PRIMING OF SELF-ASSESSMENT: DO WORDS SPEAK LOUDER THAN IMAGES?

The present study asks whether language (Arabic versus English) and cultural icons of different nations (Saudi Arabia and USA) can prime general self-efficacy estimates either independently or jointly. Arabic-English bilingual speakers were instructed to view and respond to images of objects typical of either the USA or Saudi Arabia (priming by cultural icons), and then complete a general self-efficacy scale, a scale measuring modesty, or both. Instructions and scales were either in Arabic or English (priming by language). Language primed self-efficacy and desire to be perceived as modest, which led to lower self-evaluations of mastery and higher desire to be perceived as modest by others in Arabic than in English. Either form of priming did not shape participants’ inclination towards modesty or immodesty. Taken together, these findings suggest that evaluations of one’s capabilities and estimates of one’s inclination towards modesty are likely to reflect qualitatively different, but complementary processes of self-assessment.