ABSTRACT
The human mental apparatus is powerful, indeed able to react to changing circumstances in a matter of milliseconds, perceive the faintest of stimuli, carry out multiple tasks simultaneously, and process vast amounts of information with minimal conscious effort. Despite the impressive power of the human mind and brain, we are surprisingly limited when we focus our attention on ourselves. Evidence confirms that we have only modest insight into many of our mental activities (Bargh & Williams, 2006; Wilson, 2009); as a result, we are not very good at reporting accurately on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, goals, and motives. We are also poor judges of our own behavior: We cannot recall past events accurately, routinely misconstrue ongoing behavior even as we are exhibiting it, and cannot predict how we will behave in the future (Fernandez, 2013; Kahneman, 2003; Slovic et al., 2002). Complicating the situation, even in those areas where we manage to see things somewhat accurately, we do not always choose to provide accurate self-reports, for a variety of reasons (e.g., wanting to appear conscientious and adaptable to impress a potential employer, choosing to present ourselves as maladjusted and dysfunctional to abrogate some unwanted responsibility).
