Department of Psychology and Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Center, 26731Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Evol Psychol. 2022 Jul-Sep;20(3):14747049221120095. doi: 10.1177/14747049221120095.
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.
进化模型表明，自我概念是一个由人际动机和社会挑战共同塑造的动态结构。然而，评估这一说法的实证数据很少。我们在两项研究中检验了这个问题。在研究 1 中，参与者（N=386）自发地生成自我描述，并填写了评估支配和亲和动机的问卷。我们发现，将自我描述归类为交往或能动性分别与亲和和支配动机相关。在研究 2 中，参与者（N=360）接受了包容（排斥、包容、受欢迎）的操作，并完成了自我描述和动机测量。我们发现，排斥（与包容/受欢迎相比）增强了交往自我描述的显著性，以至于参与者使用更多的交往特征来描述自己。最后，在受欢迎的条件下（与排斥/包容相比），能动性自我描述的显著性与支配动机之间的正相关关系增强。我们的研究结果支持进化模型，表明自我概念的组织通过社会动机来增强人际交往功能，从而塑造和被塑造。
