Boasting
Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities.
Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves their superiority and is recounting accomplishments so that others will feel admiration or envy.[1]
Individuals construct an image of themselves, a personal identity, and present themselves in a manner that is consistent with that image.[2] Theodore Millon theorized that in self-presentation, individuals seek to balance boasting against discrediting themselves with excessive self-promotion or being caught blatantly misrepresenting themselves. Studies show that people often have a limited ability to perceive how their efforts at self-presentation are actually impacting their acceptance and likeability by others.[3]
Forms of bragging
Although a brag can be as straightforward as a simple claim to riches or greatness, it often assumes a variety of more subtle forms[4] in order to shield the speaker from any opprobrium they might otherwise receive for transgressing the social norms of humility. The most popular of these forms is the humblebrag, a term coined by comedian Harris Wittels, whereby the brag is masked in a complaint.[5] For example, "Dating websites are so much work. Every time I log in, I have like a hundred new messages."
Society and culture
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The Ancient Greek book The Characters of Theophrastus devotes a chapter to "The Boastful Man".[6]
Bēot is Old English for a ritualized boast, vow, threat or promise, which was usually made by an Anglo-Saxon warrior on the eve of or during battle. Bēots can be found in the epic poem Beowulf, including by the hero himself.
A gab (Old Occitan [ˈɡap] for "boast") is a troubadour boasting song.
Boasting and bragging are necessary components of maintaining "face" in some Arab societies.[7]
Fictional characters noted for their boasting
- Miles Gloriosus, a stock character from ancient Roman comedy
- Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, which gave rise to the word rodomontade, meaning "boastful, bragging talk"
- Scaramouche, a stock clown character in Italian commedia dell'arte
- Falstaff, in three of William Shakespeare's plays
- Rudolf Raspewho enjoys telling fantastical and absurd stories about his adventures abroad. He was based on a real-life German baron who was known for his exaggerated tales.
- The Brothers Grimmabout twelve servants who boast about their incredible laziness.
- Daffy Duck: American cartoon character who often brags about himself. In all of the cartoons he appeared in since the 1950s, he is usually victim of his own overestimations.
- Lambik: A Belgian comics character who often sees himself as smart, strong, attractive and a born leader, but is actually neither of those things.
- Odd Della Robbia, one of the main characters of the French animated series Code Lyoko.
See also
- Alazon
- Bomphiologia
- Flyting
- Hubris
- One-upmanship
- Puffery
- Self-promotion
- Virtue signalling
References
- ISBN 978-0313070402.
- ^ Schlenker, Barry R. (1980). Impression Management: The Self-Concept, Social Identity, and Interpersonal Relations. Monterey/California: Brooks/Cole.
- ISBN 978-0471384045.
- ^ "The Best Article Ever Written About Bragging".
- ^ Matley, D. (2018). “This is NOT a# humblebrag, this is just a# brag”: The pragmatics of self-praise, hashtags and politeness in Instagram posts. Discourse, context & media, 22, 30-38.
- ^ Theophrastus (1870). The Characters of Theophrastus: An English Tr. from a Rev. Text. Macmillan & Company. p. 192. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
- ^ CIA: Concepts of "Face" [1]