Downward Self-Revision: Erasing Possible Selves
Abstract
Two studies explored how and when people abandon commitment to threatened possible selves. First, we predicted that self-doubt, anxiety, and expectancy changes will mediate the effect of threats on possible selves. Specifically, the rising anxiety evoked by threats transforms initial doubt into the ultimate fall of expectancies supporting commitment to possible selves. Second, we predicted that this general process of downward self-revision would be more likely to occur when threats fully specify the meaning, or implications, of an undesired discrepancy (i.e., into the vivid prospect of an alternative undesired self as more likely than the desired self if the person continues to pursue the desired self). Results across both studies support the hypotheses. We close by discussing the conceptual and practical implications of the findings.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Re-evaluation of possible selves can be upward or downward and is elicited by salient events, experiences and feedback relating to the development of prevailing skills.
“This re-evaluation of possible selves can be upward or downward and is elicited by salient events, experiences and feedback relating to the development of prevailing skills (Carroll, Shepperd and Arkin 2009; Henry 2015).”
From The change in pre-service primary teachers’ possible selves in relation to science teaching (2022) · cites this paper as Carroll, Shepperd and Arkin 2009
Cites
Support theory: a nonextensional representation of subjective probability
Tversky, A., & Koehler, D. J. (1994) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.101.4.547 · Cited by 1,167 · see citing works
Wrosch, C., Scheier, M. F., Miller, G. E., Schulz, R., & Carver, C. S. (2003) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167203256921 · Cited by 991 · see citing works
Possible selves and academic outcomes: How and when possible selves impel action.
Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., & Terry, K. (2006) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.188 · Cited by 852 · see citing works
The Life-Course Dynamics of Goal Pursuit and Goal Adjustment: A Two-Process Framework
Brandtstädter, J., & Rothermund, K. (2002) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1006/drev.2001.0539 · Cited by 815 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Smith, J. L., Lewis, K. L., Hawthorne, L., & Hodges, S. D. (2013) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167212468332 · Cited by 256 · see citing works
Oyserman, D., & James, L. (2011) · Handbook of Identity Theory and Research · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_6 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Thoman, D. B., Arizaga, J. A., Smith, J. L., Story, T. S., & Soncuya, G. (2014) · Psychology of Women Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0361684313499899 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
The change in pre-service primary teachers’ possible selves in relation to science teaching
Pellikka, A., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2022) · European Journal of Teacher Education · doi:10.1080/02619768.2020.1803270 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Talking the talk, not walking the walk: The coevolution of overconfidence and loss aversion
Dawson, C., & de Meza, D. (2026) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/rev0000644 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Carroll, P. J., Shepperd, J. A., & Arkin, R. M.
- Affiliations
- The Ohio State University at Lima (US)
- University of Florida (US)
- Venue
- Social Cognition
- Publisher
- Guilford Publications
- Published
- 2009-08
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 550-578
- ISSN
- 0278-016X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2144022821
- Cited by
- 41
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 9.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Cognition (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Keywords
- possible selves, self-doubt, anxiety, self-continuity, threats, self-concept, self-concept change, self-concept stability
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
