The Motivation Level Of The Triple Self: The Perspective Of Self-Positive Deviation

The self-concept is not a singular and monolithic cognitive structure.Instead,it comprises three fundamental components: the individual self,the relational self and the collective self.The tripartite self is of great significance to human survival and reproduction.Are the selves equally vital and meaningful? There are four potential hypotheses for the motivational hierarchy of tripartite self:1.individual-self primacy perspective,2.relational-self primacyperspective,3.collective-self primacy perspective,4.contextual primacy perspective.When comparing the motivational hierarchy between the individual self and the collective self,the results of previous research showed that individual-self primacy has been supported.Thus,extant empirical tests identify the elevated motivational status of the individual self over the collective self.However,when we start to think about the relational self,the results between different research were different.To test and correct the differences between previous theories and empirical studies,and delve into the motivational-primacy of the tripartite self,the current study examines the effect of individual and group identity characteristics in the relational self and situation characteristics in task on the motivational-primacy.This study includes five experiments,using the SRV task or priming paradigm.In the Experiment1,we use the SRV task to explore the motivational hierarchy of Chinese tripartite self.The results show that when the relational self is represented by “mother”,the motivational status of tripartite self is that the individual self and the relational self are in the same level,followed by the collective self.The study yielded inconsistent evidence of a three-tiered hierarchy with the individual self at the top,followed by the relational self,and trailed at the bottom by the collective self.Experiment 2 consists of two sub-experiments designed to separate the possible disturbances of individual-identity characteristics in the triple self-motivation hierarchy.In Experiment 2a,we turned the representation of the relational self into “father” to compare whether the mothers ’effects were universal or not,and whether the nonmothers’ kinship had a similar effect to the mother.The results show that: the father’s role is similar to that of the mother,and when the relational self is represented by kinship,the motivational status of tripartite self is similar to that in Experiment 1.In Experiment 2b,we turned the representation of the relational self into “best friend”.Friend is a close but not relative relationship,which is used to compare the role of relatives as a baseline level with the role of kinship.The results show that when the relational self is "friend",the role of the relational self is no longer as strong as that of "family relationship",so a three-tiered hierarchy with the individual self at the top,followed by the relational self,and trailed at the bottom by the collective self appears.The results of experiments 2a and 2b confirm each other,confirming that for the Chinese,"family self" are the core of the relational self.When choosing family relationships to represent the relational self,the motivational hierarchy of the individual self is equal to that of the relational self.Experiment 3 examines the effect of group identity characteristics in the relational self on the motivational level of the tripartite self.Family self includes not only dualistic relationships(eg,father and mother)but also broader family connection such "family members".Experiment 3 use "family members" to represent the relational self and rule out the impact of dual family relationships.Experiment 3 test the role of broader family relationships in the triple self-motivation hierarchy.The results show that when choosing a wider family relationship "family members" to represent the relational self,similar effect like dualistic relationships’ are found.That is to say,the motivational hierarchy of the individual self is equal to that of the relational self,and both higher than that of the collective self.Experiment 4 examines the role of task situational features in the motivational hierarchy of the tripartite self.Extrinsic triple self-referencing is involved in experiments 1,2 and 3,so is the motivational hierarchy of the tripartite self changing when the task requires no explicit triple self-referencing? In order to answer this question,Experiment 4 uses the priming paradigm to examine the strength of the implicit self-enhancement of triple self.The results show that even when the experimental task does not involve the explicit triple self-reference,when the relational self is represented by "family relationship",the motivational hierarchy of the individual self is equal to that of the relational self,and both higher than that of the collective self.The results of the above experiments show that when the relational self is represented by "family relationship" whether the family relationship is a dualistic relationship such as “father and mother” or a broader family relationship,the motivational hierarchy of the individual self is equal to that of the relational self,and both higher than that of the collective self.This hierarchy is very stable,even as the task does not involve explicit self-referencing.However,when the relational self is represented by a “close friend",the motivational hierarchy of triple self appears as a three-tiered hierarchy with the individual self at the top,followed by the relational self,and trailed at the bottom by the collective self,which is similar to the Western research conclusions.Based on the above experiments,we believe that the Chinese triple self is centered on "self-family-country" and the role of relational self is particularly prominent.By comparing the results of this study with those of other studies,we find that the contextual primacy perspective is validated.