心理表现
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MotivationandEmotion,Vol.25,No.1,2001(c2001)
MaintainingOne’sSelf-ImageVis-`a-VisOthers:
TheRoleofSelf-AffirmationintheSocial
EvaluationoftheSelf
StevenJ.Spencer,1,3StevenFein,2,3andChristineD.Lomore1
Threestudiesexaminedhowpeoplemaintaintheirself-imageswhentheyfacethreattointerpersonalaspectsoftheself.InStudies1and2,wefoundevidencethatlowself-esteempeoplelowertheirestimatesoftheirperformancewhentheyexpectimmediatefeedbackinordertoprotectthemselvesfromtheinterpersonalthreatinherentinsuchfeedback,andthatself-affirmationreducesthistendencyamonglowself-esteempeople.InStudy3,wefoundthatwhenpeopleareself-affirmedtheyaremorelikelytoengageinupwardsocialcomparisonsandlesslikelytoengageindownwardsocialcomparisons.Togetherthesefindingssuggestthatpeoplecancopewiththreatstointerpersonalaspectsoftheselfbyaffirmingotherimportantaspectsoftheself.
Theself,asthatwhichcanbeanobjecttoitself,isessentiallyasocialstructure,anditarisesoutofsocialexperience.Mead(1934,p.140)
...theemotionthatbeckonsmeonisindubitablythepursuitofanidealsocialself,aselfthatisatleastworthyofapprovingrecognitionbythehighestpossiblejudgingcompanion...James(1910,p.46)
Asthesequotesillustrate,thesocialnatureoftheself-concepthaslongbeen
recognized.Inparticulartheypointtothereciprocalperceptionsofselfandothers
asplayingacrucialroleintheself-concept.Meadnotesthatweoftenformand
manageourself-imagesbyinteractingwithothers.Thatis,howothersviewus
1DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofWaterloo,Waterloo,Ontario,Canada.2DepartmentofPsychology,BronfmanScienceCenter,WilliamsCollege,Williamstown,Massachusetts.3AddressallcorrespondencetoStevenSpencer,DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofWaterloo,200UniversityAvenue,Waterloo,Ontario,CanadaN2L3G1;e-mail:sspencer@watarts.uwaterloo.ca.OrtoStevenFein,DepartmentofPsychology,BronfmanScienceCenter,WilliamsCollege,Williamstown,Massachusetts01267;e-mail:steven.fein@williams.edu.
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0146-7239/01/0300-0041$19.50/0C2001PlenumPublishingCorporation42Spencer,Fein,andLomore
influencesourperceptionofourselves.Jamesnotesthatwecareabouthowwestand
inrelationtoothers.Thatis,howweviewothersshapesourviewsofourselves.
Wearguethatthisdynamicinterplaybetweenhowweviewothersandhowthey
viewus(orhowwethinktheyviewus),whatwearecallingtheselfvis-`a-vis
others,isafundamentalpartofself-imagemaintenance.
Thereisarenewedemphasisinsocialpsychologyonthisinterpersonalnature
oftheself-concept.BaumeisterandLeary(1995)arguethatthedesiretobelongand
beacceptedbyothersisthestrongest,mostcentralhumanmotivation.Researchin
avarietyofliteratures,suchasonattachmenttheory(Bartholomew&Horowitz,
1991;Davila,Burge,&Hammen,1997;Hazan&Shaver,1987),interpersonal
relationships(Baldwin&Holmes,1987;Berscheid&Reis,1988;Collins&Miller,
1994;Holmes,2000;Murray&Holmes,1993),andculture(Heine&Lehman,
1997;Kashima,Yamaguchi,Kim,Choi,Gelfand,&Masaki,1995;Kitayama&
Markus,1999;Lee,Aaker,&Gardner,2000;Markus&Kitayama,1991),has
highlightedtheimportantroleofothersintheself-concept.
Becausetheself-conceptdependstosuchalargeextentontheseself-other
perceptions,concernsaboutfailuresinthisinterpersonalaspectoftheselfcan
beparticularlythreateningtoindividuals,particularlyinWestern,individualistic
cultures.SinceJames’sseminalwork,theliteratureontheself-conceptisreplete
withexamplesofhowtheselfrespondsindefensive,biasedwaystotrytoprotect
theselfagainstsuchthreats.Forexample,peoplemaytrytoavoidorrender
ambiguouspotentiallyimportantfeedbackabouttheirperformanceonataskif
theyhavereasontoworrythatthisfeedbackcouldbethreateningtotheselfvis-
`a-visothers,theymaypresentthemselvesinself-deprecatingwaysinhopesof
avoidingtheembarrassmentofappearingtofailinfrontofothers,ortheymay
focusondownwardratherthanlateralorupwardsocialcomparisontargetsinorder
tosalveathreatenedself-image(e.g.,Baumeister,1998;Ferrari,1991;Festinger,
1954;Shepperd,1993;Shepperd&Arkin,1989;Taylor,Wood,&Lichtman,1983;
Wills,1981,1991).Inalloftheseexamples,theindividualmayprotectagainstan
acutethreattotheself-image,butperhapsatthecostoflosingpotentiallyvaluable
informationforself-insight,improvement,orpromotion.
Whathasnotbeenexaminedasextensivelyinpreviousresearchishowthese
interpersonalaspectsoftheself-conceptworktogetherwithotherimportantaspects
oftheself(e.g.,values,attitudes,andinterests)inshapingpeople’sself-evaluations.
Inourearlierwork(Fein&Spencer,1997)wedemonstratedthatpeoplecanuse
howtheyseetheselfvis-`a-visotherstocopewithathreattoanotherimportant
aspectoftheirself-image.Morespecifically,wefoundthatwhenpeoplemadeneg-
ativeevaluationsofastereotypedtarget,theseevaluationsrestoredtheirthreatened
self-image.Forexample,individualswhoexperiencedathreattotheirself-image
inacademics(i.e.,whentheyreceivednegativefeedbackonanintelligencetest)