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Person X situation interactionism in self-encoding (I am...when...): implications for affect regulation and social
R Mendoza-Denton1, O Ayduk, W Mischel
1Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|April 24, 2001
Summary
Encoding the self using Person-Situation (P X S) interactionism, rather than traitlike terms, reduces emotional extremes and global stereotyping. This approach may improve self-perception and social judgment.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Personality Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Person-Situation (P X S) interactionism is key in understanding personality.
- Its impact on self-encoding, affect regulation, and social perception is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal role of P X S interactionism in self-encoding.
- To examine its effects on affect regulation and social perception.
Main Methods:
- Two studies involved participants encoding the self after success or failure ideation.
- Encoding was either interactionist (I am...when...) or unconditional (I am...).
- Affective extremity and stereotype endorsement were measured.
Main Results:
- Interactionist self-encoding led to less affective extremity compared to unconditional encoding.
- This suggests P X S interactionism may prevent overgeneralization of experiences.
- Interactionist encoding also reduced endorsement of global stereotypes, enhancing fine-grained perception.
Conclusions:
- Self-encoding in P X S interactionist terms promotes more nuanced self-perception.
- This approach may buffer against extreme emotional responses to success and failure.
- It can also enhance discriminative social perception by reducing reliance on global stereotypes.