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Similarity as threat: A motivational explanation of self–other similarity judgment asymmetry
Author(s) -
Dang Junhua,
Xiao Shanshan,
Sun Xiaoyan,
Louis Lee N.Y.,
Mao Lihua
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2093
Subject(s) - psychology , similarity (geometry) , asymmetry , perception , uniqueness , social psychology , cognition , cognitive psychology , self , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , computer science , image (mathematics)
People tend to judge others to be more similar to themselves than themselves are to others. This self–other similarity judgment asymmetry was often explained by a cognitive model. However, some findings were inconsistent with this model, implying that there might be complementary processes underlying such asymmetry. Although a motivational explanation has been proposed to account for the asymmetry, little evidence has been accumulated to verify this explanation and differentiate it from the cognitive model. The current research tested both the core assumption of the motivational explanation as well as a hypothesis derived only from it. Results suggest that the perception of oneself as being similar to others was more threatening to people's uniqueness than the perception of others as being similar to oneself. Individuals with high need for uniqueness exhibited greater asymmetry than did individuals with low need. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.