Know thyself? Self-concept can crack under pressure

People with high self-knowledge are more likely to doubt themselves under questioning than those with a low self-concept. In a new study, Jean Guerrettaz and Robert Arkin found that the confidence of self-proclaimed self-knowers is more fragile than expected. The researchers asked 91 undergraduates at Ohio State University in the US,to fill out a questionnaire about their confidence in their self-knowledge (“self-concept clarity”), and then to provide 10 traits to answer the question: “Who am I?” The students were then given the challenge of providing either two or eight examples...

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