ABSTRACT
An analysis of self-evaluation conflict as it relates to projection enables us to eliminate a couple of weak links in the chain of argument developed thus far concerning the determinants of self-evaluation. A self-evaluation conflict can be created when an individual who already has a positive self-evaluation in some dimension receives reliable information which is unequivocally negative about this or a related aspect of himself. The existing unfavorable self-evaluation and the evaluation implied by the negative information are mutually consistent. The creation of a positive or a negative self-evaluation was based on a battery of personality tests given to the subjects before the experimental session. Of major interest theoretically is the joint effect of the Disclosure conditions and the Self-Evaluation conditions initially induced in subjects on the amount of projection. The disclosure of favorable information to subjects, namely, that they are virile personalities, creates a strong conflict for those in whom a negative self-evaluation was induced.
