Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect.

“They also called for motivation research to be reanchored in the self-guide concepts and methods central to Higgins ’ (1987) original proposal.”

“Rooted in Markus and Nurius’ (1986) notion of ‘possible selves’ and Higgins’ (1987) self-discrepancy theory, the L2MSS comprises three elements: the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, and the L2 learning experience.”

“The anticipation of failure decreases motivation, commitment and persistence in the task (Bandura, 1997; Lau & Chan, 2003), and can also lead to avoidance of learning contexts (Higgins, 1987).”

“In contrast to theories of the ideal self and the ought self, which are possible selves that involve traits that individuals desire and work to achieve (Higgins 1987), feared self influences people to avoid or escape triggers of the traits related to their feared self.”

“…and interview analysis, the research attempted to offer causal evidence to explain ‘how’ and ‘why’ tourists’ revisit intention, as a compensatory consumption, could be triggered by trait and state loneliness throughout the active management of self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987; Mandel et al., 2017).”

“Indeed, constructing an image of a future self reaching a certain level of education can serve as a form of self-guides (Higgins 1987), setting foundations for realizing other life possibilities, such as pursuing dream careers and moving up the socioeconomic ladder.”

“…theories suggest the existence of self-components that are specific to the individual (e.g., Andersen and Chen, 2002; Cantor and Kihlstrom, 1987; Fenigstein et al., 1975; Higgins, 1987; Markus, 1977; Markus and Nurius, 1986; McConnell, 2011; Ogilvie, 1987; Tajfel and Turner, 1979; Triandis, 1989).”

“This contrast with the results of other studies that fully support Higgins ’ model assumptions on speci fi city (23 – 25, 46, 47).”

“As language learning motivation is related to identity, the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2013) inspired by self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and possible selves theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986) is adopted as a theoretical lens in this study.”

“These studies suggest that a certain degree of congruence between one’s gender identity and appearance is favorable for well-being (Higgins, 1987).”

“15,16 Oris and colleagues developed four types of illness identity, 17,18 and two positive illness identities included (1) acceptance is the degree to which illness is accepted as part of personal identity; and (2) enrichment refers to illness that enriches and grows an individual’s sense of self.”

“It extends on self-discrepancy theory [15,19] by exploring the anxiety between an individual ’ s self-perceptions and external perception and how others perceive their identity, which results in adverse effects and emotional consequences [20,21].”

“Based on the self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), regulatory focus theory was proposed (Higgins, 1997).”

“…by the learners, its perceived plausibility (i.e., how likely it is for an individual to reduce the discrepancy between one’s actual self-state and the ideal self-state; cf. self-discrepancy theory by Higgins, 1987), and the necessary activation/priming – seem to be especially context-dependent.”

“On the other hand, if the individual has a predominance of the ought self, focusing on fulfilling obligations, responsibilities, and duties, the discrepancy with her actual self generates agita-tion-related emotions, such as fear and restlessness (Higgins, 1987).”

“No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).”

“For example, according to Higgins (1987), when there is a difference between an individual’s actual self and their ought self, it can lead to the experience of guilt or worry.”

“They integrate theories of the self (e.g. Albert, 1977; Higgins, 1987; Markus & Nurius, 1986; Markus & Wurf, 1987) and relationships (e.g. Aron, Aron, Tudor, & Nelson, 1991) with mentoring theory.”

“Notably, we underscore the significance of an imbalance between the ideal self and the actual self, which can give rise to psychological discomfort, including emotional vulnerability, potentially leading to impulsive and unplanned purchases (Higgins, 1987; Lee & Yi, 2008).”

“Self-discrepancy is defined as a disparity between the perceived ( what am I ) and the ideal self ( how I’d like to be ) (Higgins, 1987).”

“Consistent with L2 motivational self-system theory (Dörnyei 2009) and self-discrepancy theory (Higgins 1987), these examples also”

“L2MSS is primarily structured on two theories: the possible selves theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986) and self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987).”

“…change in the context of self-incongruent memories and self-conscious emotions holds signi fi cant implications for our comprehension of self-relevant psychological processes and the dynamics of self-identity and self-continuity (Higgins, 1987; Molouki & Bartels, 2017; Sutin & Robins, 2008).”

“Studies have also distinguished between instrumental motivations with a promotion or prevention focus, as outlined by Higgins (1987) and Shah and Higgins (2001).”

“Besides being available, such feelings must also become accessible, which depends on the recency and frequency of activation of these feeling (Higgins, 1987).”

“Individuals constantly comparing themselves with an external standard feel distress when they do not achieve that standard (Festinger 1954; Higgins 1987).”

“As such, the system made visible diferences between individuals’ perceived selves (or, perhaps, ideal selves [45]) and the way in which they actually live their lives.”

“Therefore, resource scarcity can produce an aversive psychological state that threatens the contingency of self-worth (Steele 1988), induces self-discrepancy, which can result in a state of discomfort [13, 78].”

“Previous research has found that discrepancies between the actual self and the ought self may cause negative outcomes, such as social avoidance and fear of negative evaluation [10].”

“Here, we used this checklist only to obtain a measure of real-ideal trait discrepancy (cf. Higgins, 1987).”

“In contrast, the ideal self is the attributes individuals ideally like to possess (Higgins, 1987).”

“The 'ideal self' is the depiction that other people believe one ideally possesses, and the 'ought self' is the characteristic that other people aspire one to possess (Higgins, 1987).”

“The greatest share is focused on Higgins’ Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987; Higgins, 1989; Mason et al., 2019; Mcdaniel & Grice, 2005; McDaniel & Grice, 2008).”

“…and anxiety arise when there is a rift between the real self and the supposed self ( i.e., When there are gaps among the duties, responsibilities, the qualities they are supposed to possess, the morals they are supposed to abide by and what they are doing (Higgins, 1987; Zeng et al., 2018).”

“That is, when users receive smartphone usage feedback, the inconsistency between users’ perceived usage time and the actual usage time reported in the feedback may cause users to experience cognitive dissonance and feel guilty.(28,29) To alleviate dissonance and the feeling of guilt, users may seek some approaches, su…”

“A social-cognitive explanation of depression (Oatley and Bolton, 1985; Higgins, 1987; Kernis et al., 1998) assumes that depriving one’s self-defining role and deflating self-esteem are related to how one perceives and handles difficulties and problem situations (Cheng and Lam, 1997; Mann et al.”

“Informed by selfdiscrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and dual-factor model of psychological well-being (Greenspoon & Saklofske, 2001), the present study aims to fill these gaps by: (1) identifying distinct profiles of psychological well-being (based on subjective well-being and psychological distress) among Chinese adol…”

“Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) posits that individuals have three primary self-representations: the actual self (how they perceive themselves), the ideal self (who they aspire to be), and the ought self (who they feel obligated to be based on societal expectations).”

“The outcomes of upward social comparisons with attractive media personalities are believed to lead to a ‘frustration of unful-filled desires’ (Higgins, 1987, p. 322), and the physical attractiveness of these personalities is particularly relevant in this process, mainly generating negative…”

“The Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) is incorporated to explain how discrepancies between an individual’s actual self and their ideal self can drive the desire to use augmentation technologies, explaining the role of personality traits like perfectionism and competitiveness in the adoption of augmentation techn…”

“Similarly, Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) posits that well-intentioned support may heighten awareness of the gap between the actual self and the ideal professional self, thus exacerbating negative thoughts and perceptions.”

“Self-discrepancy theory proposes that consumers utilize products to bridge the gap between their actual self and ideal self (Higgins 1987).”

“According to Self-Discrepancy Theory, distress arises when there are perceived incompatibilities between one’s ideal, ought and actual selves (Higgins, 1987).”

“The concept of L2 writing selves is grounded in self-based motivational theories, notably Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) and the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009).”

“Exposure to perfect motherhood portrayals online can intensify feelings of inadequacy and anxiety among mothers, particularly in relation to breastfeeding and caregiving responsibilities [21].”

“The experience of shame following the succumbing to FoMo can be elucidated through self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), which posits that the individual's actual behaviour (compulsively checking their phone) contrasts with their ideal self-image (being in control and focused).”

“Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) posits that psychological discomfort arises when there is a mismatch between an individual's actual self, ideal self, and ought self.”

“In both cases, relying on such expectancies and generalizations can widen the gap between an individual’s appreciation of their body, their personal sexual preferences, their perceived sexual competence, and their conceptions of “ideal” sexual standards (Higgins, 1987; Kuan et al., 2022).”

“…study, we draw on self-regulation theory from Lord et al. (2010) which explains individuals ’ immediate response to discrepancies in a manner that reduces deviations from standards (i.e., goals), that is, engaging in self-regulatory behaviors through discrepancy-reducing processes (Higgins, 1987).”

“Thus, like other facets of the self-concept (e.g., ought self, ideal self; Higgins, 1987; possible self; Markus & Nurius, 1986) the subjective true self-concept is one specific aspect of how individuals cognitively represent themselves.”

“We also connect the adaptation-level theory to Higgins’ (1987, 1989) self-discrepancy theory to examine the consequence of young women’s endorsement of beauty ideals.”

“Ought self, another type of possible self, refers to the attributes that an individual believes are necessary for themselves, reflecting external expectations of their duties, obligations, or moral responsibilities (Higgins, 1987, 1998).”

“Inspired by Markus and Nurius’s (1986) theory of possible selves and self-discrepancy theory proposed by Higgins (1987), the fundamental premise of L2MSS is that the perceived discrepancy between the envisioned future selves (i.e., ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self) and the actual selves acts as a…”

“People tend to aspire toward an ideal self — an envisioned version of themselves that they perceive as more desirable (Higgins, 1987).”

“According to self-discrepancy theory, three different types of representations of ego states exist: The actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self (Higgins, 1987).”

“Regarding different types of self-states, under the self-discrepancy theory [10], there are “actual self,” “ideal self,” and “ought self.””

“Self-discrepancy theory postulates that perceived distance (i.e., discrepancy) between the actual self and the ideal and/or ought selves elicits negative effects and can ultimately lead to psychopathology (Higgins, 1987; Mason et al., 2019).”

“The self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) attributes this association to the perceived gap between men’s existing masculine self and the “ought” one according to internalized Richmond, 2016), are related to life satisfaction.”

“Specifically, the regulatory focus literature suggests that people with different regulatory foci have different perceptions of and responses to a self-discrepancy between the current and desired state [33,40].”

“This dissonance between the actual and the ideal self creates tension that triggers emotions of dissatisfaction or disappointment (Higgins, 1987).”

“For example, it could be said that these students offset their ideal sustainable self into the future (for a framework of the self, see Higgins, 1987), so bringing their ideal self to the present may support further collective engagement.”

“Such consumption behaviors minimize inconsistency between how one currently perceives oneself and how one desires to view oneself (Higgins, 1987).”

“Social identity theory (Higgins, 1987) posits that individuals tend to categorize themselves into various social groups, such as those associated with their gender, religion, and nation, and construct their social identities in accordance with the social characteristics of such groups.”