On the malleability of self-image in individuals with a weak sense of self.

For over four decades, clinical psychologists have claimed that individuals with a weak sense of self have highly malleable self-images, even temporarily taking on aspects of the personalities of interaction partners who have a stronger sense of self. The present Study 1 provided the first empirical test of this claim. In same-sex stranger dyads that paired a weak-sense-of-self member with a strong-sense-of-self member, the “weak” dyad members changed their post-interaction personality ratings in the direction of the “strong” members’ pre-interaction personality, but not vice versa. A follow-up analysis ruled out the possibility that this difference could be attributed to differential regression to the mean (average) personality profile. In Studies 2 and 3, individuals with a weak sense of self were also more likely to accept a false (generic) but seemingly specific personality description as describing them well, and this effect persisted even after controlling for age, gender, socioeconomic status, self-concept clarity, and self-monitoring in Study 2, and for socioeconomic status, self-concept clarity, self-monitoring, and inner–other directedness in Study 3.