Worse than a braggart: Interpersonal costs of humblebragging in China

Abstract

Humblebragging is a common, indirect self-presentation strategy. However, its prevalence and effectiveness have never been tested in a non-western culture. Here, we explored the use and social costs of humblebragging in China across five studies. Studies 1a and 1b demonstrated the form and content of humblebragging on social media in Chinese daily life. Study 2 showed that compared to direct braggarts, observers felt higher contempt and less admiration towards humblebraggarts, and they were more willing to justify socially excluding them than direct braggarts. Study 3a and preregistered Study 3b found that humblebraggarts overestimated the extent to which recipients of their bragging admired them and underestimated the extent to which others felt contempt towards them, as well as others' willingness to exclude them. These findings extend our understanding of humblebragging's ineffectiveness and suggest that there is an interpersonal miscalibration when people use humblebragging.