What's good for the goose may not be as good for the gander: the benefits of self-monitoring for men and women in task groups and dyadic conflicts

The authors posit that women can rely on self-monitoring to overcome negative gender stereotypes in certain performance contexts. In a study of mixed-sex task groups, the authors found that female group members who were high self-monitors were considered more influential and more valuable contributors than women who were low self-monitors. Men benefited relatively less from self-monitoring behavior. In an experimental study of dyadic negotiations, the authors found that women who were high self-monitors performed better than women who were low self-monitors, particularly when they were negotiating over a fixed pool of resources, whereas men did not benefit as much from self-monitoring. Further analyses suggest that high self-monitoring women altered their behavior in these negotiations--when their partner behaved assertively, they increased their level of assertiveness, whereas men and low self-monitoring women did not alter their behavior.     

SELF-MONITORING,REHEARSAL, AND DECEPTIVE COMMUNICATION

This study examined the effects of self-monitoring and rehearsal on the ability of observers to detect deception and on the behavioral correlates of deception. It was hypothesized that observers would be more accurate at detecting deception perpetrated by low self-monitors than by high self-monitors, with the difference particularly pronounced when messages were rehearsed. In addition, low self-monitors communicating spontaneously were expected to display greater rates of verbal and nonverbal responding than high self-monitors who planned their communications. Sixteen high and low self-monitors both lied and told the truth (either spontaneously or after 20-minute rehearsals) regarding their feelings while viewing slides of pleasant landscapes and of disfigured burn victims. Analysis of the responses of the 151 observers who made veracity judgments supported the hypothesis concerning accuracy of deception detection. Coding of 10 verbal and nonverbal behaviors revealed that unrehearsed low self-monitors displayed significantly greater pause and nonfluency rates than rehearsed high self-monitors. Additional findings are reported regarding the effects of self-monitoring, rehearsal, and truthful versus deceptive communication on the behavioral correlates of deception.     

Self-monitoring and consumer psychology

Research on the relations between self-monitoring differences and two important areas of consumer behavior, reactions to specific advertising approaches and product evaluation strategies, is reviewed and evaluated. First, research on the responsiveness of high and low self-monitors to image-oriented and product-quality-based advertising attempts is addressed. Although findings generally indicate that high self-monitors are more responsive to image-oriented ads and that low self-monitors are more responsive to quality-based appeals, these results have not been robust. Possible reasons for this inconsistency are explored. Second, research on the means by which high and low self-monitors evaluate consumer products is examined. Findings suggest that when judging product quality, low self-monitors tend to rely on product performance and high self-monitors more likely use the product's image-enhancing capabilities. Additionally, research indicates that self-image/product-image congruency is generally a more important concern for low self-monitors, but high and low self-monitors' differential reliance on this congruency might be moderated by the situations in which the product is typically used. Additional possible delimiting conditions of these general findings are discussed.     

Sexism and beautyism effects in selection as a function of self-monitoring level of decision maker

The authors, in two experiments, investigated the influence of the sex and attractiveness of applicants for male and female sex-typed jobs on selection decisions made by low and high self-monitors. In both experiments, attractiveness and the congruence between applicants' sex and the sex type of the job influenced selection decisions. In addition, high self-monitors were more influenced by attractiveness and sex of the applicant when hiring for sex-typed jobs than low self-monitors, but this difference in hiring pattern was not evident when the job was gender neutral. Results indicate that job applicants may encounter different employment opportunities as a function of their sex, their physical attractiveness, the sex type of the job, and the self-monitoring level of the decision maker. Implications of results are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.     

The effect of interviewer guise upon gender self-report responses as a function of interviewee's self-monitoring position

Female high and low self-monitors were interviewed by a female experimenter who adopted either an androgynous or a feminine guise. An analysis of responses scored for femininity yielded a significant interaction between self-monitoring and interviewer guise which, when subjected to further analysis, revealed a significant simple effect for high self-monitors but not for low self-monitors. High self-monitors scored significantly higher on femininity when with the feminine guise interviewer, but lower when with the androgynous guise interviewer. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-monitoring and the prediction of one's own and others' personality test scores

This study had two aims. Firstly, it examined the similarity between subjects' ratings of themselves and others and their scores on various personality tests. A group of 264 undergraduates in psychology completed Snyder's (1974) Self-Monitoring Scale and the Neuroticism and Extraversion Scales from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck and Eysenck, 1975; 1986). Then, they estimated both their own score and that of a peer on those questionnaires. The results showed that subjects (i) were fairly good at estimating their own and others' extraversion and neuroticism scores, (ii) were less accurate at estimating self-monitoring scores, (iii) were better at predicting their own scores than those of others, and (iv) erroneously believed themselves to be significantly similar to the chosen peer. Secondly, individual differences in the accuracy of personality estimation were studied. According to Synder's (1974) self-monitoring construct, people high in self-monitoring would be especially adept at reading others' expressive behaviours; therefore, any differences in the accuracy of perceiving the personality of others might be associated with differences in self-monitoring. High self-monitors were more accurate than low self-monitors at estimating neuroticism scores for others. Another implication of the self-monitoring theory is that, taking high and low self-monitors as targets of others' estimations, there should be greater discrepancy between actual scores and peer estimations for high self-monitors. The results here supported this prediction, but only in self-monitoring estimation.     

Self-monitoring and close relationships

Three types of close relationships have received attention from theorists and researchers interested in self-monitoring: friendships, romantic relationships, and marriage. Our review of this literature was organized around three phases of relationships: initiation, maintenance, and dissolution. Across the three types of relationships, consistent differences between high self-monitors and low self-monitors emerged concerning the structure of their social relationships (segmented vs. integrated), the basis for choosing friends and romantic partners (activity-based vs. person-based), and the orientation taken to romantic and marital partners (uncommitted vs. committed). Across all three types of relationships, however, little is known about the processes and consequences involved in the dissolution of close relationships for high self-monitors and low self-monitors. Relatively little is also known about the processes used by high self-monitors and low self-monitors to maintain their friendships and marriages. In addition to addressing these deficiencies in the literature, theorists and researchers interested in self-monitoring and close relationships need to develop sophisticated, causal models that can account for (a) interaction exchanges in the relationships, (b) dyadic as well as individual levels of analysis, and (c) temporal and situational changes in the course of close relationships.     

Status and the Motivational Foundations of Self-Monitoring

Based on their quantitative review of the self-monitoring literature, Gangestad and Snyder (2000, Psychological Bulletin, 126, 530–555) proposed that the self-presentational behavior of high self-monitors is designed to cultivate status within perceived hierarchical social structures. They suggest that high self-monitors may be more concerned with addressing status within unequal-status relationships, whereas low self-monitors may be more concerned with establishing equal-status relationships based on trust and genuineness. In this article, we address these proposed motivations by examining relevant self-monitoring literature that pertains to desire for status, perceptions of and responsivity to status, and the cultivation of status. In addition to discussing the implications of status for high self-monitors, we also consider the proposed desires of low self-monitors for equality and sincerity.     

Self-Presentational Goals,Self-Monitoring,and Nonverbal Behavior

This study examined how particular interpersonal goals relate to the expression of emotions during social interaction for people particularly high and low in self-monitoring needs. Before interacting with a partner, participants were assigned a goal of either self-promotion (appearing competent), ingratiation (appearing likable), or were assigned no specific goal. Naive judges viewed 15-sec segments of these interactions and rated participants regarding the emotions displayed. Results indicate that displays of positive and negative emotion are differentially affected by an individual's self-monitoring status, self-presentational goal, and gender. Overall, high self-monitors and women expressed less negative emotion and more positive emotion than low self-monitors and men. Furthermore, although women showed little variability in their displays of negative emotion due to goal, men's displays of negative emotion were affected by self-presentational goals.     

Book review of Conversations of Friends: Speculations on Affective Development

Two experiments examined the affective consequences associated with self-monitoring in a job application context. Study 1 examined reactions of high and low self-monitors to slides of interviewers whose faces fit or did not fit an occupation. It was hypothesized that high self-monitors would experience the most negative affect when the face did not fit the occupational stereotype because such a mismatch would provide unclear or conflicting cues for expected behavior, whereas low self-monitors would experience the most negative affect when the face matched the stereotype because expectations for stereotypical behavior would constrain their expression of self. Results confirmed the hypotheses. In Study 2, subjects were asked to give the "right answers" on a personality test to get a job which either fit or did not fit their personality. Low self-monitors, more concerned with accurate self-presentation, experienced heightened negative affect if the job did not fit their personality, whereas high self-monitors who are accustomed to controlling their self-presentation experienced less negative affect. In both studies, situational cues or demands that conflicted with the motivational concerns of self-monitoring style differentially produced negative affect for high and low self-monitors. Implications of making hiring decisions on the basis of interviews and other devices subject to impression management were discussed.     

Self-monitoring without awareness: using mimicry as a nonconscious affiliation strategy

This research sought to extend the current conceptualization of self-monitoring by examining whether self-monitoring motives and behaviors can operate outside of conscious awareness. Two studies examined nonconscious mimicry among high and low self-monitors in situations varying in affiliative cues. Participants interacted with a confederate who shook her foot (Study 1) or touched her face (Study 2). In both studies, high self-monitors were more likely to mimic the confederate's subtle gestures when they believed the confederate to be a peer (Study 1) or someone superior to them (Study 2). Low self-monitors mimicked to the same degree across conditions. Thus, when the situation contains affiliative cues, high self-monitors use mimicry as a nonconscious strategy to get along with their interaction partner.     

The Influence of Source Physical Attractiveness on Advertising Effectiveness: A Functional Perspective1

High and low self-monitors heard either a physically attractive or unattractive source promote a new product with either strong or weak arguments. High self-monitors were persuaded by the physically attractive source only when she presented strong arguments. In contrast, low self-monitoring individuals were persuaded by the physically attractive source regardless of argument strength. Neither high nor low self-monitors were persuaded by the physically unattractive source, regardless of the quality of the arguments she offered. Cognitive response and recall data suggest that high self-monitors may have been systematically processing the physically attractive source's message and low self-monitors may have been more heuristically processing her message. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for advertising strategies.     

Toward an Understanding of “The Sex Game”: The Effects of Gender and Self-Monitoring on Perceptions of Sexuality and Likability in Initial Interactions1

Results of several studies indicate that men attribute more sexual meaning to heterosexual interactions than do women. Based on Abbey's (1982) findings, we hypothesized that males, in comparison to females, would attribute more sexuality to opposite-sex partners. Based on findings from several self-monitoring dating studies, we predicted that high self-monitors would rate their partners and themselves higher on sexuality and likability traits than would low self-monitors. A laboratory study was conducted in which mixed-sex pairs of participants discussed their likes and dislikes about college life. Participants then rated themselves and their opposite-sex partners on a set of sexuality and likability trait adjectives and indicated their interest in getting to know their partner better. Results supported the gender hypotheses, whereas they only partially supported the self-monitoring predictions. The self-monitoring effects on self-ratings of sexuality and partner ratings of likability are used to explain why high self-monitors are more successful than low self-monitors in establishing heterosexual relationships.     

Self-monitoring and sex as moderator variables in the statistical explanation of self-reported marijuana and alcohol use

Self-monitoring and sex are examined as likely moderators of some of the known effective predictors of self-reported use of marijuana and alcohol. The theory of self-monitoring implies that in comparisons between low and high self-monitors, dispositional predictors account for more of the variance in reported use among low self-monitors and environmental predictors account for more of the variance among high self-monitors. With the two classes of predictors established via principal-components analysis and with subgroups defined by scores on Snyder's Self-Monitoring Scale, data from 807 college students showed that self-monitoring does not affect the action of either dispositional or environmental predictors. Thus, the self-monitoring construct promises explanatory leverage that in these tests, the scale is not able to deliver. When subgroups are defined by sex, analyses of reported alcohol use yield small but significant moderator effects: Women's use is more predictable from environmental variables, whereas men's use is more predictable from dispositional variables. These effects are consistent with the conclusions of recent meta-analyses of results from studies of sex differences in conformity to group pressures.     

Web Site Design, Self-Monitoring Style, and Consumer Preference

This study aims to advance understanding of Internet interactions by considering the impact of Web site design and self-monitoring style on consumer preference. Four quasi-commercial Web sites were constructed containing identical information presented via a context-based (animated) or content-based (unanimated) design, and 2 advertisements of either image- or information-oriented style. Using a between-participants design, the study found that all individuals favored context-based over content-based Web site design. Matching advertising appeal to individual self-monitoring needs was found to increase Web site effectiveness of consumer preference for high self-monitors, and within Web site satisfaction and level of persuasion for low self-monitors. Results suggest that to reach their potential as a consumer-sensitive tool, Web sites must be engaging in their design and tailor their communications to accommodate individual differences.     

The ripple effect of personality on social structure: self-monitoring origins of network brokerage

Despite growing interest in social network brokerage, its psychological antecedents have been neglected. One possibility is that brokerage relates to self-monitoring personality orientation. High self-monitors, relative to low self-monitors, in adapting their self-presentations to the demands of different groups, may occupy positions as brokers between disconnected social worlds. For 162 Korean expatriate entrepreneurs in a Canadian urban area, the results showed that those high in self-monitoring tended to occupy direct brokerage roles within the Korean community--in terms of their direct acquaintances being unconnected with each other. Those high in self-monitoring also tended to occupy indirect brokerage roles--in terms of the acquaintances of their acquaintances being unconnected with each other. Finally, for recent arrivals, those high in self-monitoring tended to establish ties to a wider range of important non-Korean position holders outside the community. These results (which controlled for strongly significant effects of network size on individuals' brokerage within the community) suggest a ripple effect of self-monitoring on social structure and contribute to a clearer understanding of how personality relates to brokerage at different levels.     

Managing personal networks: An examination of how high self-monitors achieve better job performance

Structural holes are important network structures that have positive implications for individuals' job performance. Although the emergence of structural holes is closely related to self-monitoring, little is known about how chameleon-like high self-monitors manage to occupy brokerage positions. We posited that leader–member exchange (LMX) quality and network diversity might serve as two important mediating paths through which self-monitoring links to structural holes and sequential job performance. Using structural equation modelling to analyse 10 department networks, we found that high self-monitors were more likely to build high-quality LMX relationships and diversified co-worker networks, which helped to enhance structural holes and job performance. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.     

A particular resiliency to threatening environments

Being in the numerical minority can impair intellectual performance. We suggest, however, that these negative effects need not extend to everyone because some people—specifically high self-monitors—can overcome the effects of situationally activated stereotypes. In two studies, we manipulated the race/sex composition of small groups and assessed intellectual performance. Results revealed that: (a) self-monitoring moderated the effects of group-composition on performance, such that it was positively related to performance in stressful minority settings, (b) the number of out-group members in a group caused a linear effect on performance that differed for high and low self-monitors, and (c) stereotype activation mediated self-monitoring’s moderating effect on performance. Thus, high self-monitors may be resilient to threatening environments because they react to negative stereotypes with increased (and not decreased) performance. We discuss these results in relation to theories of inter-group contact, stereotype threat, and stress and coping.