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The component of the self-concept that is tied to relational and social contexts.
Introduction
The self has long been conceptualized as taking two forms: the interpersonal and the individual self. The interpersonal self (or public self) is the component of the self-concept that is tied to a variety of relational and social contexts (Baumeister 1986). The aspects tied to the interpersonal self are the characteristics that a person expresses when in the presence of others. Often distinguished from the individual (or private) self, the interpersonal self is composed of categories of self-aspects across a variety of domains. Whereas the individual self composes the “core” set of traits that are expressed regardless of the social environment, the interpersonal self can vary widely and is more adaptive to various relational contexts and social roles. For example, a college student’s interpersonal self may be composed of a student role (reserved, studious, and...
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References
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Gore, J. (2017). Interpersonal Self. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1138-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1138-1
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