Self-Promotive Interdependence: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation

Many understudied populations are growing in size and in societal importance, yet the psychological literature has not explored their motivations or important differences underlying behavioral processes that drive their actions. Further, there has been a growing effort to include more varied perspectives in psychological research and to appreciate contextual influences on core human motives, and the current work leverages past approaches to build a more comprehensive account of the psychological characteristics underlying people's motivations. This project investigates the psychological characteristic of self-promotive interdependence, which is common in many social contexts. This form of social motivation reflects people who are driven to achieve goals and rewards, but they see their success as important primarily for supporting their families and communities (i.e., focusing on their interdependence with other people). Thus, it is different from the idea of self-promotion predominant in circumstances, where self-promotion often fulfills individual aspirations and goals, promoting independence from other people. The data collected include surveys, experiments, and real-time assessments across social contexts to compare these psychological characteristics. By comparing these motives, the work aims to understand the unique characteristics of self-promotive interdependence and to explore its psychological and behavioral consequences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.