  Asymmetry accounts explain modesty not in terms of particular states, but in different norms governing self and other. Maes (2004) emphasizes differences between what we can acceptably say or think about ourselves and others. So, for example, saying “I deserve a standing ovation” is very different from “She deserves a standing ovation” (2004, 489). Utterances and thoughts about ourselves have special norms that are different from those concerning others.