Increasing the salience of one's best selves can undermine inspiration by outstanding role models
Abstract
The accessibility of people's highest hopes and achievements can affect their reactions to upward comparisons. Three studies showed that, under normal circumstances, individuals were inspired by an outstanding role model; their motivation and self-evaluations were enhanced. However, when their most positive self-views were temporarily or chronically activated, inspiration was undermined, and individuals' motivation and self-evaluations tended to decrease. Another study found that role models inspired participants to generate more spectacular hopes and achievements than they would have generated otherwise. It appears that increasing the accessibility of one's best selves undercuts inspiration because it constrains the positivity of the future selves one may imagine and prevents one from generating the more spectacular future selves that the role model normally inspires.
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Comparing oneself to a successful other can be inspiring but also self-deflating by highlighting how deficient one is in comparison.
“Although comparing oneself to a successful other can potentially be inspiring and offer one hope, it also has the potential of being self-deflating by highlighting how deficient one is in comparison (Collins, 1996(Collins, , 2000;;Lockwood & Kunda, 1999;Suls, Martin, & Wheeler, 2002;Wood, 1989).”
From Managing to clear the air: Stereotype threat, women, and leadership (2016) · cites this paper as Lockwood & Kunda, 1999
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Stout, J. G., Dasgupta, N., Hunsinger, M., & McManus, M. A. (2011) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0021385 · Cited by 1,050 · see citing works
Dasgupta, N. (2011) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2011.607313 · Cited by 466 · see citing works
Managing to clear the air: Stereotype threat, women, and leadership
Hoyt, C. L., & Murphy, S. E. (2016) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.11.002 · Cited by 454 · see citing works
When every day is a high school reunion: Social media comparisons and self-esteem.
Midgley, C., Thai, S., Lockwood, P., Kovacheff, C., & Page-Gould, E. (2021) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspi0000336 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Self-citationMinding and mending the gap: Social psychological interventions to reduce educational disparities
Spitzer, B., & Aronson, J. (2015) · British Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjep.12067 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Female Leaders: Injurious or Inspiring Role Models for Women?
Hoyt, C. L., & Simon, S. (2011) · Psychology of Women Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0361684310385216 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Inspirational or Self-Deflating: The Role of Self-Efficacy in Elite Role Model Effectiveness
Hoyt, C. L. (2013) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550612455066 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
- Authors
- Lockwood, P., & Kunda, Z.
- Affiliations
- University of Waterloo (CA)
- ORCID
- Lockwood, Penelope
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1999
- Volume
- 76
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 214-228
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W4232566290
- Cited by
- 219
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 4.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Keywords
- role models, inspiration, salience, self-concept
- MeSH terms
- Analysis of Variance, Female, Forecasting, Goals, Humans, Machiavellianism, Male, Mentors, Models, Psychological, Morale, Motivation, Role, Self Concept
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