The effect of approach and avoidance motivation on self-perception

This work addresses the link between motivation and self-perception by systematically studying visual self-representations. We propose that the way individuals perceive themselves may be associated with dispositional and situationally induced approach and avoidance motivation. First, we investigate how dispositional differences in approach/avoidance motivation and self-esteem relate to self-perception. Second, we investigate how state differences in approach/avoidance motivation relate to self-perception. Based on motivation literature, we predicted that self-perception would reflect psychological equanimity at the dispositional level (seeing the self in a favorable light), and motivational flexibility at the situational level (situational avoidance motivation results in a more realistic view of one's qualities). We use up-to-date face modeling methods to measure individuals' self-perceptions in a systematic, nuanced, and implicit way: Participants are repeatedly asked to indicate which of two portrait versions better represents themselves. Then we relate distortions in self-perceptions to agency and communion dimensions. We demonstrate that (1) participants low in self-esteem show more communion enhancement than participants high in self-esteem; (2) participants in an avoidance state show less agency enhancement (i.e., more realistic self-perceptions) than participants in an approach state. This research is first to demonstrate regularities in visual self-perception that are linked to approach and avoidance motivation.

Instrumentality Gives Girls the Edge: Gender-Differential Relations Between Instrumentality, Achievement Motivation, and Self-Esteem

Gender differences in school are often discussed in reference to a particular type of masculinity, negative masculinity, which is often conceptualized as detrimental to success. Another type of masculinity, instrumentality, has rarely been studied in schools even though instrumental characteristics are often exalted outside the academic context. The current study focuses on potential benefits that students may reap from instrumentality. The extent to which an instrumental self-concept is directly and indirectly associated with achievement motivation and self-esteem was examined for adolescent boys and girls in a structural equation model (SEM). A sample of German ninth graders (N = 355) completed self-report measures pertaining to their gender role self-concept, hope for success, fear of failure, and global and academic contingent self-esteem. The SEM revealed that instrumentality was associated with lower fear of failure and higher hope for success for both male and female adolescents. High scores in instrumentality were associated with greater self-esteem and lower academic contingent self-esteem. The association between instrumentality and global self-esteem was stronger for adolescent girls, and the indirect association between instrumentality and fear of failure through global self-esteem was significant only for girls. Results indicate that instrumentality can be an asset for students and that female students especially reap the benefits of an instrumental self-concept. The results are discussed in reference to the dangers of emphasizing solely the association between negative masculinity and academic failure, and the importance of studying relations with gender role self-concept separately for male and female adolescents.

Face threat sensitivity in distributive negotiations: Effects on negotiator self-esteem and demands

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Face threat sensitivity (FTS) is reactive sensitivity to threats to self-image.

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Counterpart competitiveness reduces high FTS negotiators’ global self-esteem (GSE).

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Counterpart competitiveness reduces high FTS negotiators' performance self-esteem (PSE).

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High FTS negotiators’ reduced GSE and PSE lead them to make lower demands.

Face threat sensitivity (FTS) is defined as reactive sensitivity to threats to one’s social self-worth. In negotiations, such threats may come from a counterpart's competitive behavior. We developed and tested the argument that individuals high in face threat sensitivity, when negotiating with a competitive (vs. cooperative) counterpart, exhibit psychological responses that inhibit them from claiming value in distributive negotiations. Employing a face-to-face interaction paradigm, Study 1 revealed that higher counterpart competitiveness was negatively associated with high (but not low) FTS negotiators’ global self-esteem, which in turn led them to be less demanding and obtain worse negotiation outcomes. In Study 2, employing a simulated on-line interaction paradigm, we manipulated counterpart’s behavior (cooperative vs. competitive) to establish causality and examined specific aspects of negotiator global self-esteem that may account for the effect. We found that the effect of counterpart’s competitiveness on high FTS negotiators’ demand levels was mediated by their performance self-esteem, but not by their social self-esteem. In Study 3, we manipulated performance self-esteem to establish it as a causal underlying psychological mechanism. For high FTS negotiators, when performance self-esteem was low, demand levels were significantly lower with a competitive (vs. cooperative) counterpart. However, when performance self-esteem was high, there was no significant difference in demand levels depending on counterpart’s behavior. This finding suggests that negotiating with a competitive (vs. cooperative) counterpart reduces high FTS negotiators’ performance self-esteem, which in turn leads them to make lower demands. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Success Leads to Agentic Cognition: Two Field Studies

Not much is known about the cognitive consequences of success and failure, and there is no comprehensive theory explaining their aftermath. Building on a dual-perspective model of social cognition, we offer such a preliminary theory that assumes that experiencing success induces an agentic perspective, whereas experiencing failure induces a recipient perspective. We present two field studies of persons failing or succeeding at their naturally occurring goals. The studies found that the experience of success was accompanied by heightened accessibility and use of agentic content. The experience of failure resulted in lowered mood and self-esteem.

Manipulated taking the agent versus the recipient perspective seems not to affect the relationship between agency-communion and self-esteem: A small-scale meta-analysis

There is a growing debate about the relationship between self-perceived agency-communion and self-esteem. One viewpoint for this debate is offered by the Dual Perspective Model, a novel theoretical framework that introduces the agent and the recipient as two fundamental perspectives in social perception. Building on this model, we expected higher importance of self-ascribed agency for self-esteem in the agent perspective than in the recipient perspective and a higher importance of self-ascribed communion for self-esteem in the recipient than in the agent perspective. However, the meta-analysis of six experiments (N = 659, 68% females) showed no interaction of the perspectives and self-ascribed agency and communion in predicting self-esteem. These findings demonstrate that the relationship between agency-communion and self-esteem seems to be fairly independent of one's temporary mindset.

Individual self > relational self > collective self-But why? Processes driving the self-hierarchy in self- and person perception

OBJECTIVE

The self has three parts: individual, relational, and collective. Typically, people personally value their individual self most, their relational self less, and their collective self least. This self-hierarchy is consequential, but underlying processes have remained unknown. Here, we propose two process accounts. The content account draws upon selves' agentic-communal content, explaining why the individual self is preferred most. The teleology account draws upon selves' instrumentality for becoming one's personal ideal, explaining why the collective self is preferred least.

METHOD

In Study 1 (N = 200, 45% female, M_age  = 32.9 years, 79% Caucasian), participants listed characteristics of their three selves (individual, relational, collective) and evaluated those characteristics in seven preference tasks. Additionally, we analyzed the characteristics' agentic-communal content, and participants rated their characteristics' teleological instrumentality. Study 2 (N = 396, 55% female, M_age  = 34.5 years, 76% Caucasian) used identical methodology and featured an additional condition, where participants evaluated the selves of a friend.

RESULTS

Study 1 reconfirmed the self-hierarchy and supported both process accounts. Study 2 replicated and extended findings. As hypothesized, when people evaluate others' selves, a different self-hierarchy emerges (relational > individual > collective).

CONCLUSIONS

This research pioneers process-driven explanations for the self-hierarchy, establishing why people prefer different self-parts in themselves than in others.

Facets of the Fundamental Content Dimensions: Agency with Competence and Assertiveness-Communion with Warmth and Morality

Agency (A) and communion (C) are fundamental content dimensions. We propose a facet-model that differentiates A into assertiveness (AA) and competence (AC) and C into warmth (CW) and morality (CM). We tested the model in a cross-cultural study by comparing data from Asia, Australia, Europe, and the USA (overall N = 1.808). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported our model. Both the two-factor model and the four-factor model showed good fit indices across countries. Participants answered additional measures intended to demonstrate the fruitfulness of distinguishing the facets. The findings support the model's construct validity by positioning the fundamental dimensions and their facets within a network of self-construal, values, impression management, and the Big Five personality factors: In all countries, A was related to independent self-construal and to agentic values, C was related to interdependent self-construal and to communal values. Regarding the facets, AA was always related to A values, but the association of AC with A values fell below our effect size criterion in four of the five countries. A (both AA and AC) was related to agentic impression management. However, C (both CW and CM) was neither related to communal nor to agentic impression management. Regarding the Big Five personality factors, A was related to emotional stability, to extraversion, and to conscientiousness. C was related to agreeableness and to extraversion. AA was more strongly related to emotional stability and extraversion than AC. CW was more strongly related to extraversion and agreeableness than CM. We could also show that self-esteem was more related to AA than AC; and that it was related to CM, but not to CW. Our research shows that (a) the fundamental dimensions of A and C are stable across cultures; and (b) that the here proposed distinction of facets of A and C is fruitful in analyzing self-perception. The here proposed measure, the AC-IN, may be a useful tool in this research area. Applications of the facet model in social perception research are discussed.

Linguistic Agency and Life-Span Longevity

OBJECTIVES

Agency has been conceptualized as a drive toward mastery, control, and effective self-management. Such an agentic approach to life and its challenges may be life-prolonging, a hypothesis not previously investigated.

METHOD

In four studies, individual differences in agency were assessed in terms of the frequency with which agency-related words (e.g., "achieve," "fix," and "control") were mentioned in archived interviews or speeches (N = 210).

RESULTS

Higher levels of linguistic agency predicted longer life-spans among prominent physicists (study 1: n = 60, β = .30, t = 2.30, p = .025), historians (study 2: n = 69, β = .29, t = 2.47, p = .016), psychologists (study 3: n = 45, β = .32, t = 2.35, p = .024), and American presidents (study 4: n = 36, β = .75, t = 2.74, p = .010) when adjusting for birth year. Considered from another angle, life-span longevity averaged 8 years longer at a high (+1 standard deviation) relative to low (-1 standard deviation) level of the linguistic agency continuum, a marked difference. Follow-up analyses indicated that these results could not be attributed to covarying levels of positive emotion, negative emotion, or social connection, as quantified in terms of other linguistic categories.

CONCLUSIONS

The investigation provides unique support for agentic perspectives on health, and several potential mechanisms are discussed.

Pursuit of communal values in an agentic manner: a way to happiness?

The present research studies the association between traits, values, and life satisfaction. While values should influence the direction of an individual's goals and behavior, his/her traits impact effort-expenditure, efficiency, and persistence in goal-pursuit. We apply the framework of the "Big Two" of agency and communion (Bakan, 1966) for distinguishing the content of values and traits. While agentic content refers to qualities relevant for goal-attainment, such as assertiveness, competence or persistence, communal content refers to qualities relevant for the establishment and maintenance of social relationships, such as being friendly, helpful, or fair. We predict that high scores on communal values and high scores on agentic traits are associated with life satisfaction. We test these predictions in two studies conducted in different countries (Germany and Russia) with different cultural background. The findings support our reasoning: across both countries we find positive associations of communal values and agentic traits with life satisfaction; and individuals high in communal values and high in agentic traits are most satisfied with their lives. In Russia, the association of communal values with life satisfaction is moderated by agentic traits; in Germany, however, there is a main effect of communal values.

Instrumentality and Expressiveness at Work

Men’s professional work roles require different attributes according to the gender-typicality of their occupation (female- versus male-dominated). We predicted that levels of men’s strain and job satisfaction would be predicted by levels of self-ascribed instrumental and expressive attributes. Therefore, we tested for positive effects of instrumentality for men in general, and instrumentality in interaction with expressiveness for men in female-dominated occupations in particular. Data were based on a survey of 213 men working in female-dominated occupations and 99 men working in male-dominated occupations. We found instrumentality to be negatively related to men’s strain and positively related to their job satisfaction. We also found expressiveness of men in female-dominated occupations to be related to reduced strain when instrumentality was low. This suggests it is important for men to be able to identify highly with either instrumentality or expressiveness when regulating role demands in female-dominated occupations.

IMAGES OF BLACK AMERICANS: Then, "Them," and Now, "Obama!"

Images of Black Americans are becoming remarkably diverse, enabling Barack Obama to defy simple-minded stereotypes and succeed. Understood through the Stereotype Content Model's demonstrably fundamental trait dimensions of perceived warmth and competence, images of Black Americans show three relevant patterns. Stereotyping by omission allows non-Blacks to accentuate the positive, excluding any lingering negativity but implying it by its absence; specifically, describing Black Americans as gregarious and passionate suggests warmth but ignores competence and implies its lack. Obama's credentials prevented him from being cast as incompetent, though the experience debate continued. His legendary calm and passionate charisma saved him on the warmth dimension. Social class subtypes for Black Americans differentiate dramatically between low-income Blacks and Black professionals, among both non-Black and Black samples. Obama clearly fit the moderately warm, highly competent Black-professional subtype. Finally, the campaign's events (and nonevents) allowed voter habituation to overcome non-Blacks' automatic emotional vigilance to Black Americans.