Good, Better, Best: Between Culture and Self‐Enhancement

Abstract The topic of self‐enhancement and culture is discussed. The question of the universality of the self‐enhancement motive, well‐documented in the West, inspired a lively debate, pertaining mainly to the existence of a self‐enhancement motive in East‐Asian cultures. The present paper presents some major findings that challenge the basic assumption of and of that the self‐enhancement motive does not exist in East‐Asian cultures. These findings relate to the following issues: self‐enhancement in East‐Asia in culturally accepted domains; the role of modesty in self‐enhancement; relevance of anonymity to self‐enhancement manifestation; self‐enhancement done by significant others; implicit measures of self‐esteem; and the relations between well‐being and self‐enhancement in East‐Asia. Some common beliefs, that self‐enhancement inhibits self‐improvement and that low uniqueness implies low self‐enhancement are discussed and questioned. The paper suggests that the controversy regarding the self‐enhancement motive may boil down to the question of the degree to which the social norms regarding restrictions on self‐success are internalized in a culture.