心理表现

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MotivationandEmotion,Vol.25,No.1,2001(c󰀂2001)

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$19.50/0C󰀂2001PlenumPublishingCorporation42Spencer,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)