Testing the self as a control system: Theoretical and methodological issues

This report describes an evolution of research methodology for adducing evidence regarding whether the self functions as a control system. While there has been a great number of studies in the literature on personality and social psychology aimed at demonstrating that behavior of many kinds can be affected by focusing attention upon the subjectʹs self-concept, or by challenging or threatening it, little attention has been given to the question of why this would be so. A proposed explanation would be that the self functions as a control system. Testing this hypothesis has entailed development of a methodological approach in which control action occurs predictably rather than having a statistical probability. This has required defining a model and testing it by predictions rather than attempting to isolate underlying variables with multivariate techniques. © 1999 Academic Press