The undesired self: A neglected variable in personality research.

Abstract

Personality theorists have given a great deal of attention to the relation between the real self and the ideal self with the implication that they are contrasting entities. The concept of an undesired self is introduced as a more compelling contrast with the ideal self. It is argued that the undesired self, in comparison with the ideal self, is the preferred reference point for making judgments of present-day life satisfaction. Hypotheses derived from this theoretical perspective were tested by using Identities X Features matrices generated by 45 college subjects. The distance between the real self and the ideal self and the distance between the real self and the undesired self were calculated. It is shown that the latter distance correlates more highly with ratings of life satisfaction than does the distance between the real and ideal selves, which suggests that satisfaction (in both male and female subjects) is more a function of one's subjective distance from unwanted affects and circumstances than a function of one's proximity to ideal states of existence.

Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls.

“…For these older girls, if they have already internalized the thinness ideal, then the depiction of a full body could represent a possible, but feared, future self (Markus & Nurius, 1986;Ogilvie, 1987;Ogilvie & Clark, 1992). This interpretation, that thinness-internalized girls see fullbodied Emme as implying a threat that they, too, may end up not thin when they are older, is supported by the finding that the negative impact of exposure to Emme dolls manifested itself only in an increased desire to have a thinner adult body, not a thinner body right now.…”

Strategy narratives and wellbeing challenges: The role of everyday self-presentation

“…The challenge informants experience here is to maintain a sense of wellbeing through avoiding aspects of the negative self (Ogilvie 1987). The study elicited two streams of strategy narratives as salient to achieving self-avoidance: (1) the strategy narrative of compensating the self, and (2) the strategy narrative of rejecting a specific self-dimension.…”

“…In sum, the harmonious pathway of managing wellbeing challenges places the emphasis on the development of consumers' positive self or inner strengths and virtues in enriching personal wellbeing during social encounters. The incongruous pathway, on the other hand, draws attention to the importance of concealing or transforming the negative self that does not satisfy perceived social expectations in preventing a sense of ill being (Fredrickson and Roberts 1997;Ogilvie 1987).…”

A Language Teacher’s Reflection on Maladaptive Immunity, Possible Selves and Motivation

“…However, the ought-self, positive or negative, is extrinsically affected by others' judgments, expectations and impressions (Pizzolato, 2006). The feared self is negatively perceived and an entity that an individual tends to refrain from (Ogilvie, 1987). The effect of self-organizing system on possible selves may also affect motivation that has been investigated from various angles (Boo, Dörnyei, & Ryan, 2015).…”