Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect.

“Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and research on self-esteem likewise show that violations of expectations generate emotions such as anxiety, anger, or shame, spurring action.”

“For example, consider the case of self-discrepancy theory (SDT; Higgins, 1987), difference scores are often used to quantify the discrepancy between a person’s actual self and their ideal or ought selves, with greater discrepancies predicting negative emotions like dejection or anxiety (Mason et…”

“The meta-analytic results showed that the SE dimension had a particularly strong negative association with IA ( r = − 0.339), consistent with self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), which holds that discrepancies between the actual self and ideal self elicit negative affect.”

“The L2MSS shifted motivation research toward a self-based framework grounded in possible selves (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009; Higgins, 1987; Markus and Nurius, 1986).”

“Next, Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) concerns with the difference between an ideal self and an actual self.”

“Moreover, individuals experiencing a higher level of mental distress more often had problems with BMI and appearance satisfaction (Yurdagül et al., 2021).”

“…legal threats, parent–teacher conflicts, or inadequate organizational support prevent teachers from acting in accordance with these values, the resulting discrepancy between professional ideals and actual work experiences may lead to guilt, shame, anger, helplessness, and demoralization [2].”

“Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) explains how upward social comparison may lead to depression.”

“Study 1 revealed that among Korean university students, individuals with higher public self-consciousness were less likely to modify their avatars for hypothetical public contexts.”

“According to self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987; Kee and Neshteruk, 2026), the ideal self refers to the attributes or characteristics that an individual aspires to possess; the actual self denotes the attributes or characteristics that an individual actually possesses.”

“Similarly, from the perspective of self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), mukbang content may highlight discrepancies between individuals’ actual behaviors and their ideal or socially expected standards, potentially leading to negative self-evaluations.”

“Likewise, Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) proposes that discrepancies between actual and ideal selves produce emotional discomfort and lower self-worth.”

“When a goal fails and the failure is attributed internally, it may be perceived as a threat to identity, particularly when that goal is tied to a person’s sense of self (Higgins 1987; Stets and Serpe 2013; Taylor 1983).”

“Higgins (1987) shows that discrepancies between how individuals perceive themselves and personal standards can generate negative emotions.”

“Prevention focus, on the other hand, centers on avoiding negative outcomes [95] and is embedded in the regulation of behaviors tied to duties and responsibilities [81].”

“Goffman’s back-stage and front-stage distinction (Goffman, 1959); Horton and Wohl’s parasocial relationship theory (Horton and Wohl, 1956); Higgins’s ought-self (Higgins, 1987).”

“This logic aligns with cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger et al., 1954; Harmon-Jones and Mills, 2019) and self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), both of which link evaluative inconsistency to discomfort and reduced wellbeing.”

“This results in individuals perceiving themselves as objects based on the looks they have encountered on social media, resulting in increased body image disturbances and unhealthy behaviour to meet the unattainable standards (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997).. Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987)is particularly importa…”

“Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) proposes that individuals are motivated to reduce differences between their actual self and their ideal self.”

“…moral grandstanding, they may internalize these moral-ized messages as unattainable benchmarks, leading them to adopt these messages as idealized self-guides and perceive a larger discrepancy between their actual moral self and the moral standards they feel expected to attain (Higgins, 1987, 1989).”

“Drawing on an inductive theory-building analysis of mixed textual data, this study constructs a tripartite conceptual model of the ought-to L2 self (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009; Higgins, 1987), delineating its structural elements and theoretical logic.”

“Self-Discrepancy Theory suggests that perceived discrepancies between the actual and ideal self evoke shame and dejection, emotions closely linked to depressive outcomes (Higgins, 1987).”

“This concept extends the self-discrepancy theory of Higgins (1987), which highlights the psychological impact of mismatches between one's self-view and how others see them.”

“Two complementary frameworks help explain their operation: the process model of self-conscious emotions (Tracy & Robins, 2007) and self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987).”

“Social cognitive theory also suggests that external environmental cues do not automatically shape emotions; rather, their effects are often processed through cognitive appraisal (79).”

“…theoretical structure, the present investigation places possible selves theory [31] at the centre of its framework, with self-discrepancy theory [50] supplying the motivation-to-action mechanism and Dweck’s implicit theories [6] entering as the upstream precondition rather than as a parallel…”

“Importantly, misalignments between the actual and ideal self may generate negative affect, such as discomfort or frustration, prompting compensatory behaviours including compulsive consumption or outward brand denigration (Higgins, 1987; Japutra et al., 2018).”

“…of self-discrepancy theory, repeated exposure to idealized online selves may widen the perceived distance between the actual self and the ideal self, thereby producing emotional discomfort, self-concept incongruence, and unstable self-evaluation (Harter, 2012; Higgins, 1987; Orth & Robins, 2014).”

“The perceived gap between their present state and ideal future life serves as a motivational force, driving people to reduce this discrepancy (Higgins, 1987 ).”

“As such, behav - ioral traces from social media provide valuable insights into individuals’ psychological traits and social behavior in naturalistic settings.”

“…self-initiated, pre - scriptive standards dictate specific ways of thinking, feel - ing, or behaving, suggesting that employees are deficient in meeting these norms (Higgins, 1987 ), which may exert unintended pressure, preventing employees from internalizing organizational positivity expectations.”

“Stress, anxiety, depression, and affect arise when people encounter obstacles, threats, and disruptions to their goals (Carver and Scheier 1990; Higgins 1987).”

“Self-discrepancy theory further posits that mismatches between one’s actual self and internalized standards of the ideal (attributes one wishes to possess) or the ought (attributes one feels obligated to possess) generate distinct negative emotions, such as dejection or agitation (Higgins, 1987).”

“This theory emphasizes that individuals strive for self-actualization, meaning that they aim to come closer to who they want to be and/or should be (Higgins, 1987, 2012).”

“Self-Discrepancy Theory proposes that psychological distress may emerge when individuals perceive a gap between their actual appearance and internalized ideal appearance standards [15].”

“Similarly, regulatory focus theory distinguishes between promotion-focused motivation oriented toward gains and prevention-focused motivation oriented toward safety and loss avoidance [23].”

“This divergence, commonly termed as self-concept incongruence, has been associated with a variety of adverse outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, and diminished self-esteem [2].”

“Higgins (1987) further argues that discrepancies between the ideal and ought-to self are linked to agitation-related affective experi - ences (e.g., guilt, tension, anxiety), which could offer a plausible mechanism through which very high other-directed compassion can co-exist with somewhat mixed…”

“…with the self-discrepancy theory, which posits that perceived discrepancies between actual and ideal body states can motivate behavior change, but only when the ideal is viewed as achievable; when discrepancies are perceived as insurmountable, motivational disengagement may occur instead [29, 36].”

“Moreover, assessors’ tendencies to obsess over the gap between their actual and ideal self-concepts can greatly amplify negative emotions (Higgins, 1987).”

“Cognitive behavioral, self-discrepancy, and stress appraisal models offer operationalizable mechanisms and intervention targets supported by empirical literature (Hofmann et al., 2012; Higgins, 1987).”

“…in geographic weighting should be consid - ered alongside discourse and sentiment patterns documented elsewhere in this study when interpreting apparent divergence in growth trajectories Page 14 of 18 European Journal of Plastic Surgery (2026) 49:77 narrows, negative affect accumulates [ 21 – 25].”

“While self-discrepancy theory posits that the path from negative feedback to anxiety is often a reactive and automatic self-regulatory failure (Higgins, 1987), we iden - tify mindfulness as a critical boundary condition because its core mechanisms – non-reactivity and decentering – directly target…”

“If a method can be developed to assist at this cognitive level, it would be a major stride in a technologically innovative approach to help people with mental illnesses [14–16].”

“From the perspective of self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), these comparisons may widen the perceived gap between the actual self and the ideal self, thereby triggering negative affect such as shame, frustration, and low self-worth, all of which are central components of psychological distress…”

“This is consistent with the original theories (Higgins, 1987; Markus & Nurius, 1986) that everyone has possible selves, including a feared self; past research (Carver et al., 1999) showed the link between feared self and negative affect in general, and more recent research indicating that the…”

“Since individuals are embedded within the relationships that give rise to expectations, their judgments may reflect personal biases, emotional involvement, or moti - vated reasoning (Burgoon & Hale, 1988 ; Higgins, 1987).”

“According to Higgins’ self-discrepancy and regulatory focus theories [18, 19], individuals may differ in the extent to which they are driven by ideal-versus ought-related motives.”

“Su et al. found that a high level of self-discrepancy induces an attentional bias toward negative information; this bias tends to increase anxiety loads, which in turn can interfere with objective pro-social judgments (Higgins, 1987).”

“…teoría de los “yo posibles” (Markus y Nurius, 1986), que describe el yo futuro deseado como motor motivacional, y en la teoría de la autodiscrepancia (Higgins, 1987), que explica cómo la distancia entre el yo actual y el yo ideal genera tensión motivadora y, como consecuencia, promueve el esfuerzo…”

“Furthermore, it is crucial to emphasize that discrepancies between real and ideal self-state representations can lead to emotional vulnerabilities and feelings of disappointment, discontent, and unhappiness (Higgins 1987); therefore, this mismatch is generally avoided.”

“” (P7) The participant’s emotional response to this behavioral change can be understood through self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), which postulates that emotional responses arise when one’s actual self diverges from the ideal self (aspirations) or ought self (obligations).”

“Desde la teoría de la autodiscrepancia de Higgins (1987), la aspiración hacia el “yo ideal” de consumidora sostenible, el “consumi-dor perfectamente verde”, constituye un están-dar difícil de alcanzar, generando una barrera en la autopercepción (White et al ., 2019).”

“Such social feedback shapes self-presentation, also leading to comparisons between the real self and a curated online self, consistent with Self-Discrep-ancy Theory (Higgins, 1987 ).”

“…body image in models of self-evaluation (Harter, 1999; Tiggemann, 2011), with appearance-related self-discrepancy—the perceived gap between one's actual and internalized ideal appearance—identified as a key mechanism linking media exposure to diminished self-esteem (Higgins, 1987; Bessenoff, 2006).”

“Self-discrepancy theory further proposes that exposure to idealized standards may increase the gap between actual and ideal selves, contributing to anxiety, depressive symptoms, or feelings of inadequacy [31, 93].”

“Self-discrepancy theory also suggests that an individual’s emotional experience is deter - mined by the gap between their actual self and their ideal self (Higgins, 1987).”

“This aligns with self-discrepancy theory [30], aligning avatar appearance with a desired self mitigates emotional dissonance.”

“In other words, prior theories suggest that self-conscious emotions are most likely to occur when people evaluate their behavior in the context of their identity-relevant goals — standards related to who they want or believe they ought to be (Higgins, 1987; Tracy & Robins, 2004).”

“…gap between an individual’s actual self and their ideal self or ought self, negative emotional responses are triggered, undermining self-esteem and further reducing happiness (Higgins, 1987). which in turn influences the extent of support perceived in social interactions (Li et al., 2025).”

“This study draws on Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954), Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987), and Self-Presentation Theory (Goffman, 1956) to explain how upward social comparisons, perceived self-discrepancies, and strategic self-presentation.”

“Drawing on Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987 ), we propose that self-disgust operates as a “translation mechanism”: it amplifies dispositional risk by transforming diffuse negative affect into self-directed aver - sion, while simultaneously undermining protective resources such as self-esteem…”

“The theory proposes that emotional discomfort arises when individuals perceive discrepancies between their actual self and their ideal or “ought” self (Higgins, 1987).”

“In addition, Higgins ( 1987) reports that among Latinas, negative emotions mediate the association between self-threat and BED.”

“For women actively trying to conceive, menstruation represents an event where the actual self diverges from the ideal self or the ought self, according to Higgins' self-discrepancy theory [10].”

“In addition, different psychological representations of the “self” may appear at different times and blend into the self-image (Harter et al., 1996; https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2027-2593 The identity of eduTubers projected on Instagram Higgins, 1987; Markus & Nurius, 1986).”

“Self-esteem is the temporal outcome of the comparison between one's actual image and what someone thinks ought to be (Higgins 1987).”