{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T07:04:25Z","timestamp":1784099065370,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A coherent sense of self depends not only on how individuals evaluate themselves, but also on how they believe they are evaluated by others. These internal and socially inferred self-evaluations\u2014self-appraisal and reflected appraisal\u2014are central to identity regulation and emotional wellbeing, yet their momentary interplay in everyday life remains poorly understood. In particular, little is known about how self- and reflected appraisal are associated with one another across moments, how social context shapes their coupling, and whether discrepancies between them carry affective consequences.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Using ecological momentary assessment, student participants reported their self-appraisal, reflected appraisal, social context, and mood eight times daily over a 10-day period.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Self-appraisal and reflected appraisal were strongly associated within the same moment, with concurrent associations substantially larger than lagged effects. Social context selectively moderated the momentary association from self-appraisal to reflected appraisal, such that self-appraisal was more strongly associated with reflected appraisal when individuals were with others compared to when they were alone, whereas the reverse association was not moderated by social context. Greater discrepancy between self-appraisal and reflected appraisal was initially associated with lower concurrent mood but was not associated with subsequent mood. Moreover, the concurrent discrepancy association was no longer significant after accounting for self-appraisal and reflected appraisal directly. Additional analyses suggested that mood was associated more strongly with self-appraisals than with discrepancies between self-appraisal and reflected appraisal.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Together, the findings indicate that self- and reflected appraisal are closely coupled yet distinguishable processes that show substantial momentary covariation in daily life. Social context was associated with stronger coupling between self-appraisal and reflected appraisal, although additional decomposition analyses suggested that this effect was not driven by within-person fluctuations in social engagement. Strong associations between self-appraisal and reflected appraisal were evident even when individuals were alone, consistent with the notion that representations of others\u2019 evaluations remain psychologically relevant outside of direct social interaction. At the same time, the findings provide limited support for discrepancy as an independent correlate of mood, suggesting that momentary affect may be associated more strongly with the positivity or negativity of self-appraisals and reflected appraisals than with discrepancies between them. These results contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how internal and socially inferred self-evaluations are integrated in everyday life.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1814576","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T06:06:07Z","timestamp":1784095567000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Identity in interaction: momentary dynamics of self-appraisal and reflected appraisal"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Isabel Dorothee","family":"G\u00fctges","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen","place":["Aachen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haoran","family":"Xi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen","place":["Aachen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Siegfried","family":"Gauggel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen","place":["Aachen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saskia Doreen","family":"Forster","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen","place":["Aachen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1093","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cognition.2007.05.005","article-title":"The cost of thinking about false beliefs: evidence from adults\u2019 performance on a non-inferential theory of mind task","volume":"106","author":"Apperly","year":"2008","journal-title":"Cognition"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v067.i01","article-title":"Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4","volume":"67","author":"Bates","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Stat. Softw."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"368","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.46.4.368","article-title":"Cognitive therapy: a 30-year retrospective","volume":"46","author":"Beck","year":"1991","journal-title":"Am. Psychol."},{"key":"ref4","volume-title":"Intensive longitudinal Methods: An Introduction to Diary and Experience Sampling Research","author":"Bolger","year":"2013"},{"key":"ref5","first-page":"285","volume-title":"Handbook of Research Methods for Studying Daily life","author":"Bolger","year":"2011"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"141","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.70.1.141","article-title":"Self-concept clarity: measurement, personality correlates, and cultural boundaries","volume":"70","author":"Campbell","year":"1996","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"250","DOI":"10.1037\/pspp0000107","article-title":"Meta-accuracy and relationship quality: weighing the costs and benefits of knowing what people really think about you","volume":"111","author":"Carlson","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1177\/1948550609356028","article-title":"Do we know the first impressions we make? Evidence for idiographic meta-accuracy and calibration of first impressions","volume":"1","author":"Carlson","year":"2010","journal-title":"Soc. Psychol. Personal. Sci."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"831","DOI":"10.1037\/a0024297","article-title":"Meta-insight: do people really know how others see them?","volume":"101","author":"Carlson","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"419","DOI":"10.1177\/1948550612461653","article-title":"Resolution of meta-accuracy: Should people trust their beliefs about how others see them","volume":"4","author":"Carlson","year":"2013","journal-title":"Social Psychological and Personality Science,"},{"key":"ref10","first-page":"126","volume-title":"The Production of Reality: Essays and Readings on Social Interaction","author":"Cooley","year":"1902"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"583","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.093008.100356","article-title":"The disaggregation of within-person and between-person effects in longitudinal models of change","volume":"62","author":"Curran","year":"2011","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Psychol."},{"key":"ref63","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1577","DOI":"10.2307\/256822","article-title":"On the use of polynomial regression equations as an alternative to difference scores in organizational research","volume":"36","author":"Edwards","year":"1993","journal-title":"Academy of Management Journal,"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1177\/001872675400700204","article-title":"Self-evaluation as a function of attraction to the group","volume":"7","author":"Festinger","year":"1954","journal-title":"Hum. Relat."},{"key":"ref13","first-page":"319","volume-title":"Advances in Experimental Social Psychology","author":"Griffin","year":"1991"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1576353","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1576353","article-title":"Mirroring minds: assessing the relative stability of self-appraisal and reflected appraisal in daily life","volume":"16","author":"G\u00fctges","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1037\/0000135-001","volume-title":"Cognitive Dissonance: Reexamining a Pivotal Theory in Psychology","author":"Harmon-Jones","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref16","volume-title":"Hmisc: Harrell Miscellaneous. R Package Version.","author":"Harrell","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-295X.94.3.319","article-title":"Self-discrepancy: a theory relating self and affect","volume":"94","author":"Higgins","year":"1987","journal-title":"Psychol. Rev."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"156","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.107.2.156","article-title":"Self-focused attention in clinical disorders: review and a conceptual model","volume":"107","author":"Ingram","year":"1990","journal-title":"Psychol. Bull."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"481","DOI":"10.1086\/223404","article-title":"A formalized theory of the self-concept","volume":"68","author":"Kinch","year":"1963","journal-title":"Am. J. Sociol."},{"key":"ref20","author":"Kleiman","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref21","volume-title":"Interpersonal Perception: A Theory and a Method of Research","author":"Laing","year":"1966"},{"key":"ref22","first-page":"160","volume-title":"Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology","author":"Leary","year":"2012"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"366","DOI":"10.1037\/per0000117","article-title":"The neurobiology of mentalizing","volume":"6","author":"Luyten","year":"2015","journal-title":"Personal. Disord. Theory Res. Treat."},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1027\/1614-2241.1.3.86","article-title":"Sufficient sample sizes for multilevel modeling","volume":"1","author":"Maas","year":"2005","journal-title":"Methodology"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"299","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.ps.38.020187.001503","article-title":"The dynamic self-concept: a social psychological perspective","volume":"38","author":"Markus","year":"1987","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Psychol."},{"key":"ref26","volume-title":"The social Dynamics of George H. Mead","author":"Natanson","year":"2012"},{"key":"ref27","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref28","volume-title":"RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref29","volume-title":"Psych: Procedures for Psychological, Psychometric, and Personality Research","author":"Revelle","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1186\/s40479-020-00140-8","article-title":"Self-esteem instability and affective instability in everyday life after remission from borderline personality disorder","volume":"7","author":"Santangelo","year":"2020","journal-title":"Borderline Pers. Disord. Emot. Dysregul."},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1429","DOI":"10.1007\/s10802-016-0249-2","article-title":"Ecological momentary assessment of affective and interpersonal instability in adolescent non-suicidal self-injury","volume":"45","author":"Santangelo","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Abnorm. Child Psychol."},{"key":"ref61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2229","DOI":"10.1007\/s10902-019-00181-z","article-title":"Sense of abundance is associated with momentary positive and negative affect: An experience sampling study of trait gratitude in daily life","volume":"21","author":"Simons","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Happiness Studies,"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"842","DOI":"10.1177\/0956797612439070","article-title":"Cognitive load disrupts implicit theory-of-mind processing","volume":"23","author":"Schneider","year":"2012","journal-title":"Psychol. Sci."},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"966","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.89.6.966","article-title":"How self-evaluations relate to being liked by others: integrating sociometer and attachment perspectives","volume":"89","author":"Srivastava","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.31234\/osf.io\/jfh59_v1","article-title":"The role of meta-perception in self-esteem and implications for mental health","author":"Stendel","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1177\/01902725251318211","article-title":"Identity nonverification, emotions, and cognitive and behavioral responses","volume":"88","author":"Stets","year":"2025","journal-title":"Soc. Psychol. Q."},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.4135\/9781446249222.n27","volume-title":"Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology","author":"Swann","year":"2012"},{"key":"ref37","first-page":"589","volume-title":"Handbook of Social Psychology","author":"Swann","year":"2010"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1024\/0170-1789.24.1.3","article-title":"Eine revidierte Fassung der deutschsprachigen Skala zum Selbstwertgef\u00fchl von Rosenberg. [A revised version of the German adaptation of Rosenberg\u2019s Self-Esteem Scale.]","volume":"24","author":"Von Collani","year":"2003","journal-title":"Z. Differ. Diagn. Psychol."},{"key":"ref39","first-page":"124","volume-title":"Handbook of Self and Identity","author":"Wallace","year":"2012"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcrimjus.2016.07.004","article-title":"Reflected appraisals and self-view in delinquency development: an analysis of retrospective accounts from members of the Racine birth cohorts","volume":"47","author":"Walters","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Crim. Justice"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"258","DOI":"10.1027\/1015-5759.23.4.258","article-title":"Assessing mood in daily life","volume":"23","author":"Wilhelm","year":"2007","journal-title":"Eur. J. Psychol. Assess."},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"687482","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2021.687482","article-title":"The influence of actual appraisals of peers on the self-appraisals of personality traits for Chinese late adolescents: the mediating effect of reflected appraisals","volume":"12","author":"Yue","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1814576\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T06:06:10Z","timestamp":1784095570000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1814576\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"references-count":45,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1814576"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1814576","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"article-number":"1814576"}}