Re-construing the relational-interdependent self-construal and its relationship with self-consistency

Abstract

Our study sought to: (1) tie the relational self-construal to the nomological net of the interpersonal circumplex and (2) show that prior self-construal research confounded consistent with desirable descriptions of self and others. Undergraduates (n = 233) completed measures of relational self-construal, Machiavellianism, the interpersonal circumplex, self-consistency, and self-friend consistency. Contrary to past research, the relational self-construal only predicted socially desirable types of consistency and did not moderate the effect of self-consistency on well-being. The relational self-construal was located in the communal-and-unagentic region of the circumplex, directly opposite Machiavellianism, and the circumplex and Machiavellianism scales predicted consistency at least as well as the relational self-construal, thus raising questions about whether the relational self-construal refers to a novel explanatory construct.