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Know Thyself! Predicting Subjective Well-Being from personality estimation discrepancy and self-insight
August Håkan Nilsson1, Kira Friedrichs1, Petri Kajonius1
1Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Current Psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
|August 15, 2022
Summary
Personality estimation discrepancy (PED) relates to well-being, but this link is largely explained by underlying Big Five personality traits. Self-insight significantly mediates the connection between misperceptions of personality and subjective well-being.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Personality Psychology
- Well-being Research
Background:
- Discrepancies in self-perception are linked to lower well-being.
- Previous research suggests a negative correlation between self-view discrepancies and psychological health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and test Personality Estimation Discrepancy (PED) as a measure of self-perception accuracy.
- To examine the relationship between PED, Subjective Well-Being (SWB), and Self-Insight.
- To investigate the mediating role of Self-Insight in the PED-SWB relationship.
Main Methods:
- A UK online study with 297 participants was conducted.
- Personality Estimation Discrepancy (PED) was calculated as the difference between self-perceived personality and Big Five test scores (IPIP-NEO-30).
- Subjective Well-Being (SWB) and Self-Insight were assessed, and mediation analyses were performed.
Main Results:
- Underestimating Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability was associated with higher SWB and Self-Insight.
- These associations diminished when controlling for Big Five personality scores.
- Self-Insight significantly mediated 42.9% of the relationship between personality mis-estimation and SWB.
Conclusions:
- The link between mis-estimating personality and well-being is largely accounted for by the Big Five personality traits themselves.
- Discrepancies in personality estimation appear to be a consequence of scoring high or low on specific traits.
- Self-insight plays a crucial role in how personality estimation discrepancies influence subjective well-being.
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