Self-Enhancement, Self-Verification, or Self-Assessment? The Intricate Role of Trait Modifiability in the Self-Evaluation Process

What is the interplay of three self-evaluation motives (i.e., self-enhancement, self-assessment, self-verification) in the affective, cognitive, and behavioral domain? Does modifiability of self-views (i.e., assertiveness) moderate motive activation in each domain? Participants (Ps) (a) rated their assertiveness and their perceived modifiability of assertiveness, (b) took an alleged assertiveness test and received bogus performance feedback, and (c) completed measures of affective, cognitive, and behavioral responding. Indeed, trait modifiability was associated with a unique pattern of motive activation in each domain. Affective responses were moderated by trait modifiability, as Ps who received negative feedback felt worse when they regarded their self-views as unmodifiable than modifiable. Cognitive responses were driven by the self-verification motive in the case of unmodifiable self-views, and by the self-enhancement motive in the case of modifiable self-views. Behavioral responses were driven by the self-assessment motive, especially in the case of modifiable self-views.