Relational Self‐Construal: Past and Future

Relational self‐construal is characterized as the extent to which a person defines the self in terms of close relationships. In this article, I distinguish relational self‐construal from collective‐interdependent self‐construal and from other similar‐sounding constructs. I review the history of the concept of relational self‐construal and how it is most frequently measured or manipulated. The remainder of the article focuses on research that examines the role of relational self‐construal in cognition, affect, motivation, and close interpersonal relationships.