The Homeostatic Ego: Self-Enhancement as a Biological Adaptation

Abstract

A Dutch teenager begins hormone treatment to more fully transition to the woman she feels she is. An American real estate mogul slaps his name on his casinos, hotels, and skyscrapers. A Tibetan monk retreats in the mountains to meditate in poverty and isolation. These three individuals could hardly be more different from another. Nevertheless, their behavior can be readily understood in terms of a selfenhancement motive, or the desire to forge a self-image that satisfies one’s personal, social and cultural values (Sedikides & Strube, 1997). Self-enhancement is implicated in a vast array of human activities, from reckless driving (Ben-Ari, Florian, & Mikulincer, 1999) to ideological extremism (McGregor & Marigold, 2003) and nostalgic reveries (Luo, Liu, Cai, Wildschut, & Sedikides, 2016). Self-enhancement further has close ties to psychological health and emotional wellbeing (Sedikides, Rudich, Gregg, Kumashiro, & Rusbult, 2004). Consequently, is important to achieve a deeper scientific understanding of self-enhancement. Sedikides (this issue) furthers this aim by proposing a new theoretical model of self-enhancement. Central to the model is the notion that self-enhancement promotes psychological homeostasis, in the form of emotional wellbeing. More specifically, the homeostatic model draws an analogy between self-enhancement and the immune system. Just as the physical immune system protects the body from physical threats like germs or viruses, self-enhancement may form a psychological immune system that protects the person against psychological threats like loss or criticism. The homeostatic model thus connects self-enhancement to the dynamics of emotions and emotion regulation. Drawing from (social-) cognitive science, the adaptive functions of self-enhancement are assumed to be served through associative networks that contain identity themes, self-views, and autobiographical memories. The homeostatic model of self-enhancement (Sedikides, this issue) is a landmark achievement in the scientific study of the self. The model has both notable strengths and aspects that are in need of further development. In the remainder of this article, I take a closer look at the homeostatic model. First, I note some of the theoretical benefits of conceiving of self-enhancement as a biological adaptation. Second, I turn to the relation between physiological and psychological homeostasis. Third, I consider the analogy between self-enhancement and the immune system, and suggest that the digestive system may provide a useful alternative analogy. I end with some general conclusions and outlook on the self as a biological adaptation.