Self-structure and emotional experience

Abstract

Two studies examine individual differences in affective reactivity by linking emotional experience to cognitive self-structure. Consistent with the view that individuals with an evaluative compartmentalised self-structure are emotionally reactive, we find that evaluative compartmentalisation is associated with the experience of, and desire for, high-arousal positive (HAP) affect, whereas evaluative integration is associated with the experience of low-arousal positive (LAP) and low-arousal negative affect and the desire for LAP affect. Although compartmentalised individuals are less granular in their tendency to report experiencing both HAP and LAP, they are strongly differentiated in their perceptions of high-arousal states as positive and low-arousal states as negative. Thus, compartmentalised individuals' reactivity may be explained by their preference for HAP states and the ‘breadth’ of their emotionality (e.g., the tendency to experience sadness and nervousness at the same time).

Keywords:

• Self-knowledge
• Self-structure
• Arousal
• Affect valuation
• Emotional granularity

This work was supported in part by NIH Grant [1 R21 HD 075308] awarded to the second author.

This work was supported in part by NIH Grant [1 R21 HD 075308] awarded to the second author.

Notes

¹ The present model of affective reactivity extends previous theorising on self-organisation, which has highlighted the possibility that a compartmentalised or integrative self-structure may influence affective experience, rather than suggesting that such affect originates in distinctive affective cores. The affective reactivity model is a theoretical perspective consistent with, but not explicitly tested by, the present correlational studies.

² Because the indices of differential importance and proportion of negatives have continuous scales, the terms positive or negative compartmentalisation (and positive- or negative-integration) are relative. Because most people have relatively positive self-concepts, a person whose positive and negative self-aspects are equally important would be considered relatively negative.

³ Additional data from these participants are reported in Ditzfeld and Showers (2013a). The present sample size includes 16 fewer participants because the AVI measure was added when the study was ongoing.

⁴ We ran the same analyses reported here using an ipsatisation across all 25 affect items. The findings replicate the significant results reported here with the exception of actual LAP, for which the Phi × Neg interaction was only marginally significant, β = −.11, p = .10.

⁵ Preliminary comparisons showed no differences between samples for phi, DI, or neg, ∣t∣s < .26, ps > .80; actual HAP, HAN and LAN, 0.4 < ∣t∣s < 1.4, ps > .18; and ideal HAP, t = 1.21, p = .23. Ideal and actual LAP were greater in Sample 2 (M_ideal = −.33; M_actual = −.21) than in Sample 1 (M_ideal = −.44; M_actual = −.35), t = −2.28, p < .03 and t = −2.47, p < .02, respectively; however, including Sample as a moderator in the regressions did not affect any of reported findings for ideal or actual LAP.

⁶ The apparent discrepancy between the findings of Studies 1A and B with respect to the experience of low-arousal emotions for compartmentalised individuals is due to the use of ipsatised versus absolute ratings. Study 1A, using ipsatised scores, finds that compartmentalised individuals experience more HAP, whereas integrative individuals experience more LAP. Study 1B, using absolute ratings, finds that compartmentalised individuals experience both HAP and LAP, whereas integrative individuals experience LAP and LAN.

⁷ These measures were extracted from a larger study (Ditzfeld, 2012; Study 1).

⁸ Zero-order correlations between phi and similarity among octants showed approximately the same patterns as the multiple regression analyses. Multiple regression analyses are reported because they control for proportion of negative self-attributes and include the Phi × DI interactions.