Citation

McConnell AR, Strain LM, Brown CM, Rydell RJ. Person. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 2009; 35(7): 823-835.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0146167209334785

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article examines the spillover amplification hypothesis, which proposes that because people lower in self-complexity experience stronger responses to life events they will show relatively better well-being in the presence of positive factors (e.g., better social support) and relatively poorer well-being in the presence of negative factors (e.g., a history of negative experiences). Across three studies, support for spillover amplification was found. Specifically, people lower in self-complexity revealed greater self-esteem, less depression, and fewer illnesses when they had greater social support (Study 1) and more desirable personality characteristics (Study 2), yet they had poorer well-being if they had a history of many negative life events (Study 3). Thus, how one's self-concept is represented in memory moderates the relationship between many well-established factors and well-being.