Self-Promotion

Definition

Self-promotion refers to the practice of purposefully trying to present oneself as highly competent to other people. When people self-promote, their primary motivation is to be perceived by others as capable, intelligent, or talented (even at the expense of being liked). Self-promotion becomes especially useful and prominent when a person competes against others for desirable—often scarce—resources, such as a good job or an attractive partner. People can self-promote their abilities in general or in a specific domain.

Context

Self-promotion exists as part of a general yet extremely pervasive human motivation: to be perceived favorably by others. In the case of self-promotion, people want to be perceived by others as being competent. Not surprisingly, then, people generally only selfpromote in public, and around people they want to impress, such as superiors at work. For example, someone completing a self-evaluation at work would be much less likely to self-promote if a supervisor would never read the self-evaluation, or if the self-evaluation was anonymous.

How Do People Self-Promote?

Researchers have identified several tactics people use to self-promote. First, people may self-promote by speaking of themselves in flattering terms: They may highlight their leadership skills, prowess at school or work, or adeptness at overcoming obstacles. Second, if they are personally involved in a positive event, they may claim more responsibility for the event than they objectively deserve, or they may exaggerate the importance of the event in the hopes it will sound more impressive. People can self-promote more tactfully by (1) guiding the course of a conversation to a point where it is fitting to mention prior achievements and honors, (2) trying to avoid conversation topics in which others may be experts, or (3) providing opportunities for other people to promote them, such as by covertly making a substantial salary raise known to gossipy coworkers.

The Problem of Integrating Self-Promotion and Likeability

When self-promoting, people face an important problem: Their behavior might come across as conceited, if not fraudulent. Although the key motivation underlying self-promotion is to be perceived as competent, situations arise where self-promotion must be successfully integrated with likeability, even though these two motivations may conflict. Probably the most prominent example of this concern is the classic job interview. Applicants interviewing for a job need to appear both competent and likeable to impress their potential supervisor, but expressing both of these qualities during the interview may be tricky! For example, to convey confidence and competence, applicants know they must highlight their relevant experience and accomplishments. At the same time, applicants do not want to appear conceited or arrogant to the interviewer.

Evidence: Does Self-Promotion Work?

Researchers have examined quite extensively whether self-promotion actually helps people appear more competent. By far the biggest research arena for selfpromotion has been in business settings, especially in the interview process, for reasons mentioned previously. Specifically, researchers have studied whether selfpromotion helps people secure jobs and promotions. In a typical study, researchers will ask both the applicant and the interviewer to complete post-interview surveys that ask about instances of self-promotion used by the applicant throughout the interview; researchers might also ask permission to film the interview. The researchers then either contact the participants later to see if they secured the job for which they interviewed or subsequently ask the interviewers which applicants they might consider hiring. With this information, the researchers can then examine whether self-promotion during the interview influenced hiring decisions.

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