title: Positive intelligence illusions: on the relation between intellectual self-enhancement and psychological adjustment.
abstract: The relation between self-enhancement and psychological adjustment has been debated for over 2 decades. This controversy is partly due to the variety of approaches implicated in the assessment of mainly self-enhancement but also psychological adjustment. We adopted a face-valid approach by statistically removing actual intellectual ability variance from self-rated intellectual ability variance. Study 1 (N = 2,048), a concurrent Internet investigation, provided initial insight into the relation between intellectual self-enhancement and psychological adjustment. Study 2 (N = 238), a longitudinal round-robin investigation, allowed a closer examination of the dynamic processes underlying this relation. Self-enhancement was positively linked to multiple indicators of intrapersonal and interpersonal adjustment, and predicted rank-order increases in adjustment over time. The links between intellectual self-enhancement and intrapersonal adjustment were mediated by self-esteem. Finally, the interpersonal costs and benefits of self-enhancement systematically varied depending on methodology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany. dufnermi@googlemail.com
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dufner
authors.forename: Jaap J A
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Denissen
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Zalk
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Matthes
authors.forename: Wim H J
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Meeus
authors.forename: Marcel A G
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van Aken
authors.forename: Constantine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sedikides
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D012649:Self Concept; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires