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moral commitment

in U.S. sociologist Michael P. Johnson’s tripartite model of marital commitment, a form of commitment in which a person feels tied to a relationship because of a sense of moral or ethical obligation or duty. Moral commitment often reflects religious or societal beliefs, but it may also derive from an individual’s values about the importance of acting in a manner that affirms one’s vows, promises, and obligations. Compare personal commitment; structural commitment.

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Psychology term of the day

January 28th 2025

self-consciousness

self-consciousness

n.

1. a personality trait associated with the tendency to reflect on or think about oneself. Psychological use of the term (e.g., in personality measures) refers to individual differences in self-reflection, not to embarrassment or awkwardness (see sense

3..). Some researchers have distinguished between two varieties of self-consciousness: (a) private self-consciousness, or the degree to which people think about private, internal aspects of themselves (e.g., their thoughts, motives, and feelings) that are not directly open to observation by others; and (b) public self-consciousness, or the degree to which people think about public, external aspects of themselves (e.g., their physical appearance, mannerisms, and overt behavior) that can be observed by others.

2. see reflective consciousness.

3. extreme sensitivity about one’s behavior, appearance, or other attributes and excessive concern about the impression one makes on others, which may lead to embarrassment or awkwardness in the presence of others. —self-conscious adj.