What aspects of self do self-monitors monitor?

Abstract

This study explored the relationships among Snyder’s self-monitoring construct (and its component factors) and the three components of the Self-Consciousness Scale: public self-consciousness, private self-consciousness, and social anxiety. The best single predictor of self-monitoring tendencies was social anxiety, although the increment in R-square attributable to public self-consciousness was also significant. Those scoring highest on the Self-Monitoring Scale were in social anxiety and high in public self-consciousness, whereas the prototypic low self-monitoring individuals were in social anxiety, low in public self-consciousness, and high in private self-consciousness. The data also revealed that the three presumably independent self-monitoring subscales are highly intercorrelated, a finding that calls into question their status as distinct factors. © 1985, The psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.