People Who Are Insecure About Themselves Will

For Many Activities, People Cannot Rely Solely On Themselves In Evaluating Their Ability Level Because Such Judgments Require Inferences From Probabilistic Indicants Of Talent About Which They May Have Limited Knowledge. Self-appraisals Are, Therefore, Partly Based On The Opinions Of Others Who Presumably Possess Evaluative Competence

Ironically, It Is The Talented Who Have High Aspirations, Which Are Possible But Exceedingly Difficult To Realize, Who Are Especially Vulnerable To Self-dissatisfaction Despite Notable Achievements.

The Difficulty In Judging What Type Of Behavior Works Well Arises Not Only Because A Given Course Of Action Does Not Always Produce The Outcomes. Similar Outcomes Can Occur For Reasons Other Than The Person's Actions, Which Further Complicates Inferential Judgment. Effects That Arise Independently Of One's Actions Distort The Influence Of Similar Effects Produced By The Actions, But Only On Some Occasions. Given A Strong Cognitive Set To Perceive Regularities, Even Chance Joint Occurrences Of Events Can Be Easily Misjudged As Genuine Relationships Of Low Contingent Probability

What People Think, Believe, And Feel Affects How They Behave. The Natural And Extrinsic Effects Of Their Actions, In Turn, Partly Determine Their Thought Patterns And Affective Reactions.

The Satisfactions People Derive From What They Do Are Determined To A Large Degree By Their Self-evaluative Standards