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Evolutionary Perspective on Self-Concept: The Effects of Interpersonal Motivations and Inclusionary Status on Spontaneous Self-Descriptions of Communion and Agency

Evolutionary Perspective on Self-Concept: The Effects of Interpersonal Motivations and... Evolutionary models suggest that self-concept is a dynamic structure shaped jointly by interpersonal motivations and social challenges. Yet, empirical data assessing this claim are sparse. We examined this question in two studies. In study 1, participants (N = 386) generated spontaneous self-descriptions and filled out questionnaires assessing dominance and affiliation motivations. We found that self-descriptions categorized as communion or agency were associated with affiliation and dominance motivations, respectively. In study 2, participants (N = 360) underwent an inclusionary manipulation (exclusion, inclusion, popularity) and completed self-description and motivation measures. We found that exclusion (compared to inclusion/popularity) enhanced the salience of communion self-descriptions such that participants described themselves using more communion traits. Finally, in the popularity condition (compared to exclusion/inclusion), an enhanced positive association between salience of agency self-descriptions and dominance motivation was found. Our results support evolutionary models suggesting that self-concept organization shapes and is being shaped by social motivations to enhance interpersonal functioning. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Evolutionary Psychology SAGE

Evolutionary Perspective on Self-Concept: The Effects of Interpersonal Motivations and Inclusionary Status on Spontaneous Self-Descriptions of Communion and Agency

Evolutionary Perspective on Self-Concept: The Effects of Interpersonal Motivations and Inclusionary Status on Spontaneous Self-Descriptions of Communion and Agency

Evolutionary Psychology , Volume 20 (3): 1 – Jul 1, 2022

Abstract

Evolutionary models suggest that self-concept is a dynamic structure shaped jointly by interpersonal motivations and social challenges. Yet, empirical data assessing this claim are sparse. We examined this question in two studies. In study 1, participants (N = 386) generated spontaneous self-descriptions and filled out questionnaires assessing dominance and affiliation motivations. We found that self-descriptions categorized as communion or agency were associated with affiliation and dominance motivations, respectively. In study 2, participants (N = 360) underwent an inclusionary manipulation (exclusion, inclusion, popularity) and completed self-description and motivation measures. We found that exclusion (compared to inclusion/popularity) enhanced the salience of communion self-descriptions such that participants described themselves using more communion traits. Finally, in the popularity condition (compared to exclusion/inclusion), an enhanced positive association between salience of agency self-descriptions and dominance motivation was found. Our results support evolutionary models suggesting that self-concept organization shapes and is being shaped by social motivations to enhance interpersonal functioning.

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References (88)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022
ISSN
1474-7049
eISSN
1474-7049
DOI
10.1177/14747049221120095
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Evolutionary models suggest that self-concept is a dynamic structure shaped jointly by interpersonal motivations and social challenges. Yet, empirical data assessing this claim are sparse. We examined this question in two studies. In study 1, participants (N = 386) generated spontaneous self-descriptions and filled out questionnaires assessing dominance and affiliation motivations. We found that self-descriptions categorized as communion or agency were associated with affiliation and dominance motivations, respectively. In study 2, participants (N = 360) underwent an inclusionary manipulation (exclusion, inclusion, popularity) and completed self-description and motivation measures. We found that exclusion (compared to inclusion/popularity) enhanced the salience of communion self-descriptions such that participants described themselves using more communion traits. Finally, in the popularity condition (compared to exclusion/inclusion), an enhanced positive association between salience of agency self-descriptions and dominance motivation was found. Our results support evolutionary models suggesting that self-concept organization shapes and is being shaped by social motivations to enhance interpersonal functioning.

Journal

Evolutionary PsychologySAGE

Published: Jul 1, 2022

Keywords: self-concept; exclusion; popularity; affiliation; dominance; agency; communion

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