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- Title
Conceptions of the Self and Others Across Time.
- Authors
Williams, Elanor F.; Gilovich, Thomas
- Abstract
People are full of plans, goals, hopes, and fears--future-oriented thoughts that constitute a significant part of the self-concept. But are representations of others similarly future oriented? Studies 1a and 1b demonstrate that the future is seen as a larger component of the self than of another person. Study 2 found that because self-identity is tied to an unrealized future, the self is thought to be less knowable than others in the present. Study 3 indicates that people believe that others need to know who they are striving to be in order to be understood--more so than they believe they need to know others' strivings to understand them. Studies 4a and 4b tested an important implication of these findings, that because so much of who they are is tied to the future, people believe they are further from their ideal selves than others are. Implications for judgment and decision making are discussed.
- Subjects
DECISION making; HOPE; DECISION theory; PROBLEM solving; JUDGMENT (Psychology); EMOTIONS; THOUGHT &; thinking; WISDOM; OBJECTIVITY
- Publication
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 2008, Vol 34, Issue 8, p1037
- ISSN
0146-1672
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/0146167208317603