Self-Enhancement and Attitudes Toward High Achievers

Abstract

Individualism, collectivism, self-enhancing biases, and attitudes toward tall poppies were investigated in New Zealand European and Maori students. Two hundred and eighty (215 women, 65 men) New Zealand European and 88 (55 women, 33 men) Maori students at Victoria University of Wellington participated in the study. Whereas Maori exhibited a stronger orientation to the collective, they also showed higher self- esteem. Group-oriented Maori displayed slightly higher levels of self-enhancement and were more likely to favor the rewarding of high achievers (tall poppies). Both groups displayed high levels of self-enhancement and favored the reward of high achievers, with both self-enhancement on the Self-Attributes Questionnaire and attitudes toward tall poppies being correlated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results are discussed in the context of a bicultural nation of both Maori and European origins, and consideration is given to a bicultural rather than categorical perspective on independence and interdependence.