Impression Management Goals Research Articles

Factor structure of the Chinese version of Emotion Regulation Goals Scale.

Recent studies in Western cultures suggested emotion regulation goals have important implications for mental health. This study aimed to test the factor structure of Emotion Regulation Goals Scale (ERGS) in a Chinese cultural context. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were first used to examine the factor structure of the ERGS, and then reliability and validity tests were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the ERGS. Results showed that the original five-factor model demonstrated fit during both EFA and CFA, and was thus adopted for further psychometric analyses. Most of the five factors were significantly associated with emotion regulation tendencies and negative emotional outcomes (e.g., depression), except for the non-significant associations between pro-hedonic goals and expressive suppression, and pro-social and impression management goals with depression. The ERGS also showed good internal consistency and split-half reliability. However, the test-retest reliabilities varied substantially across the five factors. The pro-hedonic goal had a higher test-retest reliability, whereas the contra-hedonic, performance, pro-social, and impression management goals showed lower values, especially the latter two. In brief, the ERGS showed a promising five-factor structure in assessing emotion regulation goals in Chinese cultural context.

Emotion regulation goals and strategies among individuals with varying levels of sensory processing sensitivity: a latent profile analysis.

Emotion regulation (ER) has emerged as a significant factor influencing the well-being of individuals with high sensory processing sensitivity (SPS). However, the interaction between SPS and the underlying mechanisms of ER remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to (a) identify profiles of SPS and ER competency using a latent profile analysis (LPA), and (b) investigate the ER goals and strategy use among each profile to better understand ER patterns in highly sensitive individuals with lower ER proficiency. A total of 813 Chinese college students (mean age = 21.53 ± 2.48; 74.41% female) completed the Highly Sensitive Person Scale, 16-item Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Emotion Regulation Goals Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the rumination subscale from the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The LPA identified three profiles: "Low SPS - High ER Competency" (41%), "Moderate SPS - ER Competency" (41%), and "High SPS - Low ER Competency" (18%). ER goals varied significantly among these groups. The "High SPS - Low ER Competency" group predominantly pursued contra-hedonic goals and impression management goals, while the "Low SPS - High ER Competency" group focused on pro-hedonic goals. In terms of strategies, the "Low SPS - High ER Competency" group mainly used cognitive reappraisal, the "Moderate SPS - ER Competency" group leaned towards suppression, and the "High SPS - Low ER Competency" group preferred rumination and suppression. These findings indicate that higher SPS combined with lower ER proficiency is linked to an increased pursuit of contra-hedonic goals and impression management goals, and a reliance on response-focused strategies. This pattern offers new insights for developing psychological support strategies for highly sensitive individuals experiencing mental distress.

Conflicting Goals When Seeking Support for Mental Health Concerns: Testing a Stigma Support Activation Model

A stigma support activation model (SSAM) describing how stigma influences support and impression management goals, which in turn shape support seeking message characteristics is proposed. The model was empirically tested with a national sample of people with mental health concerns ( N = 317), who completed an online survey about a recent time they sought support for their mental health. Results were generally consistent with the proposed model, suggesting a paradox of support seeking, where internalized stigma enhances both support and impression management goals, with perceived public stigma moderating the relationship between internalized stigma and support goals. These conflicting goals put constraints on the depth and emotional expressiveness of support seeking messages. Implications of these findings for theory on supportive communication and the management of stigmatized traits are discussed.

Seeking support via mediated channels: The roles of impression goals, stigma, severity, and perceived affordances

Previous research suggests that impression management goals and face threats can be barriers to seeking support, especially among college students and those facing severe problems that are highly stigmatized. In such cases, technologically-mediated communication channels (TMCCs) may be an important resource because they have unique affordances that can help overcome impression concerns and thereby promote well-being. To examine this possibility, the present study explored how impression goals, problem severity, perceived stigma, and perceived affordances interact to affect comfort with seeking support. Contrary to expectations, results from an online survey of undergraduate students ( N = 183) indicated that problem severity was not associated with levels of comfort with seeking support, and the interaction of stigma with impression goals had an unexpected positive effect. Furthermore, TMCCs affording persistence and conversation control facilitated comfort with support seeking as stigma increased. Possible explanations for these findings and implications for scholarship on TMCCs and social support are discussed.

Saying thanks and meaning it: Expressing gratitude for social gain.

People sometimes give thanks as a true expression of their feeling but also sometimes because they know gratitude expression helps to make a certain social impression. That is, some gratitude is expressed because of intrinsic motivations or extrinsic motivations. Such motivations affect the outcomes of behaviour. The present work assessed gratitude, trait tendency to manage socially desirable expressions and well-being across two studies (combined n = 398). Motivations to express gratitude were also measured and impression management goals were manipulated in Study 2. Results show that gratitude expression is highest when people want to make a good impression and extrinsic motives to express gratitude can moderate the relationship between gratitude and well-being. Implications for the measurement of gratitude and theoretical understanding of gratitude's social function are discussed.

Self-presentation in medicine: How language patterns reflect physician impression management goals and affect perceptions

This paper evaluated how physicians' communication patterns reflect their self-presentation goals and link to patient perceptions. Specifically, in a large field study (N = 54,420 profiles from HealthGrades.com), physician self-descriptions were analyzed linguistically through automated means, with evidence suggesting those who were more self-focused and confident tended to have higher patient ratings online than those who were less self-focused and confident. Physicians who discussed their expertise and compassion for patients were also rated more favorably. A within-subjects experiment in Study 2 (N = 500) also demonstrated that linguistic self-presentation patterns can affect patient perceptions. Participants who read physician profiles with high rates of self-references and verbal confidence rated doctors as warmer and more competent than those who read physician profiles with low rates of self-references and certainty. Together, words are indicators of physicians’ self-presentation strategies and can change patient evaluations. Theoretical contributions for self-presentation and psychology of language research are discussed.

Impression management goals and job candidate’s race: A test of competing models

The trade-off effect—the tendency to downplay a stereotypical social dimension (e.g., warmth) to increase a positive impression by conveying an opposing dimension (e.g., competence)—is well established. However, promoting stereotypical perceptions may amplify positive impressions by conforming to the evaluator’s expectations (i.e., the joint effect). To better understand the impacts of race-related impression management goals, we test these competing propositions through two studies. Study 1 shows that people tend to evaluate others more positively when the others appeal to stereotypical characteristics, supporting the joint effect: White candidates are perceived more positively when they exude competence whereas positive impressions are higher when Black candidates demonstrate warmth. Study 2 assesses the underlying mechanism and the boundary condition of this impact and found that the interaction effects between impression management strategies and race influence positive evaluations of candidates through perceived warmth and competence.

Attachment orientations, emotion goals, and emotion regulation

While research has linked attachment to emotion regulation (ER), little is known about associations between attachment and what individuals want to feel (i.e., emotion goals), something that has been found to influence ER strategy choice. In this study, we examined the links between attachment, emotion goals, and emotion regulation. A total of 605 participants from the community were included. They filled out self-report scales on attachment, emotion goals, and ER strategies. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Direct effects showed a link between attachment avoidance and fewer pro-hedonic goals, more suppression and fewer emotion communication, and between attachment anxiety and fewer pro-hedonic goals, more pro-social, performance, and impression management goals, and more suppression and rumination. Indirect effects showed that attachment avoidance was associated with less emotion communication and positive reappraisal and more suppression through fewer pro-hedonic goals. Attachment anxiety was associated with more rumination and more suppression through fewer impression management goals; attachment anxiety was also associated with more suppression through fewer pro-hedonic goals and more performance goals. These findings highlight the role of attachment as an important antecedent of emotion goals.

Are You Kind, Big Deal, or Kind of a Big Deal? The Role of Communication in Impression Management

People communicate constantly, in order to pursue different goals. One prominent goal in conversations and interactions is to make positive impressions on others, such as appearing trustworthy, warm, or competent. When successful at conveying positive impressions, people improve their chances of interpersonal and professional success. This symposium brings together novel research papers that theorize and empirically investigate the links among conversation goals, behaviors, and impression management. First, we identify the different—and often conflicting—goals that people may have in conversations, and the tradeoffs that people must make in managing their impressions. Next, across papers, we showcase several communication strategies that help people make positive impressions and effectively resolve the tradeoff that people face between appearing warm and appearing competent. Specifically, we identify when and why speech pauses, compliments to others, laughter, and ingratiating behaviors can help communicators achieve impression management and other interpersonal goals. Taken together, this set of research papers highlights the dilemmas we must navigate in conversation, and underscores the importance of communication for impression- and conflict management, and for organizational outcomes. The Conversational Circumplex, Informational and Relational Motives in Conversation Presenter: Alison Wood Brooks; Harvard U. How Pausing Shapes Person Perception Presenter: Alex Bryant Van Zant; Rutgers Business School Presenter: Jonah Berger; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Grant Packard; York U., Toronto Presenter: Harry Wang; Rutgers Business School Bragging Better, The Benefits of Promoting Peers Presenter: Einav Hart; George Mason U. Presenter: Eric VanEpps; U. of Utah, David Eccles School of Business Why Do Women Laugh More Than Men? Presenter: Thomas Bradford Bitterly; HKUST Business School Presenter: Alison Wood Brooks; Harvard U. Presenter: Jennifer Aaker; Stanford Graduate School of Business A Silver Lining for Women at Work? Actor Gender Predicts Responses to Ingratiation Presenter: M. Ena Inesi; London Business School Presenter: Einav Hart; George Mason U.

A reputational perspective on rational framing effects.

To assess whether behaviors like framing effects are rational, researchers need to consider decision makers' goals. I argue that researchers should broaden the scope of analysis to include impression management goals. Under predictable conditions, behaviors traditionally considered irrational (e.g., loss-gain framing effects on risk preferences) can be reputationally rewarding, casting doubt on strict claims of irrationality.

Do I support that it's good or oppose that it's bad? The effect of support-oppose framing on attitude sharing.

The rise of social media has led to unprecedented opportunities for individuals to share, or express, their attitudes on social and political issues. What factors affect whether individuals choose to share? This research identifies a novel determinant of attitude sharing-support-oppose framing, defined as whether individuals think of their own attitude in terms of what they support or what they oppose. Support-oppose framing is distinct from attitude valence, as the same attitude can be framed in terms of support (e.g., I support that this policy is bad) or opposition (e.g., I oppose that this policy is good). Seven experiments, two correlational studies, and one field study provide evidence for a support-oppose framing effect, whereby individuals are more likely to share attitudes framed in terms of positions they support rather than positions they oppose. This effect occurs via two pathways. In the first, support-framed attitudes are viewed as more value expressive, which facilitates greater attitude sharing. In the second, support-framed attitudes are believed to promote more positive impressions, which also leads to greater sharing. This effect is attenuated when individuals' typical impression-management goals are relaxed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The interactive effect of cultural self-construal and social exclusion on consumers' impression management goal pursuit

Four studies suggested that social exclusion (vs. inclusion) by ingroups leads interdependents to discard impression management goals because of a lower tendency to identify with ingroups. In contrast, independents do not change their impression management goals when socially excluded (vs. included) by ingroups. Consequently, when included (but not when excluded), interdependents (vs. independents) are willing to pay more, and are willing to expend more effort in the purchase of publicly (but not privately) consumed products. Hence, when promoting publicly consumed products, managers should strive to include interdependent consumers (e.g., via ads or promotional campaigns). Similarly, on social media (Facebook, Twitter), it is easier than ever before to determine whether consumers have been included or excluded by their friends and families at a given time. With that information, managers may be able to selectively target consumers who are likely to pay more for publicly consumed products.

Regulating for a reason: Emotion regulation goals are linked to spontaneous strategy use.

We investigated how individual differences in emotion regulation goals predict emotion regulation strategy use in daily life. Across three studies, we assessed two common types of emotion regulation goals (hedonic, social) and strategies spanning the entire process model of emotion regulation. We conducted two studies using global measures with undergraduates (N=394; 18-25years; 69% female; 56% European American) and community members (N=302; 19-74years; 50% female; 75% European American), and a nine-day daily diary study with another community sample (N=272; 23-85years; 50% female; 84% European American). Globally and in daily life, pro-hedonic goals were positively associated with all antecedent-focused strategies (situation selection, situation modification, distraction, and reappraisal), pro-social goals were positively linked to reappraisal, and impression management goals positively predicted suppression. Contra-hedonic goals were negatively associated with reappraisal and positively associated with suppression in some studies. The reasons why people regulate their emotions are predictive of the strategies they use in daily life. These links may be functional, such that people typically use strategies that are suitable for their goals. These findings demonstrate the value of an individual difference approach and highlight the motivational component of emotion regulation.

Individual differences in emotion regulation goals: Does personality predict the reasons why people regulate their emotions?

We investigated how the Big Five traits predict individual differences in five theoretically important emotion regulation goals that are commonly pursued-pro-hedonic, contra-hedonic, performance, pro-social, and impression management. We conducted two studies: (a) a large survey study consisting of undergraduates (N=394; 18-25years; 69% female; 56% European American) and community adults (N=302; 19-74years; 50% female; 75% European American) who completed a newly developed global measure of individual differences in emotion regulation goals and (b) a 9-day daily diary study with community adults (N=272; 23-85years; 50% female; 84% European American) who completed daily reports of emotion regulation goals. In both studies, participants completed a measure of the Big Five. Across global and daily measures, pro-hedonic goals and pro-social goals were positively associated with Agreeableness, performance goals were positively associated with Openness, and impression management goals were positively associated with Neuroticism. Globally, contra-hedonic goals were also negatively associated with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The Big Five systematically predict the emotion regulation goals people typically pursue. These findings have important implications for understanding why people engage in certain forms of regulatory behavior and why personality has consequences for well-being.

Anxiety and Ephemeral Social Media Use in Negative eWOM Creation

Consumers regularly share negative eWOM regarding brand experiences, yet the effects of emotions in this process are unknown. Using the framework of Stimulus–Organism–Response theory we operationalized our study in the context of ephemeral (self-deleting) social media. Across two studies, consumers experienced anxiety during the creation of eWOM, particularly after considering a negative brand experience. Anxiety was manifest in consumers' decisions to reduce the time availability of online messages and appeased by the use of ephemeral social media. This behavior, in theory, reduces the threat to consumers' impression management goals caused by sharing negative eWOM within their social networks. Further evidence is found as consumers limit (lengthen) message availability a) when including less (more) positive words in their messages, or b) when sharing about non-economic (economic) experiences. We discuss the implications of consumer emotion and anxiety on the availability of eWOM in social media.

A dramaturgical accounting of cooperative performance indicators

PurposeElectric cooperatives may be seen as an alternative form of organizing in the shadow of investor-owned utilities. They are presumed able to meet financial challenges while simultaneously honoring cooperative principles of member-owners. This paper aims to investigate such a balancing act and conceptualize “key performance indicators” (KPIs) as a dramatic accounting discourse.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a dramaturgical approach to cooperative performance accounting, and claims that KPIs are a simplification of a complex and shifting reality which they also socially construct. Data were gathered from annual financial reports and websites of rural electric cooperatives along with semi-structured interviews conducted with senior cooperative officials.FindingsThe cooperatives in this case study reported a huge number of KPIs. However, this paper reveals that the performance indicators serve impression management goals and operational demands rather than reporting on fulfillment of the “Seven Cooperative Principles” that are fundamental to the cooperative movement.Research limitations/implicationsExtant inquiry regarding electric cooperatives tends toward a positivist research approach and a realist worldview. This overlooks dramatic and critical possibilities of KPIs as a management construction project. Expanding beyond mainstream research, this paper calls attention to artistic production of knowledge and applies a qualitative framework to problematize accounting disclosures.Originality/valuePrior KPI research has often been instrumental, looking for predictive evidence that KPIs have strategic value as a “tool” for organizations to attain competitive advantage. This paper introduces the notion that performance measures are theatrical, and applies this to rural electric cooperatives, an industry mostly ignored in the academic literature.

Impression management concerns and support-seeking behavior on social network sites

This study investigates whether and how impression management concerns shape ways people seek social support on social network sites (SNS). The data from a laboratory experiment (N = 176) show that the importance of impression management goals change depending on the publicity of the message, and that the amount of effort in message composition increases as the severity of the problem increases. This relationship becomes greater when people use a public as opposed to a private SNS channel to communicate a stressful situation. The more effort people put into message composition, the more likely they are to produce a sophisticated support-seeking message that serves an additional goal of impression management. This study contributes to understanding supportive communication occurring on social network sites.

Interpersonal goals, others' regard for the self, and self‐esteem: The paradoxical consequences of self‐image and compassionate goals

AbstractPeople often adopt self‐image goals to increase others' regard for them and perhaps their own self‐esteem. But do these impression management goals achieve their intended result in close relationships? And do they endure over time? We suggest that self‐image goals predict decreased self‐esteem and close others' regard for the self through decreased responsiveness to others. In contrast, compassionate goals, which reflect a genuine concern for others' well‐being, predict increased self‐esteem and others' regard through increased responsiveness. We tested these hypotheses in a longitudinal study of college roommates followed across a semester. Path analyses supported both predictions, suggesting a paradox for interpersonal goals in close relationships: explicit attempts to increase close others' regard for the self backfire and damage self‐esteem, but having goals to meet others' needs result in others' positive regard and promote self‐esteem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

How the Adoption of Impression Management Goals Alters Impression Formation

Five experiments (N = 390) tested the hypothesis that adopting an impression management goal leads the impression manager to view an interaction partner as having less of the trait he or she is attempting to express. This hypothesis was confirmed for the impression management goals of appearing introverted, extraverted, smart, confident, and happy. Experiment 2 shows that adoption of the impression goal could alter judgments even when participants could not act on the goal. Experiment 3 provides evidence that adopting an impression management goal prompted a comparison mind-set and that this comparison mind-set activation mediated target judgments. Experiment 4 rules out a potential alternative explanation and provides more direct evidence that comparison of the impression manager's self-concept mediates the impression of the target. Experiment 5 eliminates a potential confound and extends the effect to another impression goal. These experiments highlight the dynamic interplay between impression management and impression formation.

To be liked versus respected: Divergent goals in interracial interactions.

Pervasive representations of Blacks and Latinos as unintelligent and of Whites as racist may give rise to divergent impression management goals in interracial interactions. We present studies showing that in interracial interactions racial minorities seek to be respected and seen as competent more than Whites do, whereas Whites seek to be liked and seen as moral more than racial minorities do. These divergent impression management goals are reflected in Whites' and racial minorities' self-report responses (Studies 1a, 1b, 2, and 4) and behaviors (Studies 3a and 3b). Divergent goals are observed in pre-existing relationships (Study 2), as well as in live interactions (Studies 3a, 3b, and 4), and are associated with higher levels of negative other-directed affect (Study 4). Implications of these goals for interracial communication and misunderstandings are discussed.