Do people have inflated views of their own ability

An experiment tested a need-for-self-esteem notion that people inflate self-appraisals of ability, deny criticism, and overrespond to praise. Actors and bystanders rated actors' performances on a nonobjective task after hearing the performance praised or criticized or before hearing it evaluated. No evidence of self-enhancement was found; to the contrary, actors compared to bystanders rated themselves harshly, lowered their ratings after criticism equally, and showed relief after praise. A second experiment compared actor and bystander ratings of actors who expected evaluation of their performances or who expected no evaluation. Results suggested self-derogation by actors as a defense against possible loss of self-esteem.