Self-attention and self-report: The "veridicality" hypothesis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• The attitude-behavior consistency problem, highlighted by Wicker (1969), indicates a weak correlation between self-reported attitudes and actual behavior.
• Numerous studies have sought to enhance the predictive validity of self-assessment beyond the typically observed 0.30 correlation.
• Internal focus of attention is identified as a key factor influencing the accuracy of self-assessment and attitude-behavior alignment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of internal focus of attention in improving self-assessment accuracy and attitude-behavior consistency.
• To review research on self-awareness theory and its implications for how individuals report on their internal states and engage in behavior.

Main Methods:

• Discussion and synthesis of existing research findings related to self-awareness theory and self-focused attention.
• Analysis of how self-directed attention influences the accuracy of self-assessments (attitudes, cognitions, affective/somatic states).
• Examination of conditions that promote consistency between attitudes and overt behaviors, particularly those involving self-focus.

Main Results:

• Self-directed attention generally enhances the accuracy of self-assessments across various internal states.
• Behavior tends to be more consistent with prior attitudes when individuals are in a self-focused state.
• Self-awareness improves accuracy by focusing attention and increasing motivation for truthful reporting, but can also activate ego-protective motives that reduce accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Self-focused attention is a significant factor in improving attitude-behavior consistency and self-assessment accuracy.
• While self-awareness generally promotes accurate reporting, conflicting motives like ego-protection can emerge under self-focused conditions.
• Future research should investigate empirical questions guiding further understanding of self-awareness, accuracy, and consistency.