Self-construal, self-concept clarity, and consideration of future events

Presenter Hometown

London, KY

Major

Psychology

Department

Psychology

Degree

Undergraduate

Mentor

Jonathan S. Gore

Mentor Department

Psychology

Abstract

Self-construal, independent or interdependent, describes how a person views themselves in relation to others. Self-construal is defined by a set of behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs that a person identifies with, meaning that people typically act in accordance with their self-construal. Self-concept clarity is “how clearly self-beliefs are defined, internally consistent, and stable.” A person can either have a clear understanding of who they are or they may change their mind frequently. Consideration of future events is a measure of how much of a future orientation a person has. This study examined the interaction between self-construal, self-concept clarity, and consideration of future events. We hypothesized that independent self-construal would predict consideration of future events more than interdependent self-construal, and that self-concept clarity would also predict consideration of future events. Then, we predicted a secondary interaction between self-construal and clarity, so that the link between self-construal and consideration of future events will be stronger at higher levels of self-concept clarity. Data from 408 college students were collected via an online questionnaire through SONA. The results of analysis reveal that one of our hypothesis was accepted. Independent self-construal predicted consideration of future events more than interdependent self-construal, and self-concept clarity also predicted consideration of future events. However, the self-concept clarity x self-construal interaction was not significant.

Presentation format

Poster

Poster Number

065

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Self-construal, self-concept clarity, and consideration of future events

Self-construal, independent or interdependent, describes how a person views themselves in relation to others. Self-construal is defined by a set of behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs that a person identifies with, meaning that people typically act in accordance with their self-construal. Self-concept clarity is “how clearly self-beliefs are defined, internally consistent, and stable.” A person can either have a clear understanding of who they are or they may change their mind frequently. Consideration of future events is a measure of how much of a future orientation a person has. This study examined the interaction between self-construal, self-concept clarity, and consideration of future events. We hypothesized that independent self-construal would predict consideration of future events more than interdependent self-construal, and that self-concept clarity would also predict consideration of future events. Then, we predicted a secondary interaction between self-construal and clarity, so that the link between self-construal and consideration of future events will be stronger at higher levels of self-concept clarity. Data from 408 college students were collected via an online questionnaire through SONA. The results of analysis reveal that one of our hypothesis was accepted. Independent self-construal predicted consideration of future events more than interdependent self-construal, and self-concept clarity also predicted consideration of future events. However, the self-concept clarity x self-construal interaction was not significant.