The Role of General and Specific Reflected Appraisals in Identity Processes

• In Event: 447 - Section on Social Psychology Roundtable Session (co-sponsored with Section on Sociology of Emotions)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. Identity Processes

Abstract

This research examines the relationships between reflected appraisals and self-views. The majority of studies in this area utilize measures of reflected appraisals of “others” in general, but more recent work emphasizes the importance of considering reflected appraisals of specific significant others associated with given identities. The few studies of specific reflected appraisals that exist demonstrate variation in their impact on self-views and other outcomes, depending on the specific source of reflected appraisal and the identities involved. However, these study samples are limited in terms of generalizability and the number and type of identities and relevant significant others available. I extend this line of work by investigating general and specific reflected appraisals in six adult identities (spouse, employee, family, friend, religious, and volunteer), their association with self-views, and the impact of identity discrepancies involving each type of reflected appraisal on distress, self-esteem, and mastery among a national probability sample of adults in the U.S. Results show that reflected appraisals are positively associated with self-views across five of the six identities, and that the association between specific reflected appraisals and self-views is larger than the association between general reflected appraisals and self-views. Of the 36 possible relationships between identity discrepancies and the outcomes examined, seven statistically significant associations are observed (five involving general and two involving specific reflected appraisals). When significant, identity discrepancies are positively associated with distress and negatively associated with self-esteem and mastery. Differences between identities and the implications of these findings for identity theory and research are discussed.

Author

• Mary Gallagher, Kent State University