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The working self-concept in transference: significant-other activation and self change
1Department of Psychology, New York University, New York 10003, USA.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|December 1, 1996
Summary
Transference, the application of significant-other representations to new people, alters the working self-concept. This study shows that encountering a new person activates self-concept changes, influencing self-perception and evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Transference involves applying past relationship patterns to new interactions.
- The working self-concept dynamically reflects current social contexts.
- Previous research established memory effects in transference.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if the working self-concept changes during transference.
- To investigate the impact of significant-other representations on self-perception.
- To examine self-evaluation shifts associated with transference.
Main Methods:
- An idiographic-nomothetic research design was employed.
- Participants learned about a target person resembling a significant other.
- Transference was induced by activating significant-other representations.
Main Results:
- The study successfully replicated the memory effects of transference.
- Participants' freely listed self-features shifted post-transference.
- The working self-concept became infused with self-aspects related to the significant other.
- Changes in self-evaluation were observed in the transference condition.
Conclusions:
- The working self-concept is malleable and changes within transference.
- Activation of significant-other representations influences self-concept dynamics.
- Transference impacts how individuals perceive and evaluate themselves.