The role of self-concept clarity: Does a less clear sense of self predict higher degrees of emotional conformity?

Abstract

The social environment, such as the emotions others are feeling, can influence our own emotions. However, are some people more sensitive to these effects than others? Here we test whether emotional conformity, (i.e., the degree to which people change their own emotions to match others’ emotions), is heightened in individuals with lower self-concept clarity (i.e., those with a less confident, clear, and stable sense of self). To test emotional conformity, participants rated the emotional valence of images and afterwards saw a “group norm” that they believed represented the average of previous participants’ ratings. In actuality, these group ratings were manipulated to be higher, lower, or the same as the participants’ initial ratings. Each participant then re-rated the same images. We then tested the relationship between emotional conformity and self-concept clarity (assessed using the Self-Concept Clarity Scale), along with additional supplementary constructs such as alexithymia, generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, and depressive symptoms. We found that participants changed their final ratings to resemble the group norms, replicating the findings of previous social conformity experiments. However, there was no significant relationship between self-concept clarity and emotional conformity, providing evidence against the hypothesis that people with a less clear sense of self are more likely to take on the emotional evaluations of others. We also found how certain aspects of mental health such as depressive symptoms are negatively associated with one’s sensitivity to others’ emotions. Overall, our findings advance our basic understanding of how individuals are impacted by the emotional environment.