The relation between overly positive self-evaluation and adjustment: a comment on Colvin, Block, and Funder (1995)

C.R. Colvin, J. Block, and D.C. Funder (1995) calculated a self-enhancement index-the discrepancy between favorability of participants' self-ratings and favorability of others' ratings of the participants. They found that the index was negatively correlated with psychological adjustment. However, the discrepancy between self- and other-ratings cannot add to the variance accounted for once self-ratings and other-ratings are controlled for. Consequently, the index cannot properly be used to examine how self-enhancement influences adjustment. An appropriate test for the self-enhancement effect is the interaction between favorability of self- and other-ratings.