Kwan's Self-Enhancement

Self-Enhancement is defined by Virginia Kwan quite simply as a self-perception that is overly positive." Kwan posits two manners in which such an overly positive self-perception is formed, both of which involve making social comparisons. The apparent distinction between these two ways of establishing a self-enhancing bias lies in the target of the social comparison.

In the first type of bias the self-enhancer compares his view of himself to his perceived view of others. Kwan labeled this type of bias the social comparison perspective because it has its roots in Festinger's social comparison theory. An example of this social comparison perspective comes to mind when I think back to how I once thought of myself a rather skilled pool player.
Those engaging in this type of bias have an ultimate goal of trying to gain a better insight into one's actual state of being so that unwanted behaviors or traits can be corrected. In fact, Kwan refers to this bias as the self-insight perspective. I would have been engaging in this type of perspective if I had listened to others' views of how my pool game appeared to them and worked on bettering myself in the areas of the game where they felt I wasn't performing
For example, a boxer may easily knock out his sparing partner who is a novice in the sport and then go into a title fight thinking he is invincible only to get his clock cleaned by a real fighter. Similarly, self-insight illusions can also have dangers. Sometimes the perception of others' views of someone can lead that person to attempt unrealistic goals. For example, consider Julius Caesar. As he managed to gain the approval and admiration of more and more Roman citizen's he ascended to higher and higher levels of political power. Eventually his goal of pronouncing himself Emperor and sole ruler of Rome resulted in his