward comparison situation used fewer cognitive resources than the small gap condition, whereas the individuals in the downward comparison situation did not show the difference in cognitive resources.

Constructive thinking as a mediator of the relationship between extraversion, neuroticism, and subjective well‐being

Mechanisms by which personality affects well‐being are not well understood. Following recommendations to examine intermediate process variables that may help explain the personality–subjective well‐being (SWB) relationship, the authors tested whether constructive thinking (CT) mediated the relationships between both neuroticism and extraversion and SWB components. Measures of each construct were administered to 147 undergraduate volunteers twice over four weeks. In analyses controlling for time 1 SWB and time 2 mood, time 2 CT fully mediated the relationship between time 1 neuroticism and time 2 negative affect and emerged as a strong predictor of negative affect (inversely), positive affect, and happiness. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Do the happy-go-lucky?

While popular aphorisms and etymologies across diverse languages suggest an intrinsic association between happiness and luck beliefs, empirically testing the existence of any potential link has historically been constrained by varying and unclear conceptualizations of luck beliefs and by their sub-optimally valid measurement. Employing the Thompson and Prendergast Personality and Individual Differences, 54(4), 501-506, (2013) bi-dimensional refinement of trait luck beliefs into, respectively, ‘Belief in Luck’ and ‘Belief in Personal Luckiness’, we explore the relationship between luck beliefs and a range of trait happiness measures. Our analyses (N = 844) find broadly that happiness is negatively associated with Belief in Luck, but positively associated with Belief in Personal Luckiness, although results differ somewhat depending on which measure of happiness is used. We further explore interrelationships between luck beliefs and the five-factor model of personality, finding this latter fully accounts for Belief in Luck’s negative association with happiness, with additional analyses indicating this is wholly attributable to Neuroticism alone: Neuroticism appears to be a possible mediator of Belief in Luck’s negative association with happiness. We additionally find that the five-factor model only partially attenuates Belief in Personal Luckiness’ positive association with happiness, suggesting that Belief in Personal Luckiness may be either a discrete facet of trait happiness or a personality trait in and of itself.

The Influence of Self-Control and Social Status on Self-Deception

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of self-control and social status on self-deception. The present study adopted a forward-looking paradigm to investigate how self-control and social status influence self-deception. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to complete 10 questions, after they predicted and completed 40 questions (commonsense judgment materials) either with or without answer hints. The results indicated that the participants had higher predicted scores under conditions with answer hints compared with conditions without answer hints and that the predicted scores were much higher than the actual scores under conditions with answer hints. In Experiment 2, individuals with different self-control traits were chosen to perform the operation and induction of the perception of social status and then complete tests such as Experiment 1. The results showed that differences in the predicted scores between conditions with answer hints and those without answer hints were observed to be greater in individuals with low self-control traits than in individuals with higher self-control traits, however, such differences between individuals with higher and low self-control traits were only observed in conditions with low social status perception, not in the conditions with high social status perception. The findings indicated that compared with individuals with high self-control, low self-control individuals tended to produce more self-deception. In addition, high social status in the individuals' perception could restrain the influence of low self-control on self-deception, while low social status in the individuals' perception could increase the self-control's influence on self-deception.

The Morality of Men Convicted of Domestic Violence: How It Supports the Maintenance of the Moral Self-Concept

The phenomenon of abuse toward women is a prevalent social problem in most societies. In the present work, we take into consideration the abusive man's point of view with particular reference to the sphere of their morality and set as aims: (a) to show that high levels of self-deception are mediating between an extreme moral worldview, called moral absolutism, and a functional high moral self-concept, (b) to analyze the relation of the five moral foundations (Harm, Fairness, Ingroup, Authority, and Purity) with this moral absolutism, and (c) to test a comprehensive model of the relationships between the individuated variables in the preceding hypotheses. Participants are 264 men convicted of domestic violence offenses, who, having begun court-mandated psychological treatment lasting 12 weeks, have filled out a self-report questionnaire during the second meeting. The results reveal that (a) self-deception is as a full mediator between moral absolutism and moral self-concept in men convicted of domestic violence and in such a way that the more they felt right about their moral beliefs, the more they deceived themselves, and the more they felt good about themselves, (b) the moral foundations could be explaining moral absolutism understood as a rigid moral vision of the world, and (c) the tested model produces satisfying fit indices. Finally, we discuss the applied implications, for example, a key role can be played by the family and the school: Moral socialization begins within the family and there finds the first push that will accompany it the rest of life.

Moral Absolutism, Self-Deception, and Moral Self-Concept in Men Who Commit Intimate Partner Violence

The objective of this study is to show compatible data with the idea that men who commit intimate partner violence are uninhibited about the moral consequences of their behaviors, probably because they feel certainty about the rightness of their moral values and they strongly deceive themselves to maintain a good moral self-concept, and thus a good level of well-being. To do that, we compare their scores with those obtained by an opposite sample regarding the use of violence, made up of professional male psychologists who work in the social field trying to teach others alternative strategies to violence.

Positive-thinking and life satisfaction amongst Koreans

PURPOSE

The present study examined the positive-thinking and life satisfaction of the general Korean population. In particular, we examined the role of positive-thinking on participants' life satisfaction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a telephone survey of 409 respondents (194 males, 215 females). The participants provided self-reports on their positive thinking, life satisfaction and demographic information.

RESULTS

The results showed that age, education, occupation, and family income had an influence on positive- thinking as well as life satisfaction in Korea. Specifically, younger respondents and persons with high incomes or higher education degrees were more likely to have higher positive scores and thus higher life satisfaction scores. However, after controlling for the demographic variables, positive thinking significantly affected life satisfaction(R(2) Change=0.170, F= 88.56, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

We provided empirical evidence that positive thinking may indeed play a significant role in life satisfaction. Therefore, positive thinking would offer important direction for the growth of life satisfaction and interventions aiming to remediate the effects of demographic variables on life satisfaction.

Happiness in the Face of Adversity: Reformulating the Dynamic and Modular Bases of Subjective Well-Being

Addressing diversity and apparent contradictions in manifestations of happiness, this article delineates subjective well-being (SWB) as a dynamic system in the face of possible adversity. SWB constitutes a favorable psychological environment that regulates the hostile-world scenario, defined as one's image of actual or potential threats to one's life or integrity. SWB operates in various modules: experiential, wherein private awareness of SWB dwells on relevant core themes; declarative, wherein public self-reports of SWB function as social behavior; differential, wherein synchronic dimensions of SWB form well-being types; and narrative, wherein diachronic valences of SWB construct trajectories along one's life story. By explicating the regulatory and configurational nature of SWB, the present conceptualization emphasizes the process, rather than the outcome, of pursuing happiness.

The Evolutionary Psychology of Deception and Self-Deception

This study was directed towards testing evolutionary hypotheses concerning the adaptive advantages of deception and the relationship between deception and self-deception. Explanations are argued for in terms of the consequences for evolutionary fitness contributing to individual survival within the human species. Darwin's theory of natural selection within the framework of evolutionary psychology provides the theoretical background for the study. The broad or covering hypothesis addressed is that deception and self-deception each involve a kind of consciousness or strategic cognitive process and that they have co-evolved through the operation of natural selection due to their importance and worth for the survival of the individual. The study is empirical, conducted by using the technique of secondary analysis on the data yielded by the World Values Survey collected in 45 countries in its second wave of 1990 to 1993 as well as on a South African sample containing variables of interest to the study. Findings show a significantly positive relationship between deception and self-deception. However, the relationship between deception and evolutionary fitness promoting factors, derived by factor analysis, was inconclusive. Findings nevertheless do suggest an overall trend that while deception is favourable in the short-term, it is counter-favourable in the long-term - deception at the end of the day does not pay.