Identity in interaction: momentary dynamics of self-appraisal and reflected appraisal

A coherent sense of self depends not only on how individuals evaluate themselves, but also on how they believe they are evaluated by others. These internal and socially inferred self-evaluations-self-appraisal and reflected appraisal-are central to identity regulation and emotional wellbeing, yet their momentary interplay in everyday life remains poorly understood. In particular, little is known about how self- and reflected appraisal are associated with one another across moments, how social context shapes their coupling, and whether discrepancies between them carry affective consequences.

Using ecological momentary assessment, student participants reported their self-appraisal, reflected appraisal, social context, and mood eight times daily over a 10-day period.

Self-appraisal and reflected appraisal were strongly associated within the same moment, with concurrent associations substantially larger than lagged effects. Social context selectively moderated the momentary association from self-appraisal to reflected appraisal, such that self-appraisal was more strongly associated with reflected appraisal when individuals were with others compared to when they were alone, whereas the reverse association was not moderated by social context. Greater discrepancy between self-appraisal and reflected appraisal was initially associated with lower concurrent mood but was not associated with subsequent mood. Moreover, the concurrent discrepancy association was no longer significant after accounting for self-appraisal and reflected appraisal directly. Additional analyses suggested that mood was associated more strongly with self-appraisals than with discrepancies between self-appraisal and reflected appraisal.

Together, the findings indicate that self- and reflected appraisal are closely coupled yet distinguishable processes that show substantial momentary covariation in daily life. Social context was associated with stronger coupling between self-appraisal and reflected appraisal, although additional decomposition analyses suggested that this effect was not driven by within-person fluctuations in social engagement. Strong associations between self-appraisal and reflected appraisal were evident even when individuals were alone, consistent with the notion that representations of others' evaluations remain psychologically relevant outside of direct social interaction. At the same time, the findings provide limited support for discrepancy as an independent correlate of mood, suggesting that momentary affect may be associated more strongly with the positivity or negativity of self-appraisals and reflected appraisals than with discrepancies between them. These results contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how internal and socially inferred self-evaluations are integrated in everyday life.