12 checked facts

Self-perception

Everything on this site about self-perception — each one naming the study behind it.

You trust vague descriptions that seem specifically about you.
A 1948 experiment showed that people rate generic personality assessments as highly accurate when they believe they ar…
You believe your virtues are rarer than they actually are.
The false uniqueness effect causes people to underestimate the number of others who share their positive personality t…
You accept generic personality descriptions as uniquely accurate.
In a 1949 study, students completed a personality test and were given a feedback report, which was identical for all p…
You think your inner state is visible to everyone.
The 'illusion of transparency' is a verified psychological phenomenon where individuals overestimate the extent to whi…
You accept vague personality descriptions as deeply personal.
Participants in a 1948 study rated a generic, personality-neutral paragraph as highly accurate when told it was writte…
You take personal credit for wins but blame external luck.
The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute success to your internal character and failure to your environment.…
You change your attitude to match your behavior.
Self-perception theory suggests that when your internal beliefs are unclear, you infer them by observing your own past…
Your past self is a stranger you judge harshly.
The end-of-history illusion is our tendency to believe we have reached our final personality despite significant growt…
You think your virtues are unique, but your vices are normal.
The 1987 study by Suls and Wan demonstrated that people tend to underestimate the commonality of their positive or hea…
You expect your future self to work perfectly.
A 1994 study found that people consistently underestimate how long tasks take, even when they know their own history o…
You are not as good a driver as you think.
Svenson (1981) found that 93% of the U.S. student sample believed they were in the top 50% of driving skill.…
You prefer images of yourself when they are reversed.
A 1977 study showed that people prefer their own mirror image, while their friends prefer the standard photographic ve…