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ABSTRACT. The basic assumption of the integrative self-schema model (ISSM; L.-E. Petersen, 1994; L.-E. Petersen, D. Stahlberg, & D. Dauenheimer, 1996; D. Stahlberg, L.- E. Petersen, & D. Dauenheimer, 1994, 1999) is that self-schema elaboration (schematic vs. aschematic) affects reactions to self-relevant information. This assumption is based on the idea that schematic dimensions occupy a more central position in the cognitive system than aschematic dimensions. In the first study, this basic prediction could be clearly confirmed: The results showed that schematic dimensions possessed stronger cognitive associations with other self-relevant cognitions as well as a higher resistance to change than aschematic dimensions did. In the second study, the main assumptions of the ISSM concerning the affective and cognitive reactions to self-relevant feedback were tested: The ISSM proposes that, on schematic dimensions, reactions to self-relevant feedback will most likely follow principles of self-consistency theory, whereas on aschematic dimensions positive feedback should elicit the most positive reactions that self-enhancement theory would predict. The experimental results clearly confirmed the hypotheses derived from the ISSM for affective reactions. Cognitive reactions, however, were in line with self-consistency principles and were not modified by the elaboration of the self-- schema dimension involved.
HOW THE SELF-CONCEPT influences the search for and the processing of self-relevant information is one of the most intensely discussed questions in selfconcept research. How do people respond to self-concept discrepant positive and negative feedback or self-concept consistent feedback? For example, will they be most satisfied with positive feedback (affective reaction) or do they judge self-consistent feedback as especially valid and reliable (cognitive reaction)?
Answers to these questions have been provided by self-enhancement theory and self-consistency theory. In this article, both of these theories are illustrated in more detail, after which we will introduce a new theoretical approach: the integrative self-schema model (ISSM; Petersen, 1994; Petersen, Stahlberg, & Dauenheimer, 1996; Stahlberg, Petersen, & Dauenheimer, 1994, 1999). The ISSM assumes that the cognitive elaboration of a self-concept dimension, for which a certain feedback is given, is an important variable that moderates the dominance of self-enhancement or self-consistency principles when processing self-relevant infomation.
Self-Enhancement Theory and Self-Consistency Theory
The self-enhancement theory postulates that people normally strive either to protect their self-esteem or to enhance it when receiving and evaluating self-relevant information...