More Human Than Others, but Not Always Better: The Robustness of Self-Humanizing Across Cultures and Interpersonal Comparisons

Research has shown that people perceive themselves as more human than the average person, independent of their tendencies to self-enhance. This self-humanizing (SHN) effect has been examined in comparisons of the self with fictional or average others, but not with actual others such as a real, though unfamiliar, classmate or a friend. In Study 1, European Australian and Japanese undergraduates compared themselves with either an unfamiliar classmate or average university students to examine their tendencies for SHN. SHN was consistently found across the two comparisons and across the two cultures. Study 2 extended the findings by examining self-other comparisons involving close friend or unfamiliar peer among Australian, Japanese, and Korean undergraduates. As predicted, SHN was obtained in every culture, and SHN effect was greater in East Asia than in Australia. In contrast, self-enhancement was weak and inconsistent across samples and comparisons. The findings extend the current theory of SHN, indicating that the effect is robust and present even in comparisons involving individuated actual others.