Temporal differences in trait self-ascription: when the self is seen as an other.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• The actor-observer bias describes how people explain their own behavior differently from others' behavior.
• Research suggests temporal self-perception may exhibit similar biases, with distinct attributions for past, present, and future selves.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the tendency to make observer-like attributions about one's past and future selves.
• To explore the underlying mechanisms, particularly the role of attentional focus, in temporal self-perception differences.

Main Methods:

• Seven studies were conducted, employing trait assessments and manipulating attentional focus.
• Participants' perceptions of their past, present, and future selves were compared.
• Visual focus and salience of internal information were measured in relation to self-perception.

Main Results:

• Temporal differences in trait attributions mirrored the actor-observer bias.
• Past and future selves were perceived from a more observer-like perspective than present selves.
• Shifting attention away from internal states towards observable behavior reduced trait attributions for past/future selves.

Conclusions:

• The tendency to view past and future selves as an observer is a robust phenomenon.
• Differences in attentional focus, specifically a more external or observer-like visual perspective, underlie these temporal self-perception biases.
• Motivational factors do not appear to drive these observer-like attributions for past and future selves.