Situationist Contributor Emily Pronin recently wrote a very helpful primer on her work on the difference between “How We See Ourselves and How We See Others,” which she published in Science. Here’s the abstract.
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People see themselves differently from how they see others. They are immersed in their own sensations, emotions, and cognitions at the same time that their experience of others is dominated by what can be observed externally. This basic asymmetry has broad consequences. It leads people to judge themselves and their own behavior differently from how they judge others and those others behavior. Often, those differences produce disagreement and conflict. Understanding the psychological basis of those differences may help mitigate some of their negative effects.
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In case you’re not already familiar with Pronin’s work, we recommend it highly. You can download the above article (as well as a many of her other publications) on her website (here).
For some related Situationist posts, see “Emily Pronin on the Situation of Bias,” “The Situation of Biased Perceptions,” “I’m Objective, You’re Biased,” and “Naive Cynicism – Abstract.”
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