The Interconnected Self: The Social Individual is More Than Just Social + Individual

Abstract

Although decades of research provide consistent evidence supporting the perspective that the self is divided into social and personal components each with unique and predictable motivational associations, the current paper argues that something important has been overlooked. Specifically, what has been lost is the acknowledgment that although different components of self can be activated, and can have important implications, the two aspects of self are highly interconnected. Specifically in this paper, it is argued that (i) the independent self is affected by social motivations and (ii) the social self is affected by independent motivations. Two studies are presented in support of these hypotheses. We conclude by comparing our perspective with existing theories of the self and by discussing implications for the study of the self.