Ed Diener

Who they are

The work of Ed Diener reaches this site through the papers listed below. The name is tied to Objective Self-Awareness, Self-Focus Cue.

Key papers

Beaman, A. L., Klentz, B., Diener, E., & Svanum, S. (1979). Self-awareness and transgression in children: Two field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(10), 1835-1846. What it reports: Two field studies of Halloween trick-or-treaters told to take one candy. Study one, 363 children: a mirror behind the bowl reduced rule-breaking only among children first identified by name and address, not anonymous children; the effect also differed by age; the first child's behaviour set an informal norm that interacted with the stated rule. Study two, 349 subjects: results repeated; without a stated rule, self-aware children took less candy than those not self-aware.

Diener, E., & Wallbom, M. (1976). Effects of self-awareness on antinormative behavior. Journal of Research in Personality, 10(1), 107-111. What it reports: The paper reports an anagram task with a chance to cheat, in which people seated before a mirror and hearing their own recorded voice cheated less than people seated beside it hearing another voice.

Key ideas

Objective Self-Awareness: The state in which attention turns to the self as an object, so that a person compares their behaviour with their own standards.

Self-Focus Cue: A mirror, a camera or a recording of one's own voice, used to turn a person's attention toward themselves.

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