Salience and Self-Inference: The Role of Biased Recollections in Self-Inference Processes

Andersen, Susan M.; Lazowski, Linda E.; Donisi, Marirosa

doi:10.1521/soco.1986.4.1.75

Cited by 24 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The verb studies suggest that actions, which are perceived as more volitional than mental states and more likely to have a dispositional cause, are also likely to be viewed as more diagnostic of the true self. By contrast, the research of Andersen and others (Andersen et al, 1986(Andersen et al, , 1988Andersen & Williams, 1985;Prentice, 1990) suggests an opposite, and paradoxical, result. Although mental states may be viewed as nonvolitional products of external stimuli, they may nevertheless also be viewed as key to who the person really is.…”

Section: Overview Of Current Studiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Inferences About the Authentic Self: When Do Actions Say More Than Mental States?

Johnson

Robinson

Mitchell

2004

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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Three studies involving 478 undergraduates examined the perceived importance of observable actions versus mental states in revealing the "true self"-the authentic and fundamental nature of a target person. Results suggest that when people have only limited information about a target, they believe that an action is more diagnostic of the individual's true self than the accompanying mental state. When participants have knowledge concerning chronic dispositional tendencies of the target, however, they judge that a chronic mental state is more diagnostic of the true self than a chronic action tendency. Considered together, the findings suggest that people conceptualize the true self as a relatively private entity but nevertheless believe that an action of a little-known person may be particularly informative about that individual. Perceived diagnosticity of the true self was partially mediated by inferences concerning the relative stability of actions versus states but not by inferences of volition.

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Section: Overview Of Current Studiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Inferences About the Authentic Self: When Do Actions Say More Than Mental States?

Johnson

Robinson

Mitchell

2004

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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“…Extant research on lay theories of the true self has consistently led to one prevailing idea: the true self is a private entity that may or may not be reflected in one’s behavior. For example, people judge information about private thoughts and feelings as more informative about what a person is ‘really like’ than information about behaviors (Andersen, 1984; Andersen, Lazowski, & Donisi, 1986; Andersen & Ross, 1984; Andersen & Williams, 1985). Similarly, when asked to spontaneously generate questions that they believe would help them discover the true self of another person, people generate questions about mental states far more frequently than questions about behavior (Johnson et al., 2004).…”

Section: What Is the True Self?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The True Self and Psychological Health: Emerging Evidence and Future Directions

Schlegel

Hicks

2011

Social & Personality Psych

101

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A variety of philosophical and psychological perspectives converge to suggest that a happy and meaningful life is the product of living in accord with one's true self. This idea similarly appears throughout literature, film, and folk wisdom. The current paper examines both theoretical and lay conceptions of the true self and reviews the empirical evidence that supports its role in psychological health, with a particular emphasis on current research that demonstrates that both the accessibility and ease of thinking about one's true self-concept is associated with the experiences of meaning and satisfaction. The merits of different approaches to defining the true self, measurement issues, and directions for future research are discussed.He recognizes that it rests within himself to choose; that the only question which matters is, ''Am I living in a way that is deeply satisfying to me, and which truly expresses me?'' Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person, 1961 (119) Theorists and laypeople have long pondered the question of what constitutes a life well lived. As suggested in the quote above, the answer is often rooted in the idea that happiness is achieved, in part, by living in accord with one's true self. A Lesson before Dying), and film (e.g., Good Will Hunting, Jerry McGuire, Mr. Holland's Opus). In this paper, we examine theoretical perspectives on the nature of the true self and offer a means of operationalizing this construct that lends itself to empirical scrutiny in both correlational and experimental designs. We also review the recent research on the link between the true self and psychological functioning and suggest a number of unanswered questions for future research.

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“…Accessibility of the self in general or of the various aspects of the self can be based on chronic accessibility (Markus 1977, Higgins et al 1982a or by priming or contextual factors. Andersen et al (1986) manipulated the salience of past proreligious or antireligious thoughts and feelings in their subjects , which strongly affected present self-perceptions of religiosity (see also Williams 1985 andNurius 1984 for issues involving priming various aspects of the self-concept).…”

Section: �mentioning

confidence: 99%