Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M2542

Self-Enhancement

Self-Enhancement
BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A motivation to maintain or enhance self-esteem by focusing on positive information, ignoring negative information, or attributing success to oneself and failure to the environment.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Understanding confidence and blindness. Moderate self-enhancement can protect mental health (healthy illusion), but excessive self-enhancement can lead to narcissism and cognitive blind spots. Metacognition needs to find a balance on this spectrum.

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Anchor fast decisions

People have a motivation to maintain or enhance a positive self-image, often using selective attention, downward comparison, and attribution bias to protect self-esteem.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%87%AA%E6%88%91%E6%8F%90%E5%8D%87ZH · Explicit
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