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  1. Home
  3. Social Psychology's Empty-self Metaphor And The Replication Crisis.
  1. Home
  3. Social Psychology's Empty-self Metaphor And The Replication Crisis.

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Social Psychology's Empty-Self Metaphor and the Replication Crisis.

Jack W Klein1, William B Swann2,3

  • 1Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science
|January 6, 2026

View abstract on PubMed

Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The "empty-self metaphor" in social psychology suggests the self is passive. New evidence indicates research based on this metaphor shows poor replication, highlighting the need to consider enduring self motivations.

Keywords:
replication crisissituationismthe selftheory crisis

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Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Metatheory

Background:

  • The dominant
  • empty-self metaphor
  • views the self as passively shaped by situational factors.
  • This perspective influences various social psychology theories and contemporary paradigms like social priming and embodied cognition.
  • It has led to an underappreciation of a stable, unique self.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To challenge the
  • empty-self metaphor
  • in social psychology.
  • To present preliminary evidence suggesting research based on this metaphor has lower replicability.
  • To advocate for incorporating the concept of an enduring self with dispositional motivations into social psychological research.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and conceptual analysis of the
  • empty-self metaphor
  • and its influence.
  • Preliminary empirical investigation into the replicability of studies assuming an empty self.

Main Results:

  • Research predicated on the
  • empty-self metaphor
  • demonstrates significantly lower rates of replication.
  • The persistence of the empty-self assumption may hinder a comprehensive understanding of the self.

Conclusions:

  • The
  • empty-self metaphor
  • may be a flawed foundational assumption in social psychology.
  • Acknowledging an enduring self with dispositional motivations is crucial for advancing the field.
  • Theoretical and methodological adjustments are needed to better account for the active self.