Dictionary

self-discrepancy en · NOUN

Etymology

From self- + discrepancy.

Meanings

1. The gap in an individual self-perception of what they actually are and what they ought to be.
   • That urge to reduce self-discrepancy can also come from feeling that you’re not as good as everyone else. Therefore, when you think there’s a special “deal” that you need to get before they do, you’ll rush ahead without stopping to consider how good a deal it actually is. Consider the possibility that you’re actually a better person than everyone else because you've restrained your impulses. 2017 December 18, Susan Krauss Whitbourne, “8 Ways Marketers Try to Target Your Inner Narcissist”, in huffpost.com:
   • But self-discrepancy in those of use with ADHD can be a straightforward chasm. The expectations we and others have of us are often wildly inconsistent with our reality; sometimes we can perform on a very high level, and sometimes we struggle with “simple” tasks. Our self-dicrepancy is also more profound because ADHD is an “unseen” disability that is not accommodated or even accounted for in most environments. 2024, Jessica McCabe, “How to Change the World”, in Elysia Liang, editor, How to ADHD, New York: Rodale Books, →ISBN, page 367:
   • Higgins in 1987 came up with the self-discrepancy theory to explain people’s motivation. This argues that people have three types of self: the “ideal” self, which is what we hope to become; the “ought” self, which is how we think we should behave to achieve the ideal self; and the actual self, which is the extent to which we actually possess these desired attributes. 2014 November 20, Dean Burnett, “Motivational posters: do they actually work?”, in The Guardian:

Forms