Self-awareness and the emotional consequences of self-discrepancies.
Several self theories explore the effects of discrepant self-beliefs on motivation and emotion. This research intersected two self theories: self-discrepancy theory and objective self-awareness theory. Self-discrepancy theory predicts that ideal and ought discrepancies cause different negative emotions; objective self-awareness theory predicts that high self-awareness will strengthen the relationship between self-discrepancies and emotions. People (N =112) completed measures of self-discrepancies and emotions (dejection, agitation, positive affect, and negative affect). Self-focused attention was manipulated with a large mirror. When self-awareness was low, self-discrepancies had weak, nonsignificant relations to emotion. When self-awareness was high, however, self-discrepancies strongly predicted emotional experience. These effects were general-ideal and ought discrepancies affected emotions because of their substantial shared variance, not their unique variance. Implications for theories of self-discrepancies and emotions are considered.
Phillips
Ann G
AG
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 27402-6170, USA. agphilli@uncg.edu
Silvia
Paul J
PJ
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001364:Awareness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires