Fig. 1.

Example of a trial in the Direct, Reflected, and the Control condition. Each trial started with a black screen with a jittered duration between 0 and 4400 ms. Subsequently, a fixation cross was shown for 400 ms after which the stimulus appeared. In the Direct and Reflected conditions, participants rated on a scale of 1–4 to what extent the traits described themselves (from their own perspective or their perceived peers’ perspective, respectively). In the Control condition, participants categorized the trait sentences into one of four options. The stimulus was shown for 4600 ms. If participants responded within this timeframe, the number of their choice would turn yellow. If participants failed to respond within this timeframe, a screen with the phrase ‘Too Late!’ was shown for an additional 1000 ms after which the next trial would start. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)