Self-other asymmetries: Three wonders in "hot" social cognition and three questions about them

Abstract

Various self-other asymmetry phenomena in person judgement, risk perception, causal attribution and intergroup behaviour are briefly described. Three remarkable patterns emerge from this overview. First, most people are basically alike in that they share the belief that they are different from their peers. Second, while overestimating their dissimilarity from others, people also overestimate their similarity to them. Third, when shifting from an interpersonal to an intergroup point of view, people come to see the very individuals to which they usually believe to be superior as ingroup members who in turn are "better than" outgroup members. At least three questions are in need of further exploration: (a) how are the various self-other asymmetries related, (b) what are the causal mechanisms behind them, and (c) what are their consequences for (social) behaviour?