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Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 5, No. 3, 230-241 (2001)
DOI: 10.1207/S15327957PSPR0503_4

Objective Self-Awareness Theory: Recent Progress and Enduring Problems

Paul J. Silvia

Department of Psychology, University of Kansas

T. Shelley Duval

Department of Psychology, University of Southern California

Objective self-awareness theory has undergone fundamental changes in the 3 decades since Duval and Wicklund's (1972) original formulation. We review new evidence that bears on the basic tenets of the theory. Many of the assumptions of self-awareness theory require revision, particularly how expectancies influence approach and avoidance of self-standard discrepancies; the nature of standards, especially when they are changed; and the role of causal attribution in directing discrepancy reduction. However, several unresolved conceptual issues remain; future theoretical and empirical directions are discussed.

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