Two ways of organising the self
People think of themselves in categories such as 'at work' or 'with friends'. In a compartmentalized structure, each category tends to be almost wholly positive or almost wholly negative. In an integrative structure, good and bad qualities are mixed together within each category.
What the structure predicts
The predicted effect depends on which categories matter most. If a person's important categories are mostly positive, compartmentalization can support higher self-esteem and better mood, because negative beliefs stay out of the way. If important categories are negative, that same structure can be damaging, and integration may buffer the effect.
Limits
Much of the evidence comes from self-descriptive card-sorting tasks and correlational designs. These make it hard to know whether structure shapes mood or mood shapes how people sort themselves. Longitudinal studies suggest that structure can shift under stress, and this may be one way people cope.
Further reading
- Showers, C. (1992). Compartmentalization of positive and negative self-knowledge: Keeping bad apples out of the bunch. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 1036-1049.