RESOLVING CONFLICTS AMONG SELF-EVALUATIVE MOTIVES - POSITIVE EXPERIENCES AS A RESOURCE FOR OVERCOMING DEFENSIVENESS

The present research investigates how undergoing a negative or positiv e experience subsequently influences feedback seeking regarding self-a ttributes varying in self-relevance. Participants were offered feedbac k from earlier resting regarding their assets or liabilities for attai ning various personal goals (general life goals or specific careers). Overall, self-relevance of a goal increased interest in both assets- a nd liabilities-focused feedback regarding that goal. As predicted, how ever the effect of self-relevance depended on whether participants ini tially failed or succeeded on an unrelated task. Specifically, after f ailure, the self-relevance of a goal was more likely to increase inter est in assets-focused feedback than interest in liabilities-focused fe edback. In contrast, after success, the self-relevance of a goal was e qually or more likely to increase interest in liabilities-focused feed back than interest in assets-focused feedback. These results suggest t hat undergoing a positive or negative experience subsequently influenc es the relative weight of ego-defensive and self-assessment motives in feedback-seeking decisions.