Wikipedia

Catarina C. Rodrigues

Joined 21 October 2009

Hi! I'm Catarina.

I set myself out to write an article on the subject "Self-Evaluation Motives".

The index of my article is as follows:
1. Why do People self-evaluate?
2. Definition of the main Self-Evaluation Motives
-Self-assessment
-Self-enhancement
-Self-verification
3. Which Self-Evaluation Motive do we use more?


Reference: Dauenbeimer, D. G., Stablberg, D., Spreemann, S. & Sedikides, C. (2002). Self-Enhancement, Self-Verification, or Self Assessmen - The Intricate Role ofTrait Modifiability in the Self-Evaluation Process. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 15, 89-112.


Main Self-Evaluation Motives

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People engage in 'self-evaluation' in order to assess how well-adjusted their personality and behaviour are to the society they live in. Hence, people seek to achieve a better self-understanding, which will then lead to a well-defined self-concept.
People can choose among many ways to self-evaluate. Nevertheless, there's always a motive that makes them to self-evaluate.

Self-Enhancement

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According to what is suggested by the self-enhancement motive people engage in self-evaluation in view of, not only improving the positivity of their self-conceptions, but also protecting the self from negative information (they search for positivity and avoid negativity)[1]
In order to do this, people process information important to the self in a selective manner (for instance, by focusing on information that has favourable implications to the self and discarding information with unfavourable implications to the self). People also choose to compare themselves socially to others so as to be placed in a favourable position.[2] By doing this, people seek to boost the positivity of the self or decrease its negativity, aiming to make others see them as socially desirable, hence increasing their levels of self-esteem.[3]

Self-Assessment

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The self-assessment motive is based on the assumption that people want to have an accurate and objective evaluation of the self.[4] To achieve this goal, they work so as to reduce any uncertainty about their abilities or personality traits.[5] Feedback is sought to increase the accuracy and objectivity of previously formed self-conceptions. This is regardless of whether the new information confirms or challenges the previously existing self-conceptions.[6]

Self-Verification

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In accordance with the self-verification motive people to engage in the self-evaluation process due to a desire to verify their pre-existing self-conceptions[7], maintaining consistency between their previously formed self-conceptions and any new information that could be important to the self (feedback)[8]. By doing this, people get the sense of control and predictability in the social world.[9] [10]
There is some controversy regarding the validity of this last motive. It was found an alternative explanation for why people self-verify - the raison oblige theory. This theory posits that people don’t actually want to receive negative feedback. They do request it, but because they feel that feedback should confirm their pre-existing self-conceptions or else it isn’t worth obtaining.[11]

When Does Each Self-Evaluation Motive Appear?

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Self-Enhancement

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It is stated in the self-enhancement motive that people want to see themselves favourably. It follows that people should choose tasks with a positive valence, regardless of task diagnosticity (this motive is more active in presence of tasks high in diagnosticity of success than in presence of tasks high in diagnosticity of failure). [12] Tasks that disclosure a failure and negative feedback are considered less important than tasks with an outcome of success or positive feedback. As a result, the former are processed faster and more thoroughly, and remembered better than the latter.[13]
Each motive originated a different type of reaction (cognitive, affective or behavioural). The self-enhancement motive creates both affective and cognitive responses. Affective responses result in negative feedback leading to less positive affect then positive affect. This is moderated by trait modifiability, in the sense that we can find the former event to be especially true for unmodifiable traits. On the other hand, cognitive responses lead to favourable feedback being judged as more accurate, but only in the case of modifiable traits.[14]

Self-Assessment

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Taking into account the self-assessment motive, when evaluating the self people should preferably choose tasks that are high in diagnosticity (people want to find out about their uncertain self-conceptions). This is found even when the diagnosis leads to a disclosure of failure (i.e., regardless of task valence).
The responses generated by the self-assessment motive are behavioural responses, which becomes evident by the fact that people choose to receive feedback on their performance (they prefer tasks for which feedback is available, as opposed to tasks with unavailable feedback). This pattern is emphasized when the trait is considered to be modifiable.[15]

Self-Verification

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When choosing a prefered task, the self-verification motive shows that the task valenceisn't a factor of choice. Regarding task diagnosticity, people seek knowledge about their certain self-conceptions to a greater extent than they do for their uncertain self-conceptions.[16]
Cognitive responses guide the self-verification motive partially depending on their previously formed self-concept. That is, when a certain trait is present, positive feedback regarding this trait is judged to be more accurate than unfavourable feedback; but when in the presence of the alternative trait, there isn’t any difference in the judgement of the feedback accuracy. However, this pattern is conditional on perceived trait modifiability.[17]
The self-verification motive resulted in cognitive responses to traits considered to be unmodifiable, but not to traits considered modifiable. In the former, positive feedback is considered more accurate than negative feedback, when in the presence of the trait. On the other hand, negative feedback is viewed as more accurate than positive feedback in the presence of the alternative trait.[18]

See Also

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Self
Sel-enhancement
Self-assessment
Self-verification
Motivation
Raison oblige theory

References

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  1. ^ Dauenbeimer, D. G., Stablberg, D., Spreemann, S., and Sedikides, C. (2002). Self-enhancement, self-verification, or self-assessment: the intricate role of trait modifiability in the self-evaluation process. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 15, (3-4), 89-112.
  2. ^ Sedikides, C. and Strube, M. J. (1995). The multiply motivated self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 1330 - 1335.
  3. ^ Sedikides, C. and Strube, M. J. (1997). Self-evaluation: to thine own self be good, to thine own self be sure, to thine own self be true, and to thine own self be better. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 209-269.
  4. ^ Sedikides, C. and Strube, M. J. (1997). Self-evaluation: to thine own self be good, to thine own self be sure, to thine own self be true, and to thine own self be better. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 209-269.
  5. ^ Sedikides, C. (1993). Assessment, enhancement, and verification determinants of the self-evaluation process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, (2), 327-338.
  6. ^ Dauenbeimer, D. G., Stablberg, D., Spreemann, S., and Sedikides, C. (2002). Self-enhancement, self-verification, or self-assessment: the intricate role of trait modifiability in the self-evaluation process. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 15, (3-4), 89-112.
  7. ^ Sedikides, C. (1993). Assessment, enhancement, and verification determinants of the self-evaluation process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, (2), 327-338.
  8. ^ Sedikides, C. and Strube, M. J. (1997). Self-evaluation: to thine own self be good, to thine own self be sure, to thine own self be true, and to thine own self be better. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 209-269.
  9. ^ In some of the literature, other motives appeared, namely the self-improvement motive, but they are not mentioned in this articles due to a lack of consensus about their existence.
  10. ^ Dauenbeimer, D. G., Stablberg, D., Spreemann, S., and Sedikides, C. (2002). Self-enhancement, self-verification, or self-assessment: the intricate role of trait modifiability in the self-evaluation process. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 15, (3-4), 89-112
  11. ^ Gregg, A. P.(2007). Is identity per se irrelevant? A contrarian view of self-verification effects. Depression and Anxiety, 0, 1-11
  12. ^ Sedikides, C. and Strube, M. J. (1995). The multiply motivated self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 1330 - 1335.
  13. ^ Sedikides, C. and Strube, M. J. (1997). Self-evaluation: to thine own self be good, to thine own self be sure, to thine own self be true, and to thine own self be better. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 209-269.
  14. ^ Dauenbeimer, D. G., Stablberg, D., Spreemann, S., and Sedikides, C. (2002). Self-enhancement, self-verification, or self-assessment: the intricate role of trait modifiability in the self-evaluation process. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 15, (3-4), 89-112.
  15. ^ Dauenbeimer, D. G., Stablberg, D., Spreemann, S., and Sedikides, C. (2002). Self-enhancement, self-verification, or self-assessment: the intricate role of trait modifiability in the self-evaluation process. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 15, (3-4), 89-112.
  16. ^ Baumeister, R. F. (ed.). (1999). The self in social psychology. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
  17. ^ Dauenbeimer, D. G., Stablberg, D., Spreemann, S., and Sedikides, C. (2002). Self-enhancement, self-verification, or self-assessment: the intricate role of trait modifiability in the self-evaluation process. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 15, (3-4), 89-112.
  18. ^ Dauenbeimer, D. G., Stablberg, D., Spreemann, S., and Sedikides, C. (2002). Self-enhancement, self-verification, or self-assessment: the intricate role of trait modifiability in the self-evaluation process. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 15, (3-4), 89-112.
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