THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IMPORTANT - THEORETICAL-MODELS OF RELATIONS BETWEEN SPECIFIC AND GLOBAL COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL SELF-CONCEPT

Theoretical models of relations between specific components of physica l self-concept, global physical self-concept, and global esteem are ev aluated. Self-concept models posit that the effect of a specific domai n (e.g., strength, endurance, or appearance) on global components shou ld vary with the importance an individual places on the specific domai n, but empirical support for this prediction is weak. Fox (1990) incor porated a related assumption into his hierarchical model of physical s elf-concept, but did not test this assumption. In empirical tests base d on responses to the newly developed Physical Self-Description Questi onnaire, relations between specific and global components of physical self-concept did not vary with the perceived importance of the specifi c component, and unweighted averages of specific components were as hi ghly related to global components as importance weighted averages. The se results provide no support for the importance of importance in modi fying relations between domain-specific and general components of self -concept.