Self-Monitoring and Relationships

Self-monitoring is a theory of the regulation and control of expressive behaviors and image projection. Certain individuals, high self-monitors, out of a concern for cultivating images and status, are particularly attuned to contextual and social cues. The self-presentational behavior of high self-monitors is flexible and tailored to their situations. A typical high self-monitor would endorse [Page 1431]the following item from the Self-Monitoring Scale: “In different situations and with different people, I often act like very different persons.” In contrast, low self-monitors are less responsive to social context and possess smaller repertoires of self-presentational skills. Low self-monitors value consistency between expressive behaviors and inner attitudes and emotions. A typical low self-monitor would endorse the item, “I have trouble changing my behavior to suit different people and different situations.” Self-monitoring propensities are related to a wide range of behaviors and life domains, including control of emotional expression, consistency between attitudes and behaviors, organizational behavior, and as discussed in this entry, interpersonal relationships. This entry reviews the general concept of self-monitoring and discusses its relevance to human relationships.

Self-monitoring orientations have profound implications for interpersonal relationships. Just as high self-monitors focus on images and appearances in their enactment of expressive behaviors, they also focus on external qualities of friends and romantic partners, a focus which facilitates the creation of social worlds that allow them to play many roles with complementary casts of characters. Similarly, low self-monitors are not only attuned to their own dispositions and attitudes but are also attuned to internal qualities of others, a sensitivity which facilitates the creation of social worlds that allow them to be themselves.