Effects of self-presentation on the phenomenal self

We examined the effects of strategic self-enhancement or self-deprecation on private self-appraisal. Previous work (Jones, Rhodewalt, Berglas, & Skelton, 1981) indicated that self-perception variables (whether subjects self-referenced) best account for elevations in self-esteem after self-enhancing behavior, whereas cognitive dissonance variables (whether subjects were given a clear choice to engage in the behavior) best account for decreases in self-esteem after self-deprecating behavior. We proposed that these findings can be accommodated by a model that represents the phenomenal self as a latitude of acceptance that incorporates both positive and negative self-referent material, and as latitudes of rejection containing potential positive and negative material not currently stored in self-referent form. An individual-difference approach (level of depression) was taken in order to test the prediction that self-perception would account for positive and negative shifts in self-esteem within subjects ' latitudes of acceptance, and cognitive dissonance would explain positive and negative shifts in self-esteem within subjects ' latitudes of rejection. Accordingly, depressed and nondepressed subjects were instructed to self-reference or to role-play self-enhancement or self-deprecation during an interview while under high- or low-choice instructions. In support of the model, the results indicated that self-perception processes mediated subsequent shifts in self-esteem for self-enhancing nondepressed and self-deprecatin