Strube Michael J, Lott Cynthia Leeanne, Lê-Xuân-Hy G M, Oxenberg Julie, Deichmann Ann K
Washington U, MO.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986 Jul;51(1):16-25. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.51.1.16.
Past research indicates that individuals are keenly aware of the diagnostic implications of their performance. Theories differ, however, in regard to how this awareness influences task choice. According to the self-assessment view, individuals choose tasks that are maximally informative of abilities, regardless of self-esteem implications. According to the self-enhancement view, task choice is often mediated by a concern for self-esteem protection. In the first study, subjects chose among eight forms of a cognitive abilities test that varied in their diagnosticity of success, diagnosticity of failure, and difficulty. In accordance with the self-assessment view, test choice was found to be positively related to diagnosticity of success and, to a lesser extent, diagnosticity of failure. Test choice was also dependent on the interaction of diagnosticity and difficulty in a manner that was more consistent with the self-assessment view. In a second study that provided more precise measurement of perceived diagnosticity and expected success, results indicated that the motives for self-assessment and self-enhancement were each reliably related to task preference. Of the two, self-assessment motivation was a stronger determinant of task preference. Taken together, these results suggest that task choice is governed largely by a concern for accurate self-appraisal. Additional results, however, indicate that current models may require revisions that take into account the less-than-accurate appraisal of diagnosticity.
以往的研究表明，个体敏锐地意识到自身表现的诊断意义。然而，关于这种意识如何影响任务选择，各理论观点有所不同。根据自我评估观点，个体选择的任务应能最大程度地体现自身能力，而不考虑对自尊的影响。根据自我提升观点，任务选择往往受保护自尊的考量所介导。在第一项研究中，受试者在八种形式的认知能力测试中进行选择，这些测试在成功诊断性、失败诊断性和难度方面各有不同。与自我评估观点一致，研究发现测试选择与成功诊断性呈正相关，在较小程度上也与失败诊断性呈正相关。测试选择还取决于诊断性与难度的相互作用，这种方式更符合自我评估观点。在第二项研究中，对感知诊断性和预期成功进行了更精确的测量，结果表明自我评估和自我提升的动机均与任务偏好可靠相关。在这两者中，自我评估动机是任务偏好的更强决定因素。综合来看，这些结果表明任务选择很大程度上受对准确自我评估的关注所支配。然而，其他结果表明，当前模型可能需要进行修订，以考虑到对诊断性的评估不够准确的情况。
