Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect.

“Extending prior research, the present study highlights the psychological function of archive control as a coping and self-regulatory strategy that helps individuals reconcile discrepancies between ideal and actual selves (Higgins, 1987).”

“Self-discrepancy theory further demonstrates that children ’ s interpretations of the gap between who they are, who they wish to be, and who they believe they “ ought ” to be strongly in fl uence self-evaluative emotions such as shame, guilt, or pride (Higgins, 1987; Tangney & Dearing, 2002).”

“According to self-discrepancy theory (Higgins 1987), tension between one’s actual, ideal, and ought selves produces anxiety and emotional fatigue.”

“This finding supports self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), as the filtered self functions as a n ‘ideal self’ standard, widening the gap with one’s unfiltered reality.”

“Family Systems Theory .”

“Drawing on self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and the notion of possible selves (Markus, H., & Nurius, 1986) , the L2MSS posits that motivation arises from the desire to reduce the gap between one’s actual self and one’s envisioned future self as a competent L2 user.”

“Beyond their emotional consequences, self-discrepancies, as relatively stable cognitive structures, shape how individuals allocate attention, process information, and regulate motivation (Higgins, 1987; Yang, 2015; Hu et al., 2022).”

“Self-enhancement theory further suggests that individuals are motivated to elevate their sense of personal worth (Sedikides & Strube, 1997) and to move closer to their ideal selves to bolster self-esteem (Higgins, 1987).”

“The Second Language Motivational Self System is grounded in self-discrepancy theory and possible selves [1–2] .”

“Objectification Theory highlights how internalization of an observer’s perspective can lead individuals, particularly women, to treat their own bodies as objects to be evaluated aesthetically, increasing self-consciousness and body dissatisfaction.”

“…this framework, the magnitude of self-esteem reflects the degree of alignment between these two self-representations: greater congruence corresponds to higher self-esteem, whereas greater divergence is associated with lower self-esteem and an increased likelihood of negative affect (Higgins, 1987).”

“Figure (1) describes how discrepancies between one’s view of the addict self and spiritual self-standards; can cause vulnerability to negative emotional states of drug users, (Higgins, 1987; Higgins et al., 1985) .”

“Perceptions of others’ positive work experiences can shape one’s own satisfaction by altering expectations and reference points, a dynamic central to self-discrepancy theory (Higgins 1987; Jiang, Klein, and Saunders 2011) and classic definitions of job satisfaction (Locke 1969).”

“Self-evaluations are susceptible to discrepancies between the “ideal” and the “actual” self (Higgins, 1987), and to reporting biases (e.g., social desirability), which can attenuate the correspondence between what people say and what they do.”

“If there is a significant difference between these self-layers, people may feel anxious, frustrated, or depressed, and this is explained by self-discrepancy theory [20].”

“According to self-discrepancy theory [23], the “ideal-self” that girls see on social media platforms is often mistaken for the “ought-self” they must achieve.”

“Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) posits that disparities between individuals’ perceptions of who they are (i.e., actual self), who they hope to be (i.e., ideal self), and how they feel they should be (i.e., ought self) can lead to psychological discomfort.”

“Of these three types of possible selves, ideal selves are the most important, as they can guide people’s future behavior (Higgins, 1987).”

“…moral conduct may be seen as threatening by others and usually found to be evaluated negatively by observers for the reason that prohibitive voice implicitly calls into question our morality and initiates social comparison (Higgins, 1987; Monin, 2007) and thus may not inspire through this path.”

“Third, reductions in the discrepancy between actual and ideal/ought selves (Higgins, 1987) likely contributed to improved self-image: guided reflection, values-consistent goal setting, and kinder internal dialogue can reduce distress associated with perceived shortcomings and promote a more…”

“Higgins proposed the self-discrepancy theory, which distinguishes the self as the actual self, ideal self, and ought self [38].”

“The first element – current personality trait levels – is an already established predictor of PDGs, with prior research linking it to self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and self-regulated personality development theory (Hennecke et al., 2014).”

“…between the actual and the ideal self elicit dejected-related emotional responses such as disappointment, sadness, shame, or embarrassment, whereas discrepancies between the actual and ought self elicit agitation-related emotional responses such as fear or guilt (Higgins, 1987, p. 322).”

“Regarding the self-discrepancies factor, it was formulated based on Higgins’ (1987) self-discrepancy theory.”

“Their strong negative correlation (r = -0.221**) validates the core proposition of self-discrepancy theory [37]: frequent exposure to societal standards of evaluation exacerbates body image distortion.”

“…others feel they ought to be, we offered that CWC focuses on coaching an individual toward their Ideal Self (i.e., personal vision), which represents their core values, dreams, and aspirations for their ideal future (Boyatzis, 2008; Boyatzis & Akrivou, 2006; Boyatzis & Dhar, 2022; Higgins, 1987).”

“The dimensions of gender-appropriate behavior and mate desirability are underexplored in SCT, SDT and media studies (Dankoor et al., 2023; Kistler et al., 2010), but a number of studies regard the links between media consumption, young African American people’s social comparisons with media characters and appearance-r…”

“To deepen this understanding, we turn to Self-Discrepancy Theory, 8 which explores how mismatches between actual and ideal or ought selves trigger moral emotions like guilt, shame, and anxiety.”

“In contrast, depression has been shown (even in approaches not based on the RGT; e.g. Higgins, 1987) to have a stronger association with self-evaluation and self-representation through self-discrepancies, which are more directly related to self-construction processes (Mason et al., 2019).”

“Higgins (1987) proposed three basic domains of the “self” in the field of social psychology, namely, the actual self, which represents the attributes that oneself or someone else believes one actually possesses; the ideal self, which represents the attributes that oneself or someone else believes…”

“In connection with self-discrepancy theory, when the standard for what is considered a normal appearance is set higher, the gap between one's ideal self and their actual self-perception may grow [16].”

“A major psychological factor in behavior change is cognitive inconsistency, which is theorized to play a wide range of roles in human social behavior (Festinger, 1957; Gawronski & Strack, 2012; Heider, 1958; Higgins, 1987; Simpson et al., 2001).”

“…that emotional distress, across mental health diagnoses, can result from an incongruence perceived between a person ’ s actual self , ideal self , and ought self (34), with one ’ s self-esteem being negatively impacted when greater discrepancy between the actual self and ideal self arises (31).”

“Important insights into the nature, causes and consequences of the identity tensions that may be experienced by professionals as leaders are provided by two identity discrepancy theories: self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and relational discrepancy theory (Robins & Boldero, 2003).”

“This is consistent with the concept of "self-discrepancy theory" (Higgins, 1987), which posits that individuals experience emotional distress when there is a discrepancy between their actual self and their ideal self.”

“First, self-regulation theory posits that recognizing the disparity between one's current self and the ideal future self motivates individuals to try to bridge the gap (Higgins, 1987).”

“The idea of ACT is very close to the concept of self-discrep-ancy introduced by Higgins ( 1987 ; see also e.g. Heine & Lehman, 1999 ; Ogilvie, 1987 ).”

“Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), posits that BE is influenced by the gap between an individual’s ‘actual self’ (how they perceive their body) and their ‘ideal self’ (how they wish their body would appear).”

“Related frameworks include Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987), Balance Theory (Heider, 1946), and Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger, 1957).”

“For example, Day et al.’s (2007) “Dimensions of Identity” model, introduced in the third section, would be related to the elements of teacher identity (Higgins, 1987) introduced in the second section.”

“Galima teigti, kad dėl motyvacijos reiškinio sudėtingumo skirtingais laikotarpiais mokslinin - kai į ją žvelgė nevisiškai vienodai ir siūlė įvairias teorines jos tyrimo prieigas (Markus, Nu - rius 1986; Higgins 1987; Gardner 1985; Dörnyei 2010 ir t. t.).”

“Salah satu teori yang juga dapat membahas mengenai hal ini adalah self-discrepancy dari Higgins (1987).”

“This can result in coexisting plural (Markus and Wurf 1987) and sometimes contradicting selves (Higgins 1987), constantly emerging and evolving through relations.”

“Furthermore, the self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1989) argues that low self-esteem is related to larger discrepancy between ideal self and actual self, and Higgins (1987) empirically showed a negative correlation between Rosenberg’s (1965) self-esteem and the ideal-actual gap.”

“In general, it is known that a large cognitive distortion of body image is associated with increased dissatisfaction with the body (Higgins, 1987).”

“On the self-discrepancy theory, distress is generated based on perceived discrepancies between real self-performance and one's “ideal self,” with “ought self,” which is a typical condition among professionals with significant perfectionistic beliefs, such as psychiatrists (Higgins, 1987).”

“Kubanyiova ( 2009) implemented Markus and Nurius’ (1986 ) study in the field of English-language education in accordance with Dörnyei’s (2005 ) L2 motivational self-system theory and Higgins’ (1987 ) self-discrepancy theory.”

“This paradigm builds on Higgins's [24] self-discrepancy, where students study a foreign language or enhance their language skills to eliminate individual discrepancies whenever they see the difference between a language student and an ideal student in their current state [25].”

“Human beings are motivated to act on their actual here-and-now self, so that it can be better matched with the desired future possible selves (Higgins, 1987).”

“The self-discrepancy theory [3] proposes that the self comprises three fundamental domains: the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self, as well as two fundamental standpoints: one's own personal standpoint and the standpoint of some important others.”

“Hence, the adverse outcomes outlined in Islam due to an individual’s failure to achieve optimal development are consistent with these studies and also the concepts of the theory of self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987).”

“It is based on the theories of self-discrepancy and possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986; Higgins, 1987).”

“Individuals with a promotion focus serve their ideal selves, while those with a prevention focus serve their ought selves (Higgins, 1987).”

“This hypothesis could be supported by the principles of the self-discrepancy theory (Higgins 1987).”

“…of self, Higgins put forwards the ideal and ought-to self: the ideal self is a depiction of the characteristics that one would most like to have (i.e., a hope, aspiration, or wish), whereas the ought-to self is a representation of the characteristics that one believes they should possess [12,13].”

“The L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) The L2 motivational Self-system (L2MSS), according to Al-Hoorie (2018), is influenced by a number of theories, most notably the possible self-theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986), self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), and the socio-educational model (Gardner, 1979, 1985, 2010).”

“학습 동기에 영향을 미치는 변인 중 개인의 동기 성향은 외부의 자극에 대한 개인의 선호 반응의 특성을 의미한다[16][17].”

“On the other hand, a low discrepancy is associated with high self-esteem (Higgins, 1987, pp. 319-340).”

“This paradigm, combining the fundamental elements of ecological systems theory, which argues that individual behaviour is determined by multiple causes and is sensitive to multiple influences from the microsystems in which each subject moves and operates (Broffenbrenner, 2005) and the psychology of affect (Higgins, 19…”

“Higgins (1987), describing the theory of self-discrepancy, indicates three areas of the self: actual self, ideal self, and ought self.”

“Higgins (1987) and Markus and Nurius (1986) both defined and acknowledged possible selves to inspire and guide foreign language teachers' actions.”

“Higgins argued that one’s self can be divided into three different domains: the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self.”

“Several different theoretical traditions have been invoked to motivate research on educational expectation–achievement gaps, including self-discrepancy theory (Higgins 1987), relative deprivation theory (Walker and Pettigrew 1984), and stress process theory (Wheaton 1994).”

“Ideal L2 self represents the individual desires of the l2 learners to become a fluent user of a target language (Higgins, 1987).”

“Diversos autores profundizan en esta cuestión tomando como referencia la teoría de la discrepancia del self (del inglés, selfdiscrepancy theory; Higgins, 1987).”

“…realizaron un Test de Asociaciones Implícitas (IAT, Implicit Association Test), siguiendo el esquema de Greenwald et al. (2003) y utilizando el contenido de palabras positivas, negativas, asociadas al self y al otro-no-especificado de Karpinski (2004) tal y como se muestra en las Tablas 2 y 3.”