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Found in two studies that the Life Orientation Test (LOT) had limited discriminant validity relative to measures of neuroticism. Furthermore, although previous correlations of the LOT with measures of symptom reports and coping behaviors were replicated, these correlations were eliminated when neuroticism was controlled. In contrast, the correlations of symptoms and coping with neuroticism remained significant when LOT scores were controlled. Thus, the LOT is virtually indistinguishable from measures of neuroticism, and previously reported findings using this scale are perhaps more parsimoniously interpreted as reflecting neuroticism rather than optimism. These findings are discussed in terms of existing support for models of optimism and self-control and general methodological issues in studies of personality and health.

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Narcissists are thought to display extreme affective reactions to positive and negative information about the self. Two experiments were conducted in which high- and low-narcissistic individuals, as defined by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), completed a series of tasks in which they both succeeded and failed. After each task, participants made attributions for their performance and reported their moods. High-NPI participants responded with greater changes in anxiety, anger, and self-esteem. Low self-complexity was examined, but it neither mediated nor moderated affective responses. High-NPI participants tended to attribute initial success to ability, leading to more extreme anger responses and greater self-esteem reactivity to failure. A temporal sequence model linking self-attribution and emotion to narcissistic rage is discussed.

Three experiments were conducted to explore the effects of strategic self-enhancement or self-deprecation on the actor's self-esteem as measured in a separate context. In the first experiment subjects were strongly influenced, by observing others in a screening interview, to emulate their self-enhancing or selfdeprecating behavior when they were themselves interviewed. This carried over and was reflected in their subsequent self-esteem. In the second experiment this carry-over effect was replicated in a setting in which the subject was interviewed while playing the role of a job candidate. In the third experiment, subjects instructed to be self-enhancing in an interview subsequently showed elevated selfesteem (unless their interview behavior was prescribed by the experimenter and thus not self-referring). Subjects instructed to be self-deprecating subsequently showed lowered self-esteem if they had been given a clear choice as to whether to engage in the interview. Thus self-perception theory can account for selfenhancing carry-over, whereas dissonance theory offers a more appropriate explanation for the carry-over or internalization of self-deprecating actions. This article concerns how an actor's private self-appraisal is affected by strategic self-presentations to a target person. What happens to an ingratiator's self-concept, for example, when in the interests of managing a favorable impression he or she describes personal characteristics in a highly favorable way? Studying the impact of ingratiation is a topic that has received little concern in the self-presentation literature. A notable exception is the study by Gergen (1965) in which situationally induced self-enhancement led to carry-over effects when self-esteem was subsequently measured in a different setting. As yet, however, we know precious little about the robustness of such carry-over effects and even less about the conditions accentuating or minimizing them.If Joan A, who finds herself in a sociallyThis research was supported by the National Science Foundation. We are indebted to Joel Cooper for his discerning comments.Requests for reprints should be sent to Edward E.