3. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SELF-CONCEPT

uA company is designing a campaign to encourage

authenticity among its employees. Based on research into the "true self," which of the following strategies is most likely to help employees feel authentic?

A) Encourage employees to define and act consistently with their "true self" in every situation.

B) Promote alignment between employees' behaviors and their desired reputation in the workplace

C) Focus on simultaneously activating as many aspects of employees' self-concept as possible (i.e. maximizing how much of their self-concept is activated)

D) Encourage employees to share and integrate more of their personal interests and experiences into their workplace interactions

B) Promote alignment between employees' behaviours and their desired reputation in the workplace

how is the self-concept organized

as an associative network of various self-aspects and highly malleable

Working self-concept

a subset of self-concept accessible at any given moment

what is working self-concept made up of

situationally activated self-knowledge + frequently activated self-knowledge

what does the true self align with

desired reputation, people feel most authentic when behaving in line with desired reputation

Self-complexity (SC)

how self-knowledge is organized, how many self aspects does a person have in their self concept & how much differentiation there is between these self aspects (structure and organization > contents of the self concept)

high self-complexity

many self-aspects that are relatively distinct from each other

Low self-complexity

few aspects and highly interconnected to each other

affective spillover (emotional spillover) - implications of self-complexity

the links between self-aspects and spreading activation, emotions associated with one self-aspect will "spillover" to other aspects

Does affective spillover occur more in individuals with low or high self-complexity?

Low self-complexity

How does low self-complexity deal with affective spillover with negative emotional repercussions

It makes it harder to deal with negative emotional repercussions because one aspect is hit and now all aspect is affected

How does affect extremity effect low self-complexity

Because low self-complexity experience more spillover, they will experience extreme emotional reactions and more fluctuations and changes in self-esteem in response ot both + and - life events

How does affect extremity effect high self-complexity

Less spillover allows for more emotional stability

Affect Extremity Study 1 about the fake success/failure feedback research question

how self-complexity affect the relationship between failure and emotional reactions

results of Affect Extremity Study 1 (ab the fake success/failure feedback)

mood and self-esteem:

Low SC: lower mood in failure condition < success feedback, large change on feedback

High SC: mood same for both feedback

Affect Extremity Study 2 research question (looking at swings in emotion for 2weeks)

is low self-complexity also associated with more variation in mood over time?

results of affect extremity study 2 (about mood swings in 2weeks)

low SC had more variation in emotion than high SC

Why are high SC more resilient with negative life events?

having a more complex self acts as a buffer, experiencing less variations in their emotions

SC stress buffering study research question (p reporting on stressful life events during the 2weeks and the consequences)

Does high self-complexity protect against the negative health effects

of stress?

SC stress buffering study results (p reporting on stressful life events during the 2weeks and the consequences)

High SC had less health consequences than low sc although they had similar stressful life events

coping with these events/protection from high sc from less spillover

A company is designing a wellness program for

employees and learns that many of them have low self-

complexity, with their identities tied closely to their work. Based on self-complexity theory, which of the following interventions would be most effective?

A. encourage employees to focus solely on improving work-related skills so that they feel more confident in their work

B. Offer workshops on developing hobbies and roles outside of work

C. Provide stress management techniques specifically for workplace challenges so work stress doesn't spillover to other parts of employee's self-concept

D. Implement policies that discourage employees from taking on new roles outside of work so that they feel less stress from having to juggle multiple roles

B. Offer workshops on developing hobbies and roles outside of work

where does self-complexity have consequences in

mood, self-esteem, and vulnerability to stress-induced health outcomes

what does the self-complexity demonstrate

organization of the self-concept, not just the contents influence important outcomes

Why is there mixed evidence for self-complexity as a stress buffer DV wise (differences in well-being measure )

positive effect of SC on mood & emotional stability

but mixed effect w self-esteem or depression

Why is there mixed evidence for self-complexity as a stress buffer IV wise (Importance in the different SC)

# of self aspects has a positive effect on well-being

but the degree of distinction/overlap between self-aspects has no effect

Why is there mixed evidence for self-complexity as a stress buffer, integration of self-aspects wise

high SC may only be helpful if SC are well-integrated into a clear and coherent sense of self

What does many self-aspects with no integration lead to

confusion about self

self-concept clarity (SCC)

the extent to which one's self-concept are clearly defined and consistent with each other and stable over time

reflecting the extent to have this sense you know who you are

a person with high SC but low SCC

Many self-aspects but lacking in clarity, consistency, and coherence between these different self-aspects

a person with low SC but high SCC

Few self-aspects but high degree of clarity, consistency and coherence between these self-aspects

Daniela is involved in various activities, such as playing in a band, volunteering at an animal shelter, and working as a graphic designer. Despite this, she often feels uncertain about who she truly is and struggles to describe herself consistently. Based on these characteristics, which of the following is most accurate?

A. Daniela has high self-complexity and high self-concept clarity

B. Daniela has low self-complexity and low self-concept clarity

C. Daniela has high self-complexity and low self-concept clarity

D. Daniela has low self-complexity and high self-concept clarity

C. Daniela has high self-complexity and low self-concept clarity

What is High SCC associated with

general life-satisfaction and more important for well-being

SCC and COVID-19 study: How did high SCC experience negative emotions at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to low SCC individuals? and how did they facilitate during intense emotions

high SCC reported having fewer negative emotions, better at coping stressful situation

how does different ages influence SCC

lowest SCC at 20, clearer up to 60 and back down to lower

why does age influence SCC

Social role changes: Many changes going on in early 20s (figuring out what you are doing) compared to 45. but at 60, theres again changes (death, retirement, etc)

SCC and role transitions study (new parents forum coding self-concept confusion and amount of self-concept change and the positivity) research question

Do role changes lead to lower SCC

SCC and role transitions study (new parents forum coding self-concept confusion and amount of self-concept change and the positivity) result

SCC depends on how much they felt their self-concept changed & how positive the person feels about the change

ppl who felt positive ab change regardless of the amount in change = no affect in SCC

ppl who felt less positive ab change and a lot of change = confused, low SCC

how does someone feeling less positive about a change affect SCC

lower SCC

What is high self-complexity associated with

less emotional spillover, more emotional stability and buffer against stress

how might high self-complexity be helpful

only in presence of high SCC