The authors, Penelope Lockwood and Ziva Kunda, propose that the impact of superstars on self-views depends on their perceived relevance and the attainability of their success. Relevant superstars can either enhance or deflate self-views, depending on whether participants believe they can achieve similar success. When a superstar's domain of excellence is relevant to the self and their success seems attainable, individuals are inspired and their self-views are enhanced. Conversely, when the success seems unattainable, individuals feel demoralized and their self-views are deflated. The study examines these effects through two experiments, one focusing on the relevance of the superstar and another on the attainability of their success. The results support the hypothesis that relevant superstars can inspire and enhance self-views when their success is attainable, but deflate self-views when it is not. Open-ended responses from participants further provide evidence of inspiration in these circumstances.The authors, Penelope Lockwood and Ziva Kunda, propose that the impact of superstars on self-views depends on their perceived relevance and the attainability of their success. Relevant superstars can either enhance or deflate self-views, depending on whether participants believe they can achieve similar success. When a superstar's domain of excellence is relevant to the self and their success seems attainable, individuals are inspired and their self-views are enhanced. Conversely, when the success seems unattainable, individuals feel demoralized and their self-views are deflated. The study examines these effects through two experiments, one focusing on the relevance of the superstar and another on the attainability of their success. The results support the hypothesis that relevant superstars can inspire and enhance self-views when their success is attainable, but deflate self-views when it is not. Open-ended responses from participants further provide evidence of inspiration in these circumstances.