Self-enhancement, self-regulation and self-improvement following failures

Two studies tested the relations between self-enhancement and self-improvement. Within these studies, two self-improvement stages were distinguished: the recognition stage and the action stage. The first study (N = 132), conducted in a laboratory setting, investigated self-improvement processes that took place following bogus negative feedback as a function of self-enhancement. The second study (N = 72) was conducted in a natural setting that investigated self-improvement processes among students following receipt of unsatisfactory grades in mathematics. Both studies showed that relevant self-enhancement measures were not related to the recognition stage (i.e. the perceived need to change), but were positively related to the action stage, which referred to relevant improvement behaviours. In both studies the improved behaviour was related to improved performance, suggesting that overall self-enhancement is positively related to improved performance. Study 2 also investigated the strength of negative emotional reaction to failures, which was (negatively) related only to the perceived need to change.