Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Individual Self, Relational Self, Collective Self: Hierarchical Ordering of the Tripartite Self

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Psychological Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The individual self comprise unique attributes, the relational self comprises partner-shared attributes, and the collective self comprises ingroup-shared attributes. All selves are fundamental components of the self-concept, with each being important and meaningful to human experience and with each being associated with health benefits. Are the selves, however, equally important and meaningful? We review a program of research that tested four competing theoretical views suggesting that the motivational hub of human experience is (a) the individual self, (b) the relational self, (b) the collective self, or (c) determined by contextual or cultural factors. The research furnished support to the view that the individual self is the primary form of self-definition. We discuss alternative explanations and implications. We end with the introduction of a theoretical model, the boomerang model, that has the potential to integrate the diverse literature on the topic.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alicke, M. D., & Govorun, O. (2005). The better-than-average effect. In M. D. Alicke, D. A. Dunning, & J. I. Krueger (Eds.), The self in social judgment (pp. 85–106). New York: Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersen, S. M., & Chen, S. (2002). The relational self: an interpersonal social-cognitive theory. Psychological Review, 109, 619–645.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen, S. M., Glassman, N. S., & Gold, D. A. (1998). Mental representations of the self, significant others, and nonsignificant others: Structure and processing of private and public aspects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 845–861.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Smollan, D. (1992). Inclusion of other in the self scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 596–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership, and men. Pittsburgh: Carnegie.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bem, D. J., & Allen, A. (1974). On predicting some of the people some of the time: the search for cross-situational consistencies in behavior. Psychological Review, 81, 506–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkman, L. F., Leo-Summers, L., & Horwitz, R. I. (1992). Emotional support and survival after myocardial infarction: a prospective, population-based study of the elderly. Annals of Internal Medicine, 117, 1003–1009.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boldry, J. G., & Gaertner, L. (2006). Separating status from power as an antecedent of intergroup perception. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 9, 377–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branscombe, N. R., & Wann, D. L. (1991). The positive social and self concept consequences of sports team identification. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 15, 115–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, M. B. (1979). In-group bias in the minimal intergroup situation: a cognitive-motivational analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, M. B., & Roccas, S. (2001). Individual values, social identity, and optimal distinctiveness. In C. Sedikides & M. B. Brewer (Eds.), Individual self, relational self, collective self (pp. 219–237). Philadelphia: Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. D. (1998). The self. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. D. (2010). Across the (not so) great divide: cultural similarities in self-evaluative processes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 318–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2002). Control processes and self-organization as complementary principles underlying behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 304–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P. R. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Correll, J., & Park, B. (2005). A model of the ingroup as a social resource. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 341–359.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., Niiya, Y., & Mischkowski, D. (2008). Why does writing about important values reduce defensiveness? Psychological Science, 19, 740–747.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deaux, K., & Perkins, T. S. (2001). The kaleidoscopic self. In C. Sedikides & M. B. Brewer (Eds.), Individual self, relational self, collective self (pp. 299–313). Philadelphia: Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • del Prado, A. M., Church, A. T., Katigbak, M. S., Miramontes, L. G., Whitty, M. T., Curtis, G. J., et al. (2007). Culture, method, and the content of self-concepts: testing trait, individual–self-primacy, and cultural psychology perspectives. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 1119–1160.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, N., & Beauvois, J. L. (2005). Normativeness and individualism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 123–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duck, J. M., Hogg, M. A., & Terry, D. J. (1995). Me, us and them: political identification and the third-person effect in the 1993 Australian federal election. European Journal of Social Psychology, 25, 195–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duval, S., & Wicklund, R. (1972). A theory of objective self-awareness. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberger, N. I., Lieberman, M. D., & Williams, K. D. (2003). Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion. Science, 302, 290–292.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, E. S., & Dweck, C. S. (1988). Goals: an approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 5–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, R. A. (1986). Personal strivings: an approach to personality and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1058–1068.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gable, S. L., Reis, H. T., Impett, E. A., & Asher, E. R. (2004). What do you do when things go right?: The intrapersonal and interpersonal benefits of sharing positive events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 228–245.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaertner, L., & Insko, C. A. (2000). Intergroup discrimination in the minimal group paradigm: categorization, reciprocation, or fear? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 77–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., & Graetz, K. (1999). In search of self-definition: motivational primacy of the individual self, motivational primacy of the collective self, or contextual primacy? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 5–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., & Chang, K. (2008). On pancultural self-enhancement: well-adjusted Taiwanese self-enhance on personally valued traits. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 39, 463–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., Luke, M., O’Mara, E. M., Iuzzini, J., & Eckstein-Jackson, L. (2010). Motivational primacy and the tripartite self: Where in lies the relational self? Unpublished manuscript, University of Tennessee, USA.

  • Giladi, E. E., & Klar, Y. (2002). When standards are wide of the mark: nonselective superiority and bias in comparative judgments of objects and concepts. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 131, 538–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gore, J. S., & Cross, S. E. (2006). Pursuing goals for us: relationally autonomous reasons in long-term goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 848–861.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, A. G. (1980). The totalitarian ego: fabrication and revision of personal history. American Psychologist, 35, 603–618.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardie, E. A., Kashima, E. S., & Pridmore, P. (2005). The influence of relational, individual, and collective self-aspects on stress, uplifts and health. Self and Identity, 4, 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., Postmes, T., & Haslam, C. (2009). Social identity, health and well-being: an emerging agenda for applied psychology. Applied Psychology, 58, 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkley, L. C., Browne, M. W., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2005). How can I connect with thee? Let me count the ways. Psychological Science, 16, 798–804.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, T. E. (1987). Self-discrepancy: a theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, M. A. (2007). Uncertainty-identity theory. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 39 (pp. 69–126). San Diego: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • King, L. A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about life goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 798–807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, L. A., Richards, J. H., & Stemmerich, E. (1998). Daily goals, life goals, and worst fears: means, ends, and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 66, 713–744.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klar, Y. (2002). Way beyond compare: nonselective superiority and inferiority biases in judging randomly assigned group members relative to their peers. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 331–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klar, Y., & Giladi, E. E. (1997). No one in my group can be below the group’s average. A robust positivity bias in favor of anonymous peers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 885–901.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumashiro, M., & Sedikides, C. (2005). Taking on board liability-focused feedback: close positive relationships as a self-bolstering resource. Psychological Science, 16, 732–739.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumashiro, M., Rusbult, C. E., & Finkel, E. J. (2008). Navigating personal and relational concerns: the quest for equilibrium. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 94–110.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Latane, B. (1981). The psychology of social impact. American Psychologist, 36, 343–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindeman, M. (1997). Ingroup bias, self-enhancement and group identification. European Journal of Social Psychology, 27, 337–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. (1977). Self-schemata and processing information about the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 63–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H., & Wurf, E. (1987). The dynamic self-concept: a social psychological perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 38, 299–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, B., & Riordan, C. A. (1988). Self-serving attributions for performance in naturalistic settings: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18, 3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996). The self-fulfilling nature of positive illusions in romantic relationship: love is not blind, but prescient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1155–1180.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6, 10–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, D. G., & Lamm, H. (1976). The group polarization phenomenon. Psychological Bulletin, 83, 602–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Mahen, H. A., Beach, S. R. H., & Tesser, A. (2000). Relationship ecology and negative communication in romantic relationships: a self-evaluation maintenance perspective. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 1343–1352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Mara, E. M., Gaertner, L., & Wayment, H. A. (2007). Motivational primacy among the individual, relational, and collective selves. Poster presented at the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Memphis, TN.

  • Onorato, R. S., & Turner, J. C. (2004). Fluidity in the self-concept: the shift from personal to social identity. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 257–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, T. M., & Sedikides, C. (1992). The outgroup homogeneity effect in natural and minimal groups. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 536–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oyserman, D., & Lee, S. W. S. (2008). Does culture influence what and how we think?: Effects of priming individualism and collectivism. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 311–342.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Platt, J. R. (1964). Strong inference. Science, 146, 347–353.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prilleltensky, I., & Prilleltensky, O. (2007). Webs of well-being: The interdependence of personal, relational, organizational and communal well-being. In J. T. Haworth & G. Hart (Eds.), Well-being: Individual, community and social perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, M., Xun, W. Q. E., & Wilson, A. E. (2002). Language and the bicultural self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1040–1050.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rusbult, C. E., Farrell, D., Rogers, G., & Mainous, A. G. I. I. I. (1988). Impact of exchange variables on exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect: an integrative model of responses to declining job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 31, 599–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C. (1993). Assessment, enhancement, and verification determinants of the self-evaluation process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 317–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., & Brewer, M. B. (2001a). Individual, relational, and collective self: partners, opponents, or strangers? In C. Sedikides & M. B. Brewer (Eds.), Individual self, relational self, collective self (pp. 1–4). Philadelphia: Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., & Brewer, M. B. (Eds.). (2001b). Individual self, relational self, and collective self. Philadelphia: Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., & Green, J. D. (2000). On the self-protective nature of inconsistency/negativity management: using the person memory paradigm to examine self-referent memory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 906–922.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., & Gregg, A. P. (2003). Portraits of the self. In M. A. Hogg & J. Cooper (Eds.), Sage handbook of social psychology (pp. 110–138). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., & Gregg, A. P. (2008). Self-enhancement: food for thought. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 102–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., & Skowronski, J. J. (1995). Sources of self-knowledge: on the perceived primacy of self-reflection. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 14, 244–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., & Strube, M. J. (1997a). Self-evaluation: To thine own self be good, to thine own self be sure, to thine own self be true, and to thine own self be better. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, 29 (pp. 209–269). New York: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., & Strube, M. J. (1997b). Self-evaluation: To thine own self be good, to thine own self be sure, to thine own self be true, and to thine own self be better. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 29 (pp. 209–269). New York: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., Olsen, N., & Reis, H. T. (1993). Relationships as natural categories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 71–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Toguchi, Y. (2003). Pancultural self-enhancement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 60–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Vevea, J. L. (2005). Pancultural self-enhancement reloaded: a meta-analytic reply to Heine. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 539–551.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seta, J. J., & Seta, C. E. (1996). Big fish in small ponds: a social hierarchy analysis of intergroup bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1210–1221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon, K. M., & Filak, V. (2008). Manipulating autonomy, competence, and relatedness support in a game-learning context: new evidence that all three needs matter. British Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 267–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon, K. M., & Houser-Marko, L. (2001). Self-concordance, goal attainment, and the pursuit of happiness: can there be an upward spiral? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 152–165.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shepperd, J. A., Malone, W., & Sweeny, K. (2008). Exploring the causes of the self-serving bias. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 895–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, B., Pantaleo, G., & Mummendey, A. (1995). Unique individual or interchangeable group member? The accentuation of intragroup differences versus similarities as an indicator of the individual self versus the collective self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 106–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E. R., & Henry, S. (1996). An in-group becomes part of the self: response time evidence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 635–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spears, R., Doojse, B., & Ellemers, N. (1997). Self-stereotyping in the face of threats to group status and distinctiveness: the role of group identification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 538–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stryker, S., & Statham, A. (1985). Symbolic interaction and role theory. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 311–378). New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swann, W. B., Jr., Gomez, A., Seyle, D. C., Morales, J. F., & Huici, C. (2009). Identity fusion: the interplay of personal and social identities in extreme group behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 995–1011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey: Brooks/Cole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., Lerner, J. S., Sherman, D. K., Sage, R. M., & McDowell, N. K. (2003a). Portrait of the self-enhancer: well adjusted and well liked or maladjusted and friendless? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 165–176.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., Lerner, J. S., Sherman, D. K., Sage, R. M., & McDowell, N. K. (2003b). Are self-enhancing cognitions associated with healthy or unhealthy biological profiles? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 605–615.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tesser, A. (1988). Toward a self-evaluation maintenance model of social behavior. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 21 (pp. 181–227). New York: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2001). The primacy of the interpersonal self. In C. Sedikides & M. B. Brewer (Eds.), Individual self, relational self, and collective self (pp. 71–88). Philadelphia: Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trafimow, D., Triandis, H. C., & Goto, S. G. (1991). Some tests of the distinction between the private self and the collective self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 649–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H. C. (1989). The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts. Psychological Review, 96, 506–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. C., Oakes, P. J., Haslam, S. A., & McGarty, C. (1994). Self and collective: cognition and social context. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 454–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996). The relationship between social support and physiological processes: a review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 488–531.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Voci, A. (2006). The link between identification and in-group favouritism: effects of threat to social identity and trust-related emotions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 265–284.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vohs, K. D., & Finkel, E. J. (Eds.). (2004). Self and relationships: Connecting intrapersonal and interpersonal processes. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyer, R. S., & Frey, D. (1983). The effects of feedback about self and others on the recall and judgments of feedback-relevant information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 540–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamaguchi, S., Greenwald, A. G., Banaji, M. R., Murakami, F., Chen, D., Shiomura, K., et al. (2007). Apparent universality of positive implicit self-esteem. Psychological Science, 18, 498–500.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ybarra, O., & Trafimow, D. (1998). How priming the private self or collective self affects the relative weights of attitudes and subjective norms. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 362–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y., & Epley, N. (2009). Self-centered social exchange: differential use of costs versus benefits in prosocial reciprocity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 796–810.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research on Self and Identity, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, England, UK

    Constantine Sedikides

  2. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Lowell Gaertner & Erin M. O’Mara

Authors
  1. Constantine Sedikides
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lowell Gaertner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Erin M. O’Mara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Constantine Sedikides.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L. & O’Mara, E.M. Individual Self, Relational Self, Collective Self: Hierarchical Ordering of the Tripartite Self. Psychol Stud 56, 98–107 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-011-0059-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-011-0059-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation