Illeism and Decision Making

English speakers often refer to themselves via first-person narrative forms, such as “I think” or “in my opinion”. One variation on this type of self-reference is known as illeism, where individuals refer to themselves using a third-person narrative form. While illeism is often associated with narcissism as famous individuals often use it to appear impartial (e.g., Bob Dole: “Let me tell you what Bob Dole thinks” Garner 2009), it is also used by average individuals in everyday conversations (e.g., Land and Kitzinger 2007) and even with what could be considered the opposite of narcissism—submission (e.g., DesRivieres 2010). Illeism is part of consumers’ everyday lives, most notably in contracts (e.g., “John promises to do X in exchange for Y”) and direct marketing communications (e.g., “We have all that John will need this fishing season”). As a result, illeism can be present at key moments in the life of a consumer, such as when signing a contract for a new house or deciding to become an organ donor. It is with difficult decisions such as these, that consumers often face a strong internal conflict between what they would like to do based on affect and impulsive behavior, and what they know is the best choice based on deliberate thought and their long-term goals. As a result, this work examines how illeism can influence decision making under such conflicts. For example, if Jane were to decide between buying a new coat (impulsive choice) or making a donation (deliberate choice), how would her decision be influenced if the charitable request, instead of being framed in a first-person narrative on the self (e.g., “I will donate $___”) were instead framed in an illeistic manner (e.g., “Jane will donate $____”)?