Week 3 ‒ The Self: Self-Discrepancy, Regulatory Focus & Self-Regulation

Context & Ethical Acknowledgement

  • Opening land-acknowledgement by Art Stukas
    • Respect paid to the Wundrung–Wurundjeri people and all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples across La Trobe campuses.
    • Philosophical reminder: psychological science occurs on, and is enriched by, Indigenous lands, cultures, and knowledges.

The Self in Psychology: Final Week-3 Focus

  • Previous weeks revolved around William James’s duality:
    • “Me” = self as known object (traits, memories, social identity).
    • “I” = agentic self, “the doer, thinker, actor,” the homunculus that decides & initiates behaviour.
  • Week-3 culmination: how the “I” regulates the “Me” through goal-directed action.

Baumeister’s Principle: Rational Pursuit of Self-Interest

  • Core motivational postulate: humans seek rewards & avoid punishments.
  • Behaviour is rational: we only pursue goals we believe attainable.
    • If P(\text{success}) \approx 0 we rarely invest effort.
  • “Self-interest” is elastic; can incorporate family, group, community when incorporated into the self-concept.

Self-Awareness Theory (Precursor to Self-Discrepancy)

  • We are not constantly self-focused; ordinary attention is outward, environment-oriented.
  • Situations heightening self-awareness
    • Mirrors, cameras, live audiences, evaluative feedback, trait self-consciousness.
    • Public-speaking example: trembling knees & sweating mark acute self-focus.
  • Self-awareness → comparison of actual self against salient standards.

Self-Discrepancy Theory (Tory Higgins)

  • Three principal self-guides / standpoints
    1. Actual self = representation of current attributes.
    2. Ideal self = hopes, wishes, aspirations (often internally generated).
    3. Ought self = duties, responsibilities, expectations of significant others or society.
  • Discrepancy formulae
    • Ideal discrepancy: D{ideal}=|S{actual}-S_{ideal}|
    • Ought discrepancy: D{ought}=|S{actual}-S_{ought}|
  • Emotional consequences
    • D_{ideal}>0 \Rightarrow dejection/sadness; chronic → depression.
    • D_{ought}>0 \Rightarrow agitation/anxiety; chronic → anxiety disorders.
    • Larger D across multiple domains ⇒ stronger negative affect.
  • Avoidance motives
    • People often dodge self-awareness cues to escape discomfort (e.g., avoiding audiences).

Regulatory Focus Theory: Promotion vs Prevention

  • Individual-difference extension of self-discrepancy.
  • Promotion-focused individuals
    • Center on ideals; code outcomes as gain vs. non-gain.
    • Willingness to take risks; strive to maximise positives.
  • Prevention-focused individuals
    • Center on oughts; code outcomes as loss vs. non-loss.
    • Risk-averse; vigilant against errors & negative judgments.
  • Practical implications
    • Career decisions: “play it safe” versus “shoot for the stars.”
    • Emotion patterns: promotion → cheer vs. disappointment; prevention → relief vs. anxiety.

Possible / Future Selves (Markus & Nurius)

  • Cognitive schemas of what we might, want to, or fear to become.
    • Desired attainable self (e.g., licensed clinical psychologist).
    • Ideal but perhaps unattainable self (perfection).
    • Undesired or feared self (e.g., unemployed & homeless).
  • Motivational dynamics
    • Approach behaviour reduces D_{desired}.
    • Avoidance behaviour increases D_{undesired}.
  • Intervention evidence
    • Writing 15–20 min about one’s best possible self elevates mood & perceived control (positive psychology exercise).

The Self-Regulation Cycle (TOTE Model)

  • Broken into four iterative stages
    1. Choose a Goal (standard selection).
    2. Plan / Operate: generate actions needed.
    3. Test: enact behaviour & measure outcome against the standard.
    4. Adjust or Exit
    • If \text{outcome} \ge \text{standard} → maintain or exit (goal achieved).
    • Else → analyse errors, modify strategy, loop back to Operate.
  • Example: Learning French pronunciation
    • Speak phrase → native listener fails to understand → negative affect → diagnose accent error → rehearse phonetics → retest.
  • Possible maladaptive exits: premature giving-up when negative emotions overwhelm persistence.

Practical & Philosophical Extensions

  • Educational settings: calibrating attainable standards prevents chronic discrepancy-induced depression.
  • Clinical implications: anxiety disorders may be fuelled by incessant actual–ought comparisons; CBT can target unrealistic oughts.
  • Ethical dimension: expanding the self to include others fosters prosocial “self-interested” goals (family, community welfare).
  • Cultural variation: collectivist cultures may weight ought guides more heavily, influencing prevalence of prevention focus.

Summary Take-Aways

  • Humans are agentic regulators: the “I” monitors the “Me” via comparisons to internal & external standards.
  • Discrepancies drive emotion and motivate change, but chronic gaps can harm well-being.
  • Regulatory orientations (promotion vs. prevention) shape risk tolerance, affective experience, and strategic behaviour.
  • Possible-self imagery and iterative TOTE cycles are practical tools for personal development.
  • Awareness of cultural, ethical, and indigenous contexts enriches understanding of the self in psychology.