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Accuracy and bias in self-perception of performance: Narcissism matters in Korea as well

  • SELF-PERCEPTION AND NARCISSISM IN KOREA
  • Published:
Korean Social Science Journal

Abstract

Debates regarding the nature of self-enhancement versus accurate self-assessment have been active among psychologists for decades. More recently, researchers have become interested in the panculturality of self-enhancement. Some researchers argue that self-enhancement is universal and present within all cultures. Others declare self-enhancement to be a Western tendency, with self-diminishment being the norm among East Asians. Importantly, the majority of such studies have not compared self-perceptions against objective external criteria, especially those with East Asians. Furthermore, the link between narcissism and self-enhancement has been largely overlooked within Korean samples. To address such gaps, we utilized scores on an objective test as a criterion to investigate the accuracy of Koreans’ self-assessments of performance, as well as how individual differences in narcissism are related to such assessments. A sample of Korean students (N = 146; 71 women) completed self-report measures of narcissism and self-esteem, and took a listening comprehension quiz. Estimated and actual scores were collected and used to compute self-enhancement scores. Results demonstrated that Koreans’ self-perceptions of performance on the quiz were quite accurate. As has been found in Western cultures, narcissism was related to self-enhancement.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2014S1A5A8017732).

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Park, S.W., Tignor, S.M., Joo, M.J. et al. Accuracy and bias in self-perception of performance: Narcissism matters in Korea as well. Korean Soc Sci J 43, 29–43 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40483-016-0030-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40483-016-0030-8

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