Who Am I? How Asking the Question Changes the Answer

Abstract

The present research examines how self-concept clarity moderates the impact of feedback about one's self-knowledge. A preliminary study shows that individuals with higher clarity expect the process of defining who they are to be easier than those with lower clarity. Two experiments then test the effect of self-concept clarity on the experience of self-elaboration under conditions of either doubt or confidence. The results suggest that people with higher self-concept clarity show greater differences in self-evaluations based on whether their experience of describing the self is nested within ease and confidence or difficulty and doubt. We suggest that this effect may be a result of the different expectations high- and low-clarity individuals have for the task of describing the self.

Keywords::

• Self-concept clarity
• Self-concept
• Self-esteem
• Self-uncertainty
• Ease of retrieval