Self-Discrepancy Theory
Haley Richardson
an infographic created as part of Dr. Erchull’s Social Psychology course
(Fall 2021)
Students were asked to “give psychology away” through an infographic designed to educate an audience of their choice about an idea from social psychology that the group would benefit from understanding
TOPIC: self-discrepancy theory
AUDIENCE: teens and young adults
Self-Discrepancy-Theory-PDFReferences
Barrett, D. W. (2017). Social psychology: Core concepts and emerging trends. Sage.
Robins, G., & Boldero, J. (2003). Relational discrepancy theory: The implications of self-discrepancy theory for dyadic relationships and for the emergence of social structure. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 7(1), 56-74. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0701_4
Great job! I tend to think about “ideal self” more from the humanistic perspective as a goal that we try to attain, but this made me think more about how it can impact mental health. I never thought about how the type of discrepancy we have from our ideal self could lead to different negative outcomes (anxiety vs. depression). Do you think some of the response to these differences could be the result of how much control we feel we have? Do people generally feel like they have more control over positive outcomes or negative ones?