Self-Discrepancies as Predictors of Vulnerability to Distinct Syndromes of Chronic Emotional Distress

Two types of self-discrepancy differing in both domain and standpoint of self-guide were examined as predictors of vulnerability to chronic emotional syndromes. Study 1 assessed discrepancy between the actual/own self-state and the ideal/own self-guide and between the actual/own self-state and the ought/other self-guide in predicting syndromes of dejection and agitation as well as different types of anger. Actual/own: ideal/own discrepancy (AI) was uniquely related to dejection, frustration, and anger at self as measured 2 months later; actual/own:ought/other discrepancy (AOO) was uniquely related to agitation and to anger at others and resentment. Study 2 used structural equation modeling of the relations between AI and AOO discrepancy and social anxiety versus depression as measured weeks later. A model in which AOO was more strongly associated with social anxiety and AI was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms provided the best fit. The results support the convergent and discriminant validity of a self-discrepancy model of vulnerability to chronic emotional syndromes.     

Automatic activation of self-discrepancies and emotional syndromes: when cognitive structures influence affect

Different types of self-discrepancies are associated with different negative affects. Two studies were conducted to determine whether automatic activation of specific actual-self: self-guide mismatches, as cognitive structures, would induce distinct emotional states. Subjects possessing significant discrepancies between their actual self and either their ideal self-guide (attributes that someone wishes or hopes the person would possess) or their ought self-guide (attributes that someone believes the person has the duty or obligation to possess) responded verbally to an audiotape while "thinking about other people." Study 1 involved two kinds of priming attributes: self-relevant and yoked (another subject's self-relevant attributes). Activating mismatches induced momentary syndromes of dejection (sadness, decreased arousal) in ideal-discrepant subjects but induced agitation (nervousness, increased arousal) in ought-discrepant subjects. In Study 2, subjects were randomized to either self-relevant/nondiscrepant, self-discrepant, or yoked priming. The findings of Study 1 were replicated for the self-discrepant priming condition alone. Results indicate that (a) mismatches constitute cognitive structures and (b) automatic activation of different mismatches via contextual priming induces distinct types of emotional discomfort.     

The importance of importance in the physical self: support for the theoretically appealing but empirically elusive model of James

This study tested James's theoretical assumption that the importance people attribute to different physical self-domains, in combination with perceived competence in those domains, influences higher order self-concepts. Data from four large samples (total N=1,831) from Sweden, Great Britain, Portugal, and Turkey were analyzed. A new version of an instrument, the Physical Self-Perception Profile-Revised (PSPP-R), was used to measure perceived competence and importance of physical self-domains, along with global self-esteem. Competence-importance interactions contributed significantly to higher order self-concepts in 3 of 4 PSPP subdomains. The same result was found in the structural equation modeling analyses and latent interaction analyses. Idiographic analyses showed that domains rated as intraindividually more important explained more global self-esteem variance compared with less important domains. In general, support for James's hypothesis was found across the different analyses. Differences between the methodology and results in the present study compared with previous studies are discussed.     

Ideals,oughts, and self-regulation: Are there qualitatively distinct self-guides?

Self-regulation, the ability to regulate one's emotions and behavior with respect to important goals, is an important function. While a number of different self-regulatory models exist, self-discrepancy theory (SDT: Higgins, 1987, 1989a, 1989b) is the only model which proposes that there are distinct self-guides, the ideal and the ought self. Discrepancies or congruencies between the actual self and each type of self-guide is proposed to result in unique emotional and behavioral consequences. Some recent research findings have failed to demonstrate these unique consequences, causing the proposed distinction between the self-guides to be questioned in the literature. This paper suggests that this conclusion is based on the assumption that these effects must occur in every case. We argue that SDT does not propose that unique relationships between discrepancies and either emotions or behavior always occur; rather, it specifies moderators of these relationships. A review of recent research examining the effects of these moderators highlights not only that, indeed, such moderating effects are found, but also in some cases the moderating effect is different for relationships between emotions and the two types of discrepancies. It is concluded that these two different types of evidence, namely, the existence of moderator variables and their differential effects on ideal and ought self-regulation, provide compelling support for the distinct nature of the ideal and the ought self-guides.     

Relational discrepancies and emotion: The moderating roles of relationship type and relational discrepancy valence

Relational discrepancy theory proposes that discrepancies in the extents to which relational partners meet relational standards are associated with emotions and that perceiving relationships in specified ways moderates associations. In a range of relationships, ideal relational discrepancies were associated with dejection and ought relational discrepancies with agitation (Study 1), associations moderated by relationship type. Discrepancy valence also moderated ideal discrepancy associations. Similar associations were found in friendships, moderated by relationship type (Study 2). Finally, relationship type and valence moderated associations in relationships with supervisors but not with colleagues (Study 3). These results support relational discrepancy theory propositions.     

When do self-discrepancies have specific relations to emotions? The second-generation question of Tangney, Niedenthal, Covert, and Barlow (1998)

Self-discrepancy theory (E. T. Higgins, 1987) hypothesizes that actual-ideal discrepancies are uniquely related to dejection emotions, whereas actual-ought discrepancies are uniquely related to agitation emotions. A review of the literature testing this hypothesis supports an affirmative-answer to the question "Is there an effect?" However, as the results of J. P. Tangney, P. M. Niedenthal, M. V. Covert, and D. H. Barlow's (1998) study indicate, the predicted unique relations are not always found. Their article contributes to the development of self-discrepancy theory by shifting attention to the second-generation question "When is there an effect?" Four variables that moderate the likelihood of finding unique discrepancy-emotion relations are discussed in the present article: the magnitude of a self-discrepancy, the accessibility of a self-discrepancy, the applicability and relevance of a self-discrepancy in a current context, and the importance of a self-discrepancy to the person.     

Cue self-relevance affects autobiographical memory specificity in individuals with a history of major depression

Previously depressed and never-depressed individuals identified personal characteristics (self-guides) defining their ideal, ought, and feared selves. One week later they completed the autobiographical memory test (AMT). For each participant the number of AMT cues that reflected self-guide content was determined to produce an index of AMT cue self-relevance. Individuals who had never been depressed showed no significant relationship between cue self-relevance and specificity. In contrast, in previously depressed participants there was a highly significant negative correlation between cue self-relevance and specificity--the greater the number of AMT cues that reflected self-guide content, the fewer specific memories participants recalled. It is suggested that in individuals with a history of depression, cues reflecting self-guide content are more likely to prompt a shift to processing of information within the long-term self (Conway, Singer, & Tagini, 2004), increasing the likelihood that self-related semantic information will be provided in response to cues on the autobiographical memory test.     

Stability, growth, and decline in adult life span development of declarative memory: cross-sectional and longitudinal data from a population-based study

Five-year changes in episodic and semantic memory were examined in a sample of 829 participants (35-80 years). A cohort-matched sample (N=967) was assessed to control for practice effects. For episodic memory, cross-sectional analyses indicated gradual age-related decrements, whereas the longitudinal data revealed no decrements before age 60, even when practice effects were adjusted for. Longitudinally, semantic memory showed minor increments until age 55, with smaller decrements in old age as compared with episodic memory. Cohort differences in educational attainment appear to account for the discrepancies between cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Collectively, the results show that age trajectories for episodic and semantic memory differ and underscore the need to control for cohort and retest effects in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, respectively.     

Parent-Adolescent Relationships,Physical Disciplinary History,and Adjustment in Adolescents

Physical discipline occurs within the context of the parent-child relationship, yet it is often not examined within this important context. The current study examined whether negative effects of physical discipline on older adolescent adjustment are mediated by the overall parent-child relationship. The sample consisted of 253, mostly Caucasian, middle-class, adolescent participants (mean age = 18.4, 67% female). Physical punishment history, parent-adolescent relationships, and adjustment were assessed with self-report instruments. For females, relationships with parents partially mediated the association between physical punishment and adjustment. Physical punishment was negatively associated with both adjustment and parent-adolescent relationships. For males, physical punishment was not related to adjustment. Parent-adolescent relationships were positively associated with adjustment for both females and males. Physical punishment by fathers was negatively associated with father-son relationships. The results suggest the importance of exploring links between physical punishment and adjustment within the context of parent-child relationship, as well as examining males, females, mothers, and fathers separately.     

Subjective trajectories for life satisfaction: A self-discrepancy perspective

Although the belief that life gets better and better over time is widespread, individuals who perceive their lives to be improving over time report less positive functioning. Here we report an experimental study based on self-discrepancy theory (Higgins in Psychol Rev 94:319–340, 1987) in which the type of future self-guide (ideal, ought, undesired, unspecified) was manipulated across young adult participants. Perceived self-discrepancy and subjective life satisfaction trajectories (derived from ratings of past, current, and anticipated future life satisfaction) were impacted as expected. Subjective trajectories (current-to-future) were associated with greater perceived discrepancies in the undesired future condition only. Emotional distress was associated with greater perceived discrepancy from a positive future (ideal, ought, unspecified) and more steeply inclining subjective trajectories (current-to-future), along with less perceived discrepancy from an undesired future and less steeply declining subjective trajectories (current to undesired future). Thus, temporal self-discrepancy may shape temporal life satisfaction evaluations and associated emotional reactions.     

Social and Emotional Loneliness Among Divorced and Married Men and Women: Comparing the Deficit and Cognitive Perspectives

Data from the 1998 survey “Divorce in the Netherlands” (N = 2,223) are used to analyze differences in loneliness among divorced and married men and women. The results indicate that it makes sense to distinguish social from emotional loneliness. This is consistent with the deficit perspective, which posits that the absence of specific types of relationships is associated with specific forms of loneliness. Whereas social loneliness is largely attributable to support network deficits, emotional loneliness is associated with the absence of a partner. In line with the cognitive perspective, the results show that greater insight into loneliness is obtained when discrepancies in relationships are considered. Divorcees who attach great importance to having a partner and people whose marriages are conflict ridden tend to have the highest levels of emotional loneliness. Our study shows that to explain loneliness, one should take not only characteristics of people's relationships into consideration, but also their relationship preferences. The investment hypothesis, which also follows from the cognitive perspective, is not supported by the data. There is no indication that those who attach greater importance to having a partner invest less in relationships with friends, relatives, and colleagues and therefore show high levels of social loneliness. Consistent gender differences are observed: Men, regardless of partner status, tend to attach greater importance to having a partner than do women, and they tend to have smaller support networks and higher levels of social loneliness. Among the divorced, men are more apt to suffer from emotional loneliness than are women.     

Age and subjective well-being revisited: a discrepancy perspective

The hypothesis that the age effect on subjective well-being was entirely mediated by goal discrepancies (GDs) was tested with structural equation modeling. Six GDs grouped into 3 broad categories (relationships, health, and others) were differentially related to age. Whereas GD relationships and GD others (e.g., materials) decreased with age, GD health increased with age. GD health had smaller effects on subjective well-being than GDs in relationships and other life domains. Hence, the net effect of all the GDs on well-being was positive. GD variations because of age could completely explain the age trends in life satisfaction and positive affect, and partially the age trend in negative affect.     

Romantic relationships: do socially anxious individuals benefit?

Psychological health and interpersonal functioning mutually influence each other. Social anxiety has a pervasive effect on interpersonal functioning, resulting in smaller social networks, increased likelihood of being single or divorced, and less intimacy in relationships. However, little is known about how relationships affect socially anxious individuals in return. We utilized a structured interview to assess how romantic relationships were perceived as influencing three aspects of psychological health (well-being, social anxiety and comfort in social situations) and whether these patterns differed as a function of social anxiety in an undergraduate sample. The perceived importance of several reasons for these effects, including those that could be characterized as both protective and harmful, was also assessed. Relationships were perceived as having contributed positively in each domain. However, when positive and negative reasons were examined separately, socially anxious individuals reported benefiting more from the positive reasons and being harmed more by negative reasons. Further, social anxiety was associated with endorsing certain reasons as important.     

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.     

Beyond initial attraction: physical attractiveness in newlywed marriage.

Physical appearance plays a crucial role in shaping new relationships, but does it continue to affect established relationships, such as marriage? In the current study, the authors examined how observer ratings of each spouse's facial attractiveness and the difference between those ratings were associated with (a) observations of social support behavior and (b) reports of marital satisfaction. In contrast to the robust and almost universally positive effects of levels of attractiveness on new relationships, the only association between levels of attractiveness and the outcomes of these marriages was that attractive husbands were less satisfied. Further, in contrast to the importance of matched attractiveness to new relationships, similarity in attractiveness was unrelated to spouses' satisfaction and behavior. Instead, the relative difference between partners' levels of attractiveness appeared to be most important in predicting marital behavior, such that both spouses behaved more positively in relationships in which wives were more attractive than their husbands, but they behaved more negatively in relationships in which husbands were more attractive than their wives. These results highlight the importance of dyadic examinations of the effects of spouses' qualities on their marriages.     

The relationships between body mass and body image and relative autonomy for exercise among adolescent males and females

ObjectivesThis study examined the impact of body mass and body image on autonomous motivation for exercise among adolescents. It was predicted that body mass and body size discrepancies would be curvilinearly related to relative autonomy because, from a self-determination theory perspective, being or perceiving that one is under- or over-sized would be experienced as pressure to conform to culturally transmitted standards of an ideal physique, undermining one's sense of autonomy.DesignCross-sectional comparative study.MethodsFifty males (mean age 16.90) and 48 females (mean age 16.88) completed measures of relative autonomy for exercise, discrepancies between perceived and ideal body size, body mass index and physical activity.ResultsHierarchical polynomial regression analyses showed that among males relative autonomy was predicted by both body mass and body size discrepancies. The relationships took an inverted-u form: autonomy was at its maximum when body mass index was around 18.50 and when body size discrepancies were zero. Among females, relative autonomy was predicted by body size discrepancies alone and the relationship was r-shaped: autonomy increased as body size discrepancies became less negative, reaching a maximum and leveling off when the discrepancy was +1.ConclusionsThe gender difference in the effect of body mass and perceived body size discrepancies on autonomous motivation for exercise could be explained by different socio-cultural expectations for males and females in Western societies. For females the cultural norm is a thin and toned physique whereas for males it is a muscular mesomorphic build that is neither thin nor fat.     

Teachers' task demands,students' test expectations,and actual test content

Background: Previous studies on instructional importance show that individual students and their teachers differ in the topics that they consider important in the context of an upcoming teacher‐made test. Aims: This study aimed to examine whether such differences between students' test expectations and teachers' intended task demands can be explained by the actual test content. Samples: Participants were history teachers (N=19) and their 11th‐grade students (N=388). Method: Teachers and students rated the importance of text sections that would be tested in the near future. By means of multilevel analysis, ratings were compared with the occurrence of sections in the tests. Results: Although teachers considered a majority of sections as important and tested only a minority of the sections, their tests still included sections rated as unimportant. The number of such discrepancies, however, was relatively small. Sections the teachers rated important had a much higher probability of being included in the test than sections rated unimportant. For students, a similar but lower degree of correspondence between ratings and test content was found. Interestingly, for sections that teachers considered important, students more often gave a higher rating when these sections appeared in the test than when they did not. The same holds for sections that teachers considered unimportant. Conclusions: For both teachers and students there is a limited correspondence between perceived task demands and test content. Furthermore, students' perceptions of task demands show a compensation for some of the differences between their teachers' intended task demands and the test demands.     

Integrating Content and Structure Aspects of the Self: Traits,Values, and Self‐Improvement

Research on the structure of the self has mostly developed separately from research on its content. Taking an integrative approach, we studied two structural aspects of the self associated with self‐improvement—self‐discrepancies and perceived mutability—by focusing on two content areas, traits and values. In Studies 1A–C, 337 students (61% female) reported self‐discrepancies in values and traits, with the finding that self‐discrepancies in values are smaller than in traits. In Study 2 (80 students, 41% female), we experimentally induced either high or low mutability and measured perceived mutability of traits and values. We found that values are perceived as less mutable than traits. In Study 3, 99 high school students (60% female) reported their values, traits, and the extent to which they wish to change them. We found that values predict the wish to change traits, whereas traits do not predict the wish to change values. In Study 4, 172 students (47.7% female) were assigned to one of four experimental conditions in which they received feedback denoting either uniqueness or similarity to others, on either their values or their traits. The results indicated that feedback that one's values (but not traits) are unique affected self‐esteem. Integrating between theories of content and structure of the self can contribute to the development of both.     

Supportive interactions,negative interactions,and depressed mood

Research on the association between social relationships and emotional functioning has emphasized the health-promoting effects of social support. Yet there is reason to believe that the absence of negative social interactions may be more important for mental health than the presence of supportive interactions. In this investigation we clarify important characteristics concerning the source, the recipient, and the combined influence of support and negativity. Data are presented regarding supportive and negative interactions with spouse, relatives, and friends; regression analyses suggest that negative interactions are more predictive of depressed mood than supportive interactions (specifically with spouse and friends). We also document several specifications suggesting directions for future research on the special importance of interactions in intimate relationships and the synergistic effects of situations in which supportive and negative interactions both occur.     

Cultural Differences in the Relation between Self-discrepancy and Life Satisfaction

Cultural differences in the relation between self-discrepancy and subjective well-being were examined. Participants from India (N = 54) and the United States (N = 55) listed 10 goals they set for themselves and their parents set for them. They rated the importance of own and parental goals from their own and their parents' perspective. They also completed measures of collectivism and well-being. Americans, who were less collectivistic than Indians, rated their own goals to be more important than their parents' goals for them, whereas Indians regarded their own and their parents' goals as equally important. Americans' well-being was predicted by discrepancies between own and parental ratings on personal goals. However, discrepancies between own and parental ratings on parental goals were predictive of Indians' well-being. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.