Theories of Self-Concept Maintenance: The Case of Jeannette

Our motivation to change our attitude and behavior is dependent on how we view others and any perceived threats that are around us. Our self-concept maintenance keeps are all of the ways we can maintain this sense of self (Crisp & Turner, 2010). In each of the theories I’ve chosen, self-discrepancy theory, social comparison theory, and self-evaluation maintenance theory, the issue of dissonance comes into play as a force for change. This change can come by way of behavior or attitude. There is also a push in each of the theories to maintain consistency between behaviors. Two of the theories I selected involve being compared to another person, whereas one of them is a comparison to our self. Other differences include how the behaviors of others tend to affect the person affected by narcissistic personality style and how they respond to the threat of some else’s behavior. Specifically, I will discuss Jeannette and how these theories apply to her.

Of the two employees who were getting evaluations, Jeannette exhibited narcissistic personality style. Many of her comments deflected blame to external forces, and it could be said that her view of negative circumstances was a result of an external locus of control. For instance, when the boss brought up the issue with shipment changes not being communicated fast enough to the packing crew, Jeannette’s proclaimed that it was not her fault and deflected the blame to Ken as opposed to taking ownership of the issue. Narcissists have the tendency to blame others for their failure and take credit for other’s successes (Campbell, Foster, & Finkel, 2002).

Jeannette’s inability to take responsibility for her shortcomings adds to her narcissism. As she continues to deflect the blame on to external forces, she also has a tendency to overexert her positives by making mention that she’s trusting and that she always keeps her promises. Jeannette also makes mention that she is an expert in what everyone else is doing. When she receives a good score for her ability to plan, she declares that she is the queen of planning and prioritizing. Individuals like Jeannette feel that they are superior to others and are characterized as having high self-esteem, but that self-esteem is fragile and unstable (Crisp & Turner, 2010).

Self-discrepancy theory focuses on discrepancies between our ideal and actual identity, and by extension our emotional responses to those discrepancies. Maintaining a sense of consistency among our beliefs derives our motivation, under this theory. Higgins explained his view as having three selfs: the actual self, ideal self, and ought self (Crisp & Turner, 2010). This is broken down into who we are now, who we would like to be, and the characteristics that we ought to have, respectively. Jeannette states several times how she ought to be during the context of the evaluation. For instance, she mentions how she should have done the task herself with regards to a shipping error. She follows-up with being a trusting person, and one who keeps her promises, or rather this is how she would like to be viewed, but her actions speak against her. This is further expanded upon when she is given her final score. She felt like she deserved a five, even though her scores spoke against it.

The way we learn about our abilities and attitudes comes by way of comparing ourselves to others. Within the context of social comparison theory, we will compare ourselves to those who are similar to us (Crisp & Turner, 2010). In the event that we lack someone to compare ourselves to, anyone will do. If I have a coworker who is doing the same task as myself, I compare myself to my coworker to gauge how effective I am as a worker. If I do not have a coworker to compare myself to, I will use anyone in the office. Jeannette manages to do this is the course of her conversation with her boss at the end of the interview by discussing how much harder she works than everyone else. She does not have a coworker that she wishes to compare herself to; therefore, she compares herself to everyone. She continues to make her case by mentioning how late she works. She then goes on to compare herself with others by stating that everyone probably received low scores.

The view of our self-concept can be threatened depending on how others behave (Crisp & Turner, 2010). As a result, a person may take action to remove the uncomfortable feeling they have. Under the theory of self-evaluation maintenance, a person may distance himself or herself, reduce the relevance of a behavior, or try and improve and therefore reducing the threat. We see this behavior from Jeannette when the boss gives her a final score from the evaluation. She is clearly in disagreement with the score and does not readily accept it. However, she relegates herself to committing to changing her behavior in order to get a better score the following year thereby reducing the threat that she may feel.

In an earlier conversation with the boss, she distanced herself when told about not communicating effectively by reducing the relevance of the behavior by stating that she has been extremely busy. She follows up by mentioning that she is an expert in what everyone else is doing. Individuals who may feel more threatened will rate others more negatively than themselves (Morf & Rhodewalt, 1993). She reinforces this by stating everyone must have had low scores because she was convinced that she was just that much better than everyone else.

Jeannette makes several attempts to make herself look better than everyone else as well as establish that she is the best person on the job. The comments about her clearly make her uncomfortable and, as a result, she comes up with ways to dispel that uncomfortable feeling. Although her boss may not accept her views, she has convinced herself that the way she views the feedback is the correct view. This means that everyone else is at fault for the reason she has received a low score, but she is the reason she received a high score. The theories described, self-discrepancy theory, social comparison theory, and self-evaluation maintenance theory, set the stage for Jeannette’s motivation to change or make excuses for her behavior. It is either by way of dissonance or seeking to be consistent with her self-identity. In either case, this change manifests itself by either putting others down to make herself look better or deflecting any threat to an external influence.

References

• Campbell, W. K., Foster, C. A., & Finkel, E. J. (2002). Does self-love lead to love for others?: A story of narcissistic game playing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(2), 340–354. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.83.2.340 ↩
• Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2010). Chapter 1: The Self. In Essential Social Psychology (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
• Morf, C. C., & Rhodewalt, F. (1993). Narcissism and Self-Evaluation Maintenance: Explorations in Object Relations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19(6), 668–676. doi:10.1177/0146167293196001 ↩