Journal
JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 90, Issue 2, Pages 197-209Publisher
AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.90.2.197
Keywords
temporal distance; self-perception; actor-observer; visual perspective; introspection
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Seven studies exploring people's tendency to make observer-like attributions about their past and future selves are presented. Studies 1 and 2 showed temporal differences in trait assessments that paralleled the classic actor-observer difference. Study 3 provided evidence against a motivational account of these differences. Studies 4-7 explored underlying mechanisms involving differences in the focus of attention of the sort linked to the classic actor-observer difference. In Study 4, people perceived past and future selves from a more observer-like perspective than present selves. In Studies 5 and 6, manipulating attention to internal states (vs. observable behavior) of past and future selves led people to ascribe fewer traits to those selves. Study 7 showed an inverse relationship for past and present selves between observer-like visual focus and salience of internal information.
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