How temporal distance from past selves influences self‐perception

Broemer, Philip; Grabowski, Adam; Gebauer, Jochen E.; Ermel, Olga; Diehl, Michael

doi:10.1002/ejsp.469

Cited by 35 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(110 reference statements)

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“…For example, participants may have assumed that an extreme possible self is temporally further removed from the present than a moderate possible self. In light of the fact, that temporal distance has been shown to contribute to the emergence of assimilation and contrast (Broemer et al, 2008), manipulated differences in extremity and potentially associated differences in temporal distance may have worked hand in hand to produce the obtained pattern of results. Importantly, Study 2 merely used extremity as a vehicle to manipulate whether judges focus on similarities or differences during temporal comparison.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Thus, we provide evidence for a consistent influence of temporal self-comparisons on judgments of the current self, regardless of whether one is considering real past selves or hypothetical future ones. In this way, our research expands upon that of Broemer et al (2008), but suggests a different way in which temporal self-comparisons shape the current selfconcept.…”

mentioning

confidence: 83%

“…As mentioned earlier, few investigations have examined the role of cognitive processes in determining how temporal self-comparisons influence self-perception. However, two recent investigations did in fact examine the influence of past selves on perceptions of the current self (Broemer, Grabowski, Gebauer, Ermel, & Diehl, 2008;Gebauer, Broemer, Haddock, & von Hecker, 2008). Building upon Schwarz & Bless' (1992, 2007) inclusion/exclusion model, these researchers hypothesized that recent past selves are included in the current self-representation, leading to assimilation, whereas distant past selves are excluded from the current self-representation, leading to contrast.…”

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confidence: 96%

“…Thus, for example, thinking of a recent past self that was high in self-esteem would lead one to see the current self as relatively high in self-esteem, but thinking of a distant past that was high in self-esteem would lead one to see the current self as relatively low in self-esteem. To test this reasoning, Broemer et al (2008) manipulated the subjective temporal distance between the present and a past self and showed that people assimilated the current self to past selves they perceived to be recent, but contrasted the current self away from past selves they perceived to be distant.…”

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confidence: 97%

“…First, whereas this previous research was concerned with how the subjective temporal distance to past selves determines their influence on the current self-concept (Broemer et al, 2008) and how chronic differences in mood moderate this influence , we are interested in how the comparison mechanisms of similarity versus dissimilarity testing shape the outcome of temporal self-comparisons. According to the SAM (Mussweiler, 2003), a focus on similarities typically leads people to assimilate the judgmental target to an accessible standard, whereas a focus on differences typically leads people to contrast the judgmental target away from an accessible standard.…”

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confidence: 99%

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When I and me are different: assimilation and contrast in temporal self‐comparisons

Hanko

Crusius

Mussweiler

2009

Euro J Social Psych

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In two studies, we show that comparisons with past or possible future selves shape current self-evaluation and that the direction of this influence is determined by one's current comparison focus. In Study 1, participants primed to focus on similarities versus dissimilarities were asked to remember an introverted or extraverted past self and then to evaluate their current level of extraversion. Participants who focused on similarities assimilated current self-evaluations to the past self, whereas those who focused on dissimilarities contrasted current self-evaluations away from the past self. In Study 2, participants imagined a possible future self that differed from their current self in terms of body weight. Participants who imagined a moderate weight change exhibited assimilation to the possible self, whereas those who imagined an extreme weight change exhibited contrast. These studies highlight the important role cognitive factors such as comparison focus play in shaping the consequences of temporal self-comparisons. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.People frequently compare themselves to what they were like in the past or what they may be like in the future. When evaluating her academic skills, for example, a college student may note the fact that her grade point average is not as high as it was in high school. Or she might evaluate her current grade point average relative to the one she hopes to attain next semester. Not only do people frequently engage in such temporal self-comparisons, they seem to do so as often -or even more often -than they engage in social comparisons (Wilson & Ross, 2000).Yet despite the ubiquity of temporal self-comparisons in everyday life, relatively little research has focused on the consequences of these comparisons for self-evaluation. The main exception is work inspired by Wilson and Ross' (2001) temporal self-appraisal theory (Haddock, 2004(Haddock, , 2006Haynes et al., 2007;Kanten & Teigen, 2008;Ross & Wilson, 2002;Sanna, Chang, Carter, & Small, 2006). According to this theory, people derogate past selves as a way to feel good about the current self. The idea is that by believing they are more attractive, kind or responsible than they used to be, people can maintain an illusion of continuous self-improvement. This is only the case for distant past selves, however, as recent past selves presumably have implications for current self-evaluation. Indeed, as Ross and Wilson (2002) have shown, people actively distance themselves from former failures relative to former successes in order to protect their largely positive views of the current self.Temporal self-appraisal theory provides a useful framework for understanding the influence of motivational forces on the interplay between current and past selves. But this theory mainly focuses on how the need to maintain positive selfviews in the present influences the perception of past selves, rather than how past (or possible future) selves influence current self-perceptions. Moreover, in addition to motivational factor...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

mentioning

confidence: 83%

mentioning

confidence: 96%

mentioning

confidence: 97%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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When I and me are different: assimilation and contrast in temporal self‐comparisons

Hanko

Crusius

Mussweiler

2009

Euro J Social Psych

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Judgment and Decision Making

Gilovich

Griffin

2010

Handbook of Social Psychology

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The role of subjective time in identity regulation

Wilson

Gunn

Ross

2009

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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We explore the function of subjective perceptions of time in regulating personal identity. Events that reflect favourably on the self feel more recent than events that reflect negatively on the self. We propose that this systematic bias in subjective time judgment serves an identity regulation function: These biases allow people to maintain a favourable evaluation of current self. Recent events are likely to be judged as 'belonging' to the current self and thus incorporated into current identity. Distant events are more likely to be viewed as belonging to a former self who is quite distinct from the today's self. Therefore, by perceiving past positive experiences as more recent than negative ones, people are able to continue to take credit for former glories while reducing the threat of past failings on present identity. We discuss evidence for both the motivational account of subjective distancing and its role in regulating and maintaining a desired current identity.Like fingerprints, autobiographies are unique. No two adults experience precisely the same life events. As a result, memories of personal experiences can help individuals distinguish themselves from others and construct an autonomous self-identity (Ross & Wang, in press). There is at least one sense, however, in which people's life narratives are similar, at least in Western cultures. Life narratives are chronologically ordered. Chronological order is the norm for publically told life stories, fictional or true (McAdams, 2006). These stories usually unfold in a forward direction, occasionally in a backward direction (Lam & Buehler, 2009), and only very rarely in a random or haphazard manner. Chronological order lends coherence and meaning to a life story (Landau, Greenberg, & Sullivan, in press). Temporal order is not only important to public storytelling, it is also important to the private life stories that influence our self-identity. Our current identity includes beliefs about how we have developed over time, how we used to be and how we became the individuals that we are today. We see ourselves quite differently if we believe that we used to be crotchety and are now easy-going, rather than that we used to be easy-going and are now crotchety. Temporal sequence matters. Time matters.When we talk about time, what do we really mean? Often we mean clock or calendar time, as in the preceding paragraph. Although this kind of time is a relatively recent development in human evolution, we have come to work reasonably well within its constraints, especially when armed with day planners and personal digital assistants (PDAs). We can typically retrieve some dates fairly easily-we remember birth dates, anniversaries and significant APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

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How temporal distance from past selves influences self‐perception

Cited by 35 publications

References 81 publications

When I and me are different: assimilation and contrast in temporal self‐comparisons

When I and me are different: assimilation and contrast in temporal self‐comparisons

Judgment and Decision Making

The role of subjective time in identity regulation

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