Broadening our Sight, and Understanding, of Low Self-Monitors (and The Big Bang Theory Characters)

Abstract

Although the self-monitoring construct has been studied for almost half a century, there is considerable lack of clarity about its definition and that of its related constructs, i.e., high self- monitors (HSMs) and low self-monitors (LSMs). The understanding of the latter is particularly unclear and incomplete. We dissect the construct definitions and also review a high-quality sample of empirical articles to show that LSMs have been relatively neglected and poorly understood. They have been considered merely as opposites of HSMs, whereas in fact, they are more varied. We conceptualize five different types of LSMs that we derive from a 6-cell (2 x 3) conceptual framework, which encompasses two levels of motivation (low, high), and three levels of ability (low, moderate, high), to self-monitor. We illustrate this conceptual development by populating all six cells with characters from the popular American sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. We also develop propositions involving the five new types of LSMs to highlight the usefulness of our framework. Finally, we discuss the implications of our theorizing for research and practice.