Self-monitoring in social interaction: the centrality of self-affect

In this review, we examine the role of self-monitoring in social interaction. We first note that the presumed ease with which self-monitors adapt to new social contexts is more apparent than real, being the self-conscious outcome of (1) high self-monitors' preference for clearly defined situations, (2) their use of scripts regarding typical situations, (3) their ability to formulate effective plans of action before social encounters, and (4) their ability to use other people's behavior as a guide. We then examine the strong motive of high self-monitors to express and evoke high levels of positive affect in their interpersonal relationships. Two recent unstructured dyadic interaction studies lead us to argue that the primary concern of high self-monitors during social interaction is to regulate their own self-affect through effective impression management. In this sense, it really is the self that is closely monitored whenever self-monitoring processes influence social interaction.