Positive self-evaluation is a fundamental human need; there is an overpowering effect of self-enhancement motivation in directing individuals’ attention & behavior relative to other self-evaluation motives

Anseel, Frederik, and Elena Martinescu. 2020. “Praise from a Self-enhancement Perspective: More, I Want More?.” PsyArXiv. July 9. doi:10.4324/9780429327667

Abstract: Positive self-evaluation is a fundamental human need, enabling individuals to face challenges or pursue new opportunities in their environment. In the past decades, several lines of research have provided support for the overpowering effect of self-enhancement motivation in directing individuals’ attention and behavior relative to other self-evaluation motives. In the current chapter, we briefly summarize the basics of self-enhancement theory, how it has helped understand the psychology of praise and how some long-standing theoretical debates have been solved. In the second part, we review new theoretical issues that have emerged in recent years, summarize new manifestations of self-enhancement in the study of praise and 'real-world' applications of these insights.