Comment paraître modeste au travail : la désirabilité sociale des différentes expressions de la modestie lors de l'explication d'une réussite

Three field studies dealt with how hierarchical superiors view modest attributions proposed by subordinates to account for their success on daily tasks. The results showed that modesty was not systematically appreciated by the supervisors. More precisely, the three studies converged in demonstrating that deferential, or upward, modesty was judged more desirable and elicited a more favorable impression of the attributor than did the other forms of attributional modesty. Finally, practical conclusions are drawn.