George Loewenstein Recommends “Self-Signaling and Diagnostic Utility in Everyday Decision Making” by Ronit Bodner and Drazen Prelec

Abstract

To the extent that other people lack information about us, we can sometimes signal our “type” via our behavior. For example, if a generous person would give to a beggar, but a selfish person would not, then one can signal one’s generosity by giving. The fundamental psychological assumption behind self-signaling theory is that people often lack information about themselves. Given such a lack of self-knowledge, we may make judgments about ourselves in the same way we do about others, inferring who we are from the actions we take. This creates a motive to take actions that signal desirable characteristics or traits.