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Defined egotism as the tendency to make attributions that put oneself in the best possible light (e.g., the attribution of good outcomes to one's skill rather than to luck). An experiment was designed to demonstrate egotism, using 55 male undergraduates. To rule out alternative explanations, attributions of actors and observers for both good and bad outcomes were compared. Theoretical considerations suggested that egotism might be especially likely at the conclusion of competition. Hence, Ss competed, won, or lost and then made attributions for their own and their opponents' outcomes. Evidence for egotism was clear. In addition, Ss made predictions of their opponents' attributions, which often turned out to be fairly accurate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

(C) 1976 by the American Psychological Association