ERIC ED281085: A Motivational Explanation of Private pdf

ERIC ED281085: A Motivational Explanation of Private

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Description of the Book:

Private self-consciousness (PSC) refers to the dispositional tendency to be attentive to the private, covert aspects of oneself. Studies were conducted to investigate whether there are motivational underpinnings for individual differences in level of PSC. Four separate studies were conducted at three different institutions. Study 1 (N=59) results showed high PSC individuals to be more likely than low PSC individuals to seek out self-relevant information. Study 2 (N=88) demonstrated that high PSC subjects reported being much more likely than low PSC subjects to dwell on negative events in order to better understand them. In Study 3 (N=290), high PSC subjects reported a much higher valuation of self-knowledge than did low PSC subjects. Study 4 (N=104) demonstrated that high and low PSC subjects were equally sensitive to the anticipated valence of the self-informatiion. These findings provide converging evidence of an underlying motivational component, with the specific motives underlying PSC appearing to be the need for self-knowledge and the need for self-defense.

A tentative conclusion is that individual differences in private self-consciousness are determined by both psychological motives: high PSC individuals may have a need for self-knowledge that is stronger than their need to protect their self-esteem, while low PSC individuals may have a need for self-defense that outweighs self-knowledge needs. (NB

• Creator/s: ERIC
• Date: 1986-08
• Year: 1986
• Book Topics/Themes: ERIC Archive, College Students, Higher Education, Individual Differences, Individual Needs, Motivation, Personality Traits, Self Concept

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