Ego Threat and Implicit Egotism

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2009

Disciplines

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Advisor

Pam Bacon, Psychology

Abstract

Although research suggests that evidence of implicit egotism is frequently observed in the real world and elicited in the laboratory, replicating these findings does not come as easily. In this study, participants completed a priming task in which they were classically conditioned to have a preference for a number that reminded them of themselves. Ego manipulations were also implemented to enhance likelihood of demonstrating implicit egotism. The effects seen in previous studies of implicit egotism were not found in this sample. The inability of the manipulations to elicit implicit egotism could have been due to the design of the study. Additional research is needed to determine the true reliability of the methods that support implicit egotism as well as to understand the impact it has on decision making and interpersonal judgments.

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