Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect.

“Previous research finds users are highly motivated to customize their avatars to avoid the stigma of being newcomers [28].”

“Proposed by Zoltán Dörnyei (2005, 2009), it draws on Markus and Nurius’s (1986) theory of possible selves and Higgins’ (1987) self-discrepancy theory.”

“While Ducheneaut et al. [11] identified three main factors that drive players to make their avatar look different from themselves, namely (1) creating an idealized self, (2) standing out and (3) following a trend, Loewen et al. [25] based their research on the self-discrepancy theory [16].”

“This phenomenon could be explained by the self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987).”

“Higgins (1987) proposed that a discrepancy between an actual self and an ideal self leads to discomfort in the form of dissatisfaction and disappointment.”

“A sense of responsibility or obligation (Higgins, 1987).”

“Higgins (1987) suggested we hold an internal self-concept, beliefs about our actual characteristics and attributes, including those internal-ised from others; how we think others perceive us.”

“According to intentional change theory (ICT, Boyatzis, 2008), sustained development occurs through a complex process in which individuals adopt new behaviors to approach their Ideal self or reduce the discrepancy between an Ideal self and Real self (Higgins, 1987; Boyatzis, 2008).”

“…also cohere with suggestions that individuals do not necessarily view themselves as a single consistent entity over time, but instead that the self is composed of multiple identities (or selves) over time (e.g., Higgins, 1987; Markus and Nurius, 1986; McConnell, 2011; Roberts and Dona-hue, 1994).”

“This dimension would correspond with what traditionally (Higgins, 1987,1996) has been called intrinsic motivations.”

“…possess multiple self-representations, including the actual self (i.e., one’s own belief and perception about the self), and the ideal self (i.e., the qualities and attributes that an individual aspires to possess or believes others would like them to possess; Higgins, 1987; Higgins, 1989).”

“…from the ‘possible selves’ theories of psychologists Markus and Nurius (1986) and specific ideas of ‘ideal selves’ and ‘ought-to selves’ of Higgins (1987), (Dörnyei, 2009; Dörnyei & Csizér, 2002) used structural equation modelling on results from a large-scale Hungarian study into L2…”

“…and ideal selves (promotion) relate to dejection-related emotions like disappointment, dissatisfaction, and sadness while higher discrepancies between actual and ought selves (prevention) relate to agitation-related emotions like fear, threat, and restlessness (Higgins, 1987; Higgins et al., 1986).”

“According to self-discrepancy theory 48 , discrepancies between the actual self and the ideal self evoke negative affect.”

“…aspirations and desired future identity as pro fi cient L2 users, the ideal L2 self (D¨ornyei, 2009), rooted in self-discrepancy and possible selves theories (Higgins, 1987; Markus & Nurius, 1986), motivates learners to invest effort and persist in their L2 learning process (Fathi & Hejazi, 2023).”

“In response, Dörnyei (2009) developed the L2 motivational self system (L2MSS) based on Higgins’ (1987) self-discrepancy theory and Markus and Nurius (1986) concept of possible selves.”

“Next to a positive self-concept, people want to perceive themselves as consistent, since inconsistency could lead to cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957) or self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987), i.e. negative psychological consequences for the individual.”

“We also found that the discrepancy between individuals ’ self-concept and their ideal self-views predicted self-esteem above and beyond self-concept clarity, consistent with the extensive literature on self-discrepancy theory 52,53 .”

“These comparisons can evoke negative emotions like sadness, anxiety, guilt, shame, embarrassment, and powerlessness (Higgins, 1987; Jaiswal et al., 2024), especially when individuals perceive a gap between their actual and ideal selves, as embodied by influencers.”

“Self-discrepancy refers to the gap between one’s actual self and ideal self [37].”

“It seems that the promotion-focused learners’ preoc-cupation with positive outcomes and accomplishments makes them more prone to experiencing elation-related emotions such as joy (Higgins, 1987).”

“Higgins (1987) proposed that the notion of self is complicated by three versions that are constantly in interplay: (1) the actual self (i.e. including the component parts that the individual believes they possess); (2) the ideal self (i.e. including the qualities that the individual aspires to…”

“Ambiguous, uncertain, or contradictory standards can challenge self-regulation (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007; Higgins, 1987).”

“According to the self-discrepancy theory (62), the greater the gap between the actual and ideal selves, the more distress the individual will suffer.”

“This is consistent with the Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), which suggests that humans are motivated to act to reduce the eventual discrepancy between the perception of themselves (i.e., their actual self) and the perception of who they want to be (i.e., their ideal self).”

“In particular, the ought-to L2 self (other, not own; Higgins, 1987; Papi et al., 2019) was formed through the strong influence of significant others.”

“This level needs to be distinguished from a more autonomous level, that is, identification , where a goal is experienced as being self-selected, of positive valence, and thus worth being pursued (cf. ideal self; Higgins, 1987, 1996; or Freud’s ego-ideal).”

“When people record themselves, there is a tendency to record a desired aspect of themselves rather than their real experience (Ganesan, 2020; Higgins, 1987) as they observe themselves through their own biases (Elsden et al., 2016).”

“The inflated risk of experiencing loneliness in children with high self-esteem and low academic self-efficacy may be explained by their self-discrepancy [66].”

“Numerous self-regulation theories emphasize the central role of the self-concept in emotional and behavioral regulation, suggest that disruptions to one’s self-concept, particularly self-doubt or uncertainty, impair self-regulation (Duval & Wicklund, 1972; Higgins, 1987; Light, 2017).”

“Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) explains the psychological discomfort arising from inconsistencies between an individual’s ‘real self’ and their ‘ideal self.’”

“These comparisons can make people aware of a gap between oneself and the comparison target, referred to as self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987).”

“The discrepancy between actual self and ought self will engender agitation-related emotions (self-contempt, fear, guilt) (Higgins, 1987).”

“At its core, LTV is rooted in the construction of mental images of an ideal or possible future self (Dörnyei, 2020; Higgins, 1987; Markus and Nurius, 1986), making it highly personalised and teacher-centred.”

“These findings also reflect the Self Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) which describes how crisis can occur due to a discrepancy a sense of one’s ideal self, current self and how others see us.”

“The extent to which their teaching capacity in online teaching aligned with their desired their professional role identity determined their overall emotional experiences (Higgins, 1987; Markus & Nurius, 1986).”

“Modifying behavior or the environment and limiting exposure to problematic situations/interactions are the two way individuals seek to alleviate emotional difficulties (Higgins, 1987).”

“Building on the psychological concept of ‘possible selves’ (Markus and Nurius 1986) and the self-discrepancy theory (Higgins 1987), the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS: Dörnyei 2009) provides a comprehensive model for understanding these dynamics.”

“Higgins (1987) discusses how a learner’s internal focus, or "regulatory focus," can influence his/her response to extrinsic motivators, either by enhancing motivation toward gains or focusing on avoiding losses.”

“In other areas of identity research, the alignment of expectations for who one wants to be with who one actually is predicts a variety of positive outcomes (e.g., Higgins, 1987; Higgins et al., 1985).”

“According to Higgins (1987), “self” consists of three basic dimensions: the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self.”

“Therefore, the threat to supervisors’ leadership identity can be activated by their perception of the difference between an ideal leadership identity and the leadership identity actually granted by employees (Higgins, 1987).”

“Thus, in the face of physical and psychological threats from the pandemic (Kachanoff et al., 2021), uncertainty about pandemic-related issues would likely aggravate the sense of threat (Higgins, 1987; Oettingen et al., 2022) and promote efforts to increase certainty (Chen et al., 1999).”

“Specifically, self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) posits that perceived self-discrepancies lead to different emotional states depending on the particular possible self that one perceives being inconsistent with.”

“…through various traditional models, including models of cognitive appraisal (Lazarus, 1991; Roseman, 1984; Scherer, 2009), self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987), social exchange (Blau, 1964), expectancy-value (Vroom, 1964), affective events (Weiss and Cropanzano, 1996), and action regulation…”

“Standards serve as benchmarks for behavior, and vague or poorly defined standards may disrupt emotional and behavioral responses (Higgins, 1987).”

“Classic and contemporary theories of the self both emphasize maintaining consistency in one’s thoughts and feelings about oneself (Higgins, 1987; Jourard, 1965; Lecky, 1945).”

“Moreover, the self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) identifies three domains of self: actual (how one perceives their true self), ideal (how one perceives they should be) and ought (how one perceives others think they should be).”

“On an emotional level, the discrepancy be-tween breast cancer survivors ’ own current and desired self-representations leads to feelings of dissatisfaction and emotional distress (see the Self Discrepancy Theory by Higgins, 1987).”

“Drawing from the self-concept discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), negative body image may arise from an imbalance between the real body and the ideal body.”

“Ideal self-discrepancy has consistently been associated with depression (Engelbrecht & Jobson, 2020; Strauman & Higgins, 1987), whereas ought self-discrepancy, while linked with distress, has been less consistently associated with a speci fi c disorder.”

“Interestingly, Tangney et al. [10] showed that the tendency to experience shame is positively associated with both actual–ought and actual–ideal self-discrepancies [33].”

“As social media posts largely depict happiness, attractiveness, and success, many comparisons made on social media are in an upward direction, which can result in a perceived self-discrepancy and, in turn, affective reactions such as dissatisfaction, anxiety, and sadness (Higgins, 1987).”

“This finding is in keeping with earlier research findings (Brown & Matsuo, 2020) and the self-discrepancy theory put forward by Higgins, (1987), which contends that self-conflicts or self-inconsistencies can lead to emotional problems and reduce SWB.”

“…of our study was the lack of questions about subjects’ BMI and possible psychiatric history which depleted the study of information regarding possible correlations with experiences of body-related disorders and emotional regulation — something worth addressing in the 1 3 future (Higgins 1987).”

“Like other PWID, GBM who inject are subject to prejudice and experience fear of love being withdrawn, social exclusion, and selfdiscrepancy (Higgins, 1987).”

“A discrepancy exists when adolescents perceive their current lifestyle as far removed from the person they believe they should be, meaning that they have made insu ffi cient progress (Amabile & Kramer, 2011; Higgins, 1987).”

“…also demonstrates gaps in her ability to communicate in English (CON – Struggling to Communicate in L2), and therefore the power of self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987) is retained (TAC – Stretching Myself), as she says of the same experience: “Still I can’t speak English well so… if I can speak…”

“Building on the trait ownership (Clifford, 2020; Petrocik, 1996; Wright, Clifford & Simas, 2022) and expectations gap literature (Hayes, 2005; Higgins, 1987), I argue that people associate groups with trait characteristics like the languages they speak or the accent they have when speaking a…”

“According to Higgins’s self-discrepancy theory, discrepancy is often associated with psychological distress and negative emotions (Higgins, 1987).”

“And this level of difference is the determinant of an individual’s emotions and experience (Higgins, 1987), which can influence the individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours (Fletcher & Simpson, 2000).”

“Kondo ’ s decluttering process fi rst creates a sense of self-discrepancy, or discrepancy between the actual and ideal self, fostering feelings of dissatisfaction, and is then presented as the solution to this discrepancy (Higgins, 1987; Higgins et al., 1994).”

“Higgins [47] explains that self-discrepancies occur for two reasons: first, when we compare ourselves with our personal “ideal self ”, and second, when we compare ourselves with our “ought self ” (cmp13→ Guilt).”

“A tangible twin robot can be taken as the ideal self, which represents attributes that one would like to possess [42].”

“By making learners aware of the gap between their current and ideal selves [27], it encourages them to engage in more goal-directed behaviors [55].”