self-assessment motive

the desire to gain accurate information about the self. It leads people to seek highly diagnostic feedback (see diagnosticity) and to reject flattery or other bias. Also called accuracy motive; appraisal motive. Compare consistency motive; self-enhancement motive. See self-verification motive.

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Psychology term of the day

December 26th 2024

false self

false self

in the object relations theory of British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott (1896–1971), the self that develops as a defense against impingements and in adaptation to the environment. This contrasts with the true self, which develops in an environment that adapts to the infant and allows him or her to discover and express true impulses.