Self-Discrepancy Theory and Human Motivation

 I read Higgin's 1998 article entitled Promotion and prevention: Regulatory focus as a motivational principle.

The link to that reading is here.

The link to the article itself is here. 

Higgin's contributes to Motivational research by pointing out an important distinction accounting for the mixed results associated with the classic Motivational equation--i.e. that X Motivation = Expectancy of success x the Value of the goal to the person. 

Worth the read as it will add your understanding of the pleasure vs. pain polarity underlying this key feature of human motivation--i.e. promotion of gain (seeking / approaching pleasure) and/or the prevention of loss (avoidance / pain / risk of harm reduction). 

This line of research is consilient with attachment theory's emphasis on the regulatory features of different styles of attachment--i.e. secure flexible, anxiety underregulated, avoidant over regulated and disorganized as dysregulated. See for example Calkins, S. D., & Leerkes, E. M. (2004). Early attachment processes and the development of emotional self-regulation. Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications, 324-339 which I have made available here

The Reverend William Whewell coined this word in 1840 with respect to the sciences where consilience involves the quality of constructs considered true to account for large swaths of data across different intellectual domains. (Whewell, W. (1840). Philosophy of the inductive sciences, Vol. 2. London: John W. Parker, West Strand retrieved from Internet Archive at p. 279; See also Lauden, L. (1971). William Whewell on the consilience of inductions. Monist, 55, 368-391). See also E. O. Wilson's (1998). Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. New York: Knopf. This book can be borrowed from the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/consilienceunity00wils

I then read another article by Higgins also dated 1998 entitled Continuities and discontinuities in self-regulatory and self-evaluative processes: A developmental theory relating self and affect.

The citation is as follows: Higgins, E. T. (1989b). Continuities and discontinuities in self-regulatory and self-evaluative processes: A developmental theory relating self and affect. Journal of Personality, 57, 407-444

The reading is found here.


Higgins, E. T. (1989b). Continuities anddiscontinuities in self-regulatory and self-evaluative processes: A developmentaltheory relating self and affect. Journal of Personality, 57, 407-444

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