More Human Than Others, but Not Always Better: The Robustness of Self-Humanizing Across Cultures and Interpersonal Comparisons

Abstract

Research has shown that people perceive themselves as more human than the average person, independent of their tendencies to self-enhance. This self-humanizing (SHN) effect has been examined in comparisons of the self with fictional or average others, but not with actual others such as a real, though unfamiliar, classmate or a friend. In Study 1, European Australian and Japanese undergraduates compared themselves with either an unfamiliar classmate or average university students to examine their tendencies for SHN. SHN was consistently found across the two comparisons and across the two cultures. Study 2 extended the findings by examining self-other comparisons involving close friend or unfa..