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Conceptions of the self and others across time
Elanor F Williams1, Thomas Gilovich
1Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. efw7@cornell.edu
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|May 13, 2008
Summary
People view their future selves as more central to their identity than others, believing themselves to be less understood and further from their ideal selves. This research explores self-perception and future orientation in social cognition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Self-Concept Research
Background:
- The self-concept is significantly shaped by future-oriented thoughts, including plans, goals, hopes, and fears.
- A key question in social cognition is whether representations of others are similarly future-oriented.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether people perceive the future as a larger component of the self compared to representations of others.
- To explore the implications of self-identity being tied to an unrealized future for present knowability and understanding of others.
Main Methods:
- Multiple studies (1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4a, 4b) were conducted to examine perceptions of self versus others regarding future orientation.
- Methodologies likely involved comparative judgments, self-report measures, and assessments of perceived understandability and distance from ideal selves.
Main Results:
- Studies demonstrated that the future is perceived as a more significant component of the self than of another person.
- The self is considered less knowable in the present because self-identity is linked to an unrealized future.
- Participants believed others need to know their strivings to be understood, more so than they need to know others' strivings.
Conclusions:
- People perceive themselves as further from their ideal selves than they perceive others to be, due to the self's strong future orientation.
- These findings have implications for judgment and decision-making processes, highlighting the role of future self-perception.
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