Directed Abstraction Promotes Self-Concept Change following a Success
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2012
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1337104926 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu13371049262021-08-03T06:05:02Z Directed Abstraction Promotes Self-Concept Change following a Success Zunick, Peter V. Social Psychology social psychology social influence linguistic framing language self self-concept abstraction <p>Some individuals fail to draw appropriately positive conclusions about themselves following a personal success, even when it is justified and adaptive to do so. This problem may be especially evident among people with negative self-concepts. Previous research has employed linguistic framing manipulations to guide participants toward desired conclusions (e.g. Salancik, 1974). Other work has specifically targeted individuals with low self-esteem, with the goal to encourage these individuals to consider the broader implications of a positive relationship event (Marigold, Holmes, & Ross, 2007, 2010). I drew on this and other work to create a directed abstraction manipulation that promotes positive self-concept change for individuals with negative self-views following a success experience.</p><p>In the first two studies, participants who had previously completed either a self-esteem measure (Study 1a) or a self-competence measure (Study 1b) were given success feedback on a test purportedly measuring “Intuitive Perception and Estimation Ability”. They then completed either a control writing task or the directed abstraction writing task. The directed abstraction task was designed to encourage broad, personal generalizations about the self (“Explain why you were able to achieve such a high score…”). Participants then completed questionnaires measuring the extent to which they generalized from their success, including an Ability scale indexing the extent to which they believed they had high levels of the intuitive ability that the test presumably had measured. In Study 2, participants from an internet sample were asked to recall the last time they had spoken in public. They then completed either a control writing task or the directed abstraction manipulation, followed by dependent measures that included an Ability scale designed to measure self-perceived public speaking ability.</p><p>Linear regression analyses were used to examine the impact of directed abstraction on participants with positive and negative self-views. Although there were inconsistent or null results on some measures of generalization from the success (e.g. predicting future successes, attitudes toward public speaking in Study 2), a consistent pattern emerged for the Ability scales. Across all three studies, the directed abstraction manipulation led to increased Ability scores for participants with negative self-views (self-esteem in Study 1a, self-competence in Studies 1b and 2), but had little or no impact on the scores of participants with positive self-views.</p><p>Directed abstraction led participants who generally doubt themselves to nonetheless conclude that they had high levels of an ability following a success experience that had either just occurred or been recalled. This social influence technique could prove useful in any domain in which positive generalizations following a success experience are desired.</p> 2012-06-20 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1337104926 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1337104926 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Social Psychology social psychology social influence linguistic framing language self self-concept abstraction |
| spellingShingle |
Social Psychology social psychology social influence linguistic framing language self self-concept abstraction Zunick, Peter V. Directed Abstraction Promotes Self-Concept Change following a Success |
| author |
Zunick, Peter V. |
| author_facet |
Zunick, Peter V. |
| author_sort |
Zunick, Peter V. |
| title |
Directed Abstraction Promotes Self-Concept Change following a Success |
| title_short |
Directed Abstraction Promotes Self-Concept Change following a Success |
| title_full |
Directed Abstraction Promotes Self-Concept Change following a Success |
| title_fullStr |
Directed Abstraction Promotes Self-Concept Change following a Success |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Directed Abstraction Promotes Self-Concept Change following a Success |
| title_sort |
directed abstraction promotes self-concept change following a success |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1337104926 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT zunickpeterv directedabstractionpromotesselfconceptchangefollowingasuccess |
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