Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Theses
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ItemSelf-discrepancy and emotion in the workplace: ban exploration of the place of the other in self-discrepancy theory( 1997)According to Self-Discrepancy Theory (SDT; Higgins, 1987), self-perceptions measured in a specified manner are associated with specific kinds of emotional vulnerability. The theory predicts that discrepancies between the self-concept (actual self) and two kinds of personally-relevant standards (ideal and ought self-guides) are associated, respectively, with dejection-related and agitation-related emotions. This thesis places SDT in a workplace context, attempting to integrate aspects of the theory with models of emotion proposed by Russell (1980) and Dahl (1979). According to SDT, the type of emotional experience associated with individuals’ beliefs about themselves depends in part on whether the individual takes her or his own standpoint or that of a significant other. The major focus of this thesis is on self-discrepancies involving the Other standpoint, or interpersonal self-discrepancies. It is argued that, while SDT provides a conceptually balanced set of predictions regarding self-discrepancies from the Own standpoint, predictions regarding the link between interpersonal self-discrepancies and emotions are less theoretically coherent. The goal of this thesis is to formulate a model of interpersonal self-discrepancies and emotions. A major argument is that such a model may require that interpersonal emotions be assessed. To this end, a new measure of emotions is developed, based on Dahl's (1979) distinction between me (intrapsychic) and it (object-directed) emotions. It is further argued that a model of interpersonal self-discrepancies may require an expansion of the Other standpoint, to represent the variety of others which influence the self. A multifaceted Other standpoint is explored in three ways: contrasting personal with institutional significance; examining sex effects; and contrasting the relational modes of Fiske's (1991) social relations theory. Using data from three Australian samples, organized in terms of six studies, links between emotions and self-discrepancies involving different types of Other standpoints are examined with respect to actual:ideal (AI), actual:ought (AO), and actual-own:actual-other (AA) discrepancies. The predictions of SDT include the idea that AI self-discrepancies, involving the perceived failure to meet aspirations, are associated with the low-arousal negative emotion, dejection, and that AO self-discrepancies, involving the perceived failure to meet one's obligations, are associated with the high-arousal negative emotion, agitation. Through exploration of AA discrepancies, the self-discrepancy model is expanded to include the notion of self-verification (Swann, 1983). In particular, it is suggested that routine and crisis self-verification strategies are connected, respectively, with low-arousal and high-arousal emotions. The empirical studies focus on workplace-specific self-discrepancies and emotions. They show that actual:self-guide discrepancies involving the Other standpoint are associated with emotion when the other is the work supervisor. In addition, type of other moderates the link between AA self-discrepancies and emotion. Only when a relationship is close (communal) or hierarchical (authority-based) is the link between AA discrepancies and emotion evident. These findings are used to construct a model of interpersonal self-discrepancies as they relate to the workplace. The applicability of SDT to the workplace is then explored by testing a mediational hypothesis, that self-discrepancies influence job satisfaction through experienced emotion. Support for this hypothesis across a range of self-discrepancy types demonstrates the importance of SDT in accounting for job satisfaction. It is concluded that an interpersonal perspective on self-discrepancy and emotion is pertinent in the workplace.