self-serving biases

n. Self-serving biases are a collection of motivated cognitive strategies that allow an individual to feel good about himself/herself, either for preservation of the positive view of the self or as a reaction to a threat to self-esteem. Examples of self-serving biases include attributing one's successes to the self and one's failures to external sources, perceiving oneself as being more responsible for a successful project than other group members, and perceiving oneself as better than average on desirable traits or characteristics. – EWMa, CYC
▶ See also BASKING IN REFLECTED GLORY, SELF-ESTEEM, SELF-HANDICAPPING, and UNREALISTIC OPTIMISM