An evaluation of higgins selfdiscrepancy theory and an. Tory higgins in 1987, self discrepancy theory seeks to explain relationship between conflicting self beliefs discrepancies and different types of negative emotions. According to higgins self discrepancy theory, what are the attributes that you or another would like for you, ideally, to posses. Self discrepancy self discrepancy theory may provide a link between research on moderators and the social comparison research on media effects. Self discrepancy a theory relating self and affect. This video discusses selfdiscrepancy theory by distinguishing between ones actual self, ought self, and ideal self.
In this theory, higgins posits that individuals possess different types of self guides, or standards, against which they compare their current self. The term self discrepancies refers to the presence of incompatible or conflicting beliefs about ones self, with negative consequences on the persons wellbeing. The ideal self is the representation of the attributes that one would ideally like to possess the. All subjects read the same essay in which a target person experienced events reflecting different types of psychological situations e. Self discrepancy theory higgins 1989 describes how individuals are likely to experience discomfort when they are holding conflicting or incompatible beliefs about themselves. A persons actual self is her representation of the attributes she or others believes she possesses. Selfdiscrepancy theory higgins, 1987 posits three domains of the self. The actual self is the persons representation of who he or she is currently.
The self discrepancy theory was first developed by e. It is proposed that different types of self discrepancies represent. Froohjh vwxghqwv vhoidiscrepancy levels as defined by selfdiscrepancy theory higgins, 1989 are predictive of hookup culture participation. View academics in selfdiscrepancy theory on academia. The selfdiscrepancy theory was first developed by e. Selfdiscrepancy theory and body image unsw psychology. The selfdiscrepancy theory states that individuals compare their actual self to internalized standards or the idealought self.
According to this theory, throughout the lifespan, individuals learn the duties and obligations they must fulfill to prevent immediate adverse events, such as punishments higgins, 1987. In contrast, self discrepancy theory higgins, 1987, 1989a distinguishes between two types of desired endstates and describes two distinct ways to regulate pleasure and pain. The selfdiscrepancy theory hypothesized two cognitive dimensions. In this article, we present the integrated self discrepancy index isdi, a new method for measuring self discrepancies higgins, 1987 that integrates idiographic and nomothetic methods to address important theoretical and methodological concerns in existing measures. The theory states that people compare self states representations. For example, thompson 1990 has proposed a self ideal discrepancy theory, which applies the basics of higgins theory 12 page 22 to the study of body image. Selfdiscrepancy theory proposes that specific conflicting cognitive representations of the self result in emotional vulnerabilities higgins. Selfdiscrepancy theory higgins 1989 describes how individuals are likely to experience discomfort when they are. They postulated that discrepancies should be considered in terms of a holistic pattern. Developed by edward tory higgins in 1987, the theory provides a platform for. This article presents a theory of how different types of discrepancies. Higgins s 1979 self discrepancy theory suggests that we each have an actual self, an ought self, and an ideal self. Selfdiscrepancy theory essay sample new york essays. Self discrepancy theory is a structure that helps bring understanding to the different types of negative emotions experienced by people who hold conflicting self beliefs, or a discrepancy, about themselves 1.
The contribution of discrepancy beyond actual self ratings marlene m. Selfdiscrepancy theory and regulatory focus higgins 1987 described three elements that make up a persons sense of self. The selfdiscrepancy theory states that individuals compare their actual self to internalized. Selfdiscrepancy theory fundamentals of selfdiscrepancy theory. According to selfdiscrepancy theory, disconfirming such negative attributes would induce discomfort because it would create a discrepancy with a selfguide. The ideal and ought selves are our guides or standards that we use to. Another important purpose of self dis crepancy theory, then, is to introduce construct accessibility as a predictor ofwben available types of incompatible beliefs and which of the available types will induce discomfort. Selfdiscrepancy theory is based on the notion that individuals experience psychological distress when a psychological distance exists between their actual and their ideal self. The basic premise of selfdiscrepancy theory is that it is the relations between. Pdf this article presents a theory of how different types of discrepancies. Tory higgins new york university received december 15, 1988 discrepancies between actual self and ideal self representations have been theoretically associated with low self.
Why is it that when people are emotionally overwhelmed by tragedies or serious setbacks in their livessuch as the death of their child, the loss of their jobs, or the breakup of their marriagessome suffer from depression whereas others suffer from anxiety. Selfdiscrepancy theory was developed in an attempt to answer the following question. Thus, alternate scoring procedures have been used, such as simply asking respondents to indicate the extent to. Among the most important ones, there is the distinction between an ideal self and an ought self as proposed by higgins in his self discrepancy theory. Differences between serf discrepancy theory and a other theories of incompatible self beliefs and b actual self negativity e. As evidence of self discrepancy theory, higgins, shah, and friedman 1997, accumulated evidence that vindicates self discrepancy theory. Inconsistencies between actual, ideal idealized version of yourself created from life experiences and ought who persons feel they should be or should become are associated with emotional discomforts e. A combination of higgins self discrepancy theory and markus self schema theory were used to describe a modern interpretation of body image as an internalized self representation. Self discrepancy theory the basic premise of self discrepancy theory is that it is the relations between and among different types of self beliefs or self state representations that produce emotional vulnerabilities rather than the particular content or nature of the actual self or of any other individual self belief.
Over the years many different facets of the self or self images have been identified. Higgins self discrepancy theory, which addresses the emotional effects of disparity between our perceptions of ourselves our actual selves and what we wish to or think we should be our ideal and ought selves, is useful in one possible approach to answering this question, particularly with regard to social networking sites. For example, in a self actual self ideal discrepancy, the individual is vulnerable to dejectionrelated emotions e. Participants were instructed to list traits they would like to exhibit, or feel they should exhibitreferred to as ideal and ought characteristics. Media exposure, social comparison and selfdiscrepancy. Overall, the findings suggest the applicability of self discrepancy theory in explaining emotional distress resulting from group membership. Differences between self discrepancy theory and other theories of incompatible self belief and actual self negativity are discussed.
Self discrepancies are representations in the self concept of ways in which one falls short of some important standard higgins, 1987, 1989. Journal of experimental social psychology 26, 108123 1990 relating self discrepancy to self esteem. An initial study was conducted to test postulates of higgins 1987 self discrepancy theory relating to the differential association of specific types of self guides to specific types of emotional distress. Self discrepancy theory proposes that people represent a negative life event as saying something about their current state, their actual self now.
Selfdiscrepancy measurement instrument database for the social. Both of these theories predict specific information processing consequences of. The author bases the article mostly on higgins theory reference number 4 abusing this resource. Higgins has a broad set of research interests, including motivation and cognition, judgment and decisionmaking, and social cognition.
The desired endstates in self discrepancy theory are referred to as self guides. This actual self is compared with their self guides, the kind of person they want or desire to be e. The ideal self is the representation of who he or she would like to become, such as wishes and aspirations for the self. A test of higginss 1987 hypotheses, brought into question the correlations between specific discrepancy and emotional discomforts laid out by selfdiscrepancy theory. Self discrepancy theory the basic premise of self discrepancy theory is that it is the relations between and among different types of self beliefs or self state representations that produce emotional vulnerabilities rather than the particular content or nature of the actual self or of any other individual self. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Tory higgins 1987 with the purpose of explaining the relationship between aspects of the self and affect.
Self discrepancy theory and body image disturbance more recently, various researchers have examined body image disturbance through the lens of self discrepancy theory. Self discrepancy 5 psychotherapy process and outcome. Selfdiscrepancy theory in social psychology iresearchnet. Jan 17, 2018 this video discusses selfdiscrepancy theory by distinguishing between ones actual self, ought self, and ideal self. High levels of self discrepancy have been linked to. Researches believed that there was no way to tie a unique emotional discomfort to one internal discrepancy, but rather that various internal discrepancies result in a. We are strongly motivated to maintain a sense of consistency among our various beliefs and self perceptions. Correlational and experimental evidence supports the predictions of the model. Mandi laterza the developer of the self discrepancy theory is edward troy higgins. For example, in a selfactual selfideal discrepancy, the individual is vulnerable to dejectionrelated emotions e. Selfdiscrepancy theory is a structure that helps bring understanding to the different types of negative emotions experienced by people who hold conflicting self beliefs, or a discrepancy, about themselves 1. The first paragraph, the introductory, doesnt thoroughly define or explain what the self discrepancy theory means. The notion that people who hold conflicting or incompatible beliefs are likely to experience discomfort has had a long history in psychology. Furthermore, the actualought discrepancy association with fear of negative group evaluation was present only among low identifiers.
View academics in self discrepancy theory on academia. Self discrepancy instruments in the present study although research on self discrepancy is promising, criticisms of the psychometric properties of the most widely used instrument, the selves questionnaire higgins, 1987. Selfdiscrepancy theory proposes that specific conflicting cognitive representations of the self result in emotional vulnerabilities higgins, 1987. Examples when someone has a car accident that hurts someone else, the thought that they are to blame can make them feel very uncomfortable. Differences between serf discrepancy theory and a other theories of in compatible self beliefs and b actual self negativity e. His more notable contributions to the field of psychology include work on priming, self discrepancy theory, and regulatory focus theory. According to self discrepancy theory, disconfirming such negative attributes would induce discomfort because it would create a discrepancy with a self guide. Tory higgins in his selfdiscrepancy theory sdt, is that there are consequences that arise when individuals compare one selfstate to another selfstate and find. Tory higgins new york university received december 15, 1988 discrepancies between actual self and ideal self representations have been theoretically associated with low self esteem. Tory higgins defined the relation between these various selves actual, ideal and ought in his self discrepancy theory.
A psychological model for distinguishing among different aspects of depression and anxiety et higgins, r klein, t strauman social cognition 3 1, 5176, 1985. In study 1, 284 undergraduate participants completed the isdi to measure idealown and oughtown self. The ideal self is the representation of the attributes that one would ideally like to possess the representation of ones hopes, aspirations, and wishes. This article presents a theory of how different types of discrepancies between self state representations are related to different kinds of emotional vulnerabilities. This study examined whether persons who possess different types of self discrepancies are sensitive to different types of psychological situations as evident in their memory for another persons experiences. A test of higgins s 1987 hypotheses, brought into question the correlations between specific discrepancy and emotional discomforts laid out by selfdiscrepancy theory. Both actualought and actualideal discrepancies will be assessed to better understand the uhdvrqv iru froohjh vwxghqwv krrnxs sduwlflsdwlrq 7r wkh dxwkruv nqrzohgjh wklv zloo pdun wkh iluvw.
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