1st Edition

Handbook of Self-Knowledge

Edited By Simine Vazire, Timothy D. Wilson Copyright 2013

    This authoritative handbook reviews the state of the science of self-knowledge, a key emerging area in psychology. Leading investigators describe innovative theory and research that is shedding new light on how—and how accurately—people perceive their own traits, thoughts, feelings, behavior, and relationships. Coverage encompasses the behavioral, mental, biological, and social structures that underlie self-knowledge; approaches to studying self-beliefs in specific domains; and the motives and biases that influence accuracy. The volume explores the personal and societal benefits of self-knowledge and also considers possible ways to enhance it.

    1. Introduction, Simine Vazire and Timothy D. Wilson
    I. The Origins and Nature of Self-Knowledge
    2. The Development of Self-Knowledge, Daniel Hart and M. Kyle Matsuba
    3. Self-Insight from a Dual-Process Perspective, Bertram Gawronski and Galen V. Bodenhausen
    4. Referential Processing and Competence as Determinants of Congruence between Implicit and Explicit Motives, Oliver C. Schultheiss and Alexandra Strasser
    5. Self-Knowledge: From Philosophy to Neuroscience to Psychology, Matthew D. Lieberman
    6. Blind Spots to the Self: Limits in Knowledge of Mental Contents and Personal Predispositions, Jason Chin, Michael Mrazek and Jonathan Schooler
    7. Other People as a Source of Self-Knowledge, Sanjay Srivastava
    8. Self-Knowledge: An Individual-Differences Perspective, Roberta A. Schriber and Richard W. Robins
    II. Domains of Self-Knowledge
    9. Knowing Our Personality, Mitja D. Back and Simine Vazire
    10. Knowing Our Attitudes and How to Change Them, Pablo Briñol and Richard E. Petty
    11. Self-Knowledge, Unconscious Thought, and Decision Making, Maarten W. Bos and Ap Dijksterhuis
    12. Knowing Our Emotions: How Do We Know What We Feel?, Gerald L. Clore and Michael D. Robinson
    13. On (Not) Knowing and Feeling What We Want and Like, Galit Hofree and Piotr Winkielman
    14. Partner Knowledge and Relationship Outcomes, Jeffry A. Simpson, Jennifer Fillo, and John Myers
    15. Meta-Accuracy: Do We Know How Others See Us?, Erika N. Carlson and David A. Kenny
    16. Knowing Our Pathology, Thomas F. Oltmanns and Abigail D. Powers
    III. Knowing Our Past and Future Selves
    17. Affective Forecasting: Knowing How We Will Feel in the Future, Kostadin Kushlev and Elizabeth W. Dunn
    18. Past Selves and Autobiographical Memory, Colleen M. Kelley and Larry L. Jacoby
    19. Self-Conceptualization, Self-Knowledge, and Regulatory Scope: A Construal-Level View, Cheryl J. Wakslak, Yaacov Trope, and Nira Liberman
    20. Sitting at the Nexus of Epistemological Traditions: Narrative Psychological Perspectives on Self-Knowledge, Jonathan M. Adler
    IV. Motives and Biases in Self-Knowledge
    21. Illusions of Self-Knowledge, Katherine E. Hansen and Emily Pronin
    22. Classic Self-Deception Revisited, Delroy L. Paulhus and Erin Buckels
    23. On Motivated Reasoning and Self-Belief, Erik G. Helzer and David Dunning
    24. From “Out There” to “In Here”: Implications of Self-Evaluation Motives for Self-Knowledge, Michael J. Strube
    25. Reducing Egoistic Biases in Self-Beliefs, Mark R. Leary and Kaitlin Toner

    Biography

    Simine Vazire, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research examines how well people know their own personalities and behavior, and how well people know the impressions they make on others. Dr. Vazire has received the SAGE Young Scholar Award from the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology, the Early Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity, and the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award from Washington University in St. Louis.

    Timothy D. Wilson, PhD, is Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. He has conducted research in the areas of self-knowledge, happiness, social cognition, and using social psychological principles to solve personal and social problems. Dr. Wilson is a recipient of the All-University Outstanding Teacher Award and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the University of Virginia and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

    "This handbook fills a need for a comprehensive survey of the field of self-knowledge. It will be of interest to a wide range of psychologists concerned with the roots of understanding one’s own attitudes and dispositions. The book will serve as a lively text for undergraduate and graduate seminars."--Richard E. Nisbett, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan

    "This is a terrific presentation of research and theory on one of the most pervasive and fundamental concerns--what people know about themselves. A dizzyingly diverse array of perspectives from leading scholars makes this a wonderful source for anyone interested in the topic. Even the best-informed experts will find this a valuable reference and will learn something new, while newcomers to the field should look no further for a book to bring them quickly and easily up to speed on the state of knowledge. Bravo to Vazire and Wilson and their stellar cast of contributing authors."--Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, author of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

    -This is [a] treasure chest for those interested in this topic....An important work for integrating a wealth of important but somewhat disparate research on self-knowledge, this comprehensive work provides valuable insights. Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty, researchers, and practitioners.--Choice Reviews, 1/1/2013