Individual Differences Research

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Individual Differences Research > Volume 12, Issue 4-B (2014) > 180-190

Self-Concept Clarity: Buffering the Impact of Self-Evaluative Information

Jean Guerrettaz, LinChiat Chang, William von Hippel, Patrick J. Carroll, Robert M. Arkin

Abstract

Two experiments examine the hypothesis that self-concept clarity (SCC) may buffer individuals against self-evaluative feedback and moderate the impact of evaluative information on self-esteem and self-promoting behaviors. In experiment 1 (N = 122), when participants' positive, compared to negative, selves were made salient they reported higher self-esteem and more positive affect. Importantly, this occurred only for those with low SCC; high clarity participants showed no differences. In experiment 2 (N = 111), participants who received favorable social feedback engaged in more self-promotion behaviors than those who received unfavorable feedback, but again only if they were low in clarity. Low SCC participants' self-views and behaviors were molded by whether they faced positive or negative evaluative information, while high SCC participants were relatively unaffected.