Multiple Components of the Self-Concept

自我概念的多个组成部分

• 批准号: 6745151
• 负责人: ALLEN R MCCONNELL
• 金额: $ 12.66万
• 依托单位: MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-06-01 至 2006-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6745151
• 关键词: behavioral /social science research tag; clinical research; depression; human subject; identity; mood disorders; personality; quality of life; self concept

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although early theorizing about the self conceptualized it as a unitary structure (e.g., AIIport, 1955; Rogers, 1951), more recent treatments have proposed that it is multifaceted and context-dependent (Baumeister, 1998; Linville & Carlston, 1994). But how does the self operate in this manner? Are there qualitative differences among multiple selves and their attributes that affect mental and physical health? And most important, what processes explain the functions of multiple selves? This project uses a self-complexity framework to examine these issues. People are greater in self-complexity when they report having more self-aspects (e.g., roles, relationships) that are comprised of a greater degree of unique attributes. It has been proposed that those lower in self-complexity are more likely to reveal spillover effects. That is, self-relevant feedback has greater impact for those lower in self-complexity because the feedback implicates a relatively larger proportion of the overall self that is comprised of relatively more interrelated attributes. For instance, research has shown that those lower in self-complexity are more vulnerable to depression and stress-related illnesses when facing life stressors (Linville, 1987) and have difficulty in suppressing unwanted self-relevant thoughts (Renaud & McConnell, 2002). However, some findings have been inconsistent and even contradictory (e.g., Rafaeli-Mor & Steinberg, 2002; Woolfolk et al., 1995), suggesting that our understanding of self-complexity is far from complete. Critical assumptions about self-complexity (e.g., Linville, 1985) remain untested, and no comprehensive model speaks to the processes by which multiple selves form, function, and influence mental health and social behavior. These experiments (3 preliminary, 10 proposed) explore three lines of work to improve our understanding of how self-complexity relates to well-being. First, three studies assess the mechanisms underlying spillover effects. A second series of studies examine important qualities of self-aspects and their attributes to develop a more complete account of how self-complexity relates to depression, stress-related illnesses, self-esteem, and mood swings. Preliminary data indicate that perceptions of personal control moderate the relations between self-complexity and well-being, and additional work explores how the importance of multiple selves, self-certainty, and personality factors shape the relation between self-concept representation and well-being. Finally, the third line of research proposes a brand new model of self-representation derived from Associated Systems Theory (AST; Carlston, 1994), providing a very different and novel conceptualization of multiple selves, measure of self-complexity, and process account for spillover effects. Preliminary data suggest this AST-based approach has utility, and additional work explores whether AST provides a more comprehensive approach to self-complexity than traditional treatments. This work will increase our understanding of the interplay between multiple selves and one's overall sense of self. Moreover, we will develop better measures of multiple selves and self-complexity, test and extend existing theory on self-concept representation, develop clearer insights into the relations between multiple selves and well-being that can address inconsistent findings in the literature, and suggest new avenues for research that illustrate the importance of understanding how the representation of multiple selves mediates affective responses to life events.

描述（由申请人提供）：尽管对自我概念的早期理论化为单一结构（例如Aiiport，1955年； Rogers，1951年），但最新的治疗方法提出，它是多方面和上下文依赖性的（Baumeister，1998; Linville＆Carlston＆Carlston，1994）。但是，自我如何以这种方式运作？多种自我及其影响精神健康的属性之间是否存在质量差异？最重要的是，哪些过程解释了多个自我的功能？ 该项目使用自复杂的框架来检查这些问题。当人们报告有更多由更大程度的独特属性组成的自我偏见（例如，角色，人际关系）时，他们的自我复杂性更大。已经提出，自我复杂性较低的人更有可能揭示溢出效应。也就是说，自我相关的反馈对自我复杂性较低的人具有更大的影响，因为反馈意味着相对较大的整体自我比例由相对相互关联的属性组成。例如，研究表明，在面对生活压力源时，自我复杂性较低的人更容易受到抑郁症和与压力相关的疾病的影响（Linville，1987），并且难以抑制不必要的自我相关思想（Renaud＆McConnell，2002）。但是，一些发现是不一致甚至矛盾的（例如Rafaeli-Mor＆Steinberg，2002; Woolfolk等，1995），这表明我们对自我复杂性的理解远非完整。关于自我复杂性的批判性假设（例如Linville，1985）仍未测试，并且没有全面的模型可以说明多种自我形成，功能和影响心理健康和社会行为的过程。 这些实验（3个初步，提出了10个）探讨了三条工作，以提高我们对自我复杂性与幸福感的关系的理解。首先，三项研究评估了溢出效应的基础机制。第二项研究研究了自我观察的重要素质及其属性，以更完整地说明自我复杂性与抑郁症，与压力相关的疾病，自尊和情绪波动的关系。初步数据表明，对个人控制的看法可以缓解自我复杂性和福祉之间的关系，以及其他工作探讨了多种自我，自我确定性和人格因素的重要性如何塑造自我概念的表示与福祉之间的关系。最后，第三条研究提出了一种从相关系统理论（AST; Carlston，1994）得出的自我代表的全新模型，从而提供了多种自我的截然不同且新颖的概念化，自我复杂性的度量以及溢出效应的过程说明。初步数据表明，基于AST的方法具有实用性，而其他工作探讨了AST是否比传统治疗方法提供了更全面的自我复杂性方法。 这项工作将增加我们对多个自我与一个人的整体自我意识之间相互作用的理解。此外，我们将制定更好的多种自我和自我复杂性，测试和扩展有关自我概念表征的现有理论，对多种自我和幸福感之间的关系进行更清晰的见解，这些理论可以解决文献中的不一致的发现，并提出了研究的新途径，以了解如何理解多个自我介导的重要性影响生活事件的重要性。