Who was i, who will i be? Comparing self-esteem memories and possible selves

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, Turkey

Approval Date: 2018

Student: CEREN ARSLAN

Supervisor: BAŞAK ŞAHİN ACAR

Abstract:

The current study aimed to explore the potential link between self-esteem memories, and possible selves of college students, in terms of content similarities. 99 college students from Middle East Technical University, Ankara were individually interviewed. The students received open-ended questions about their positive and negative self-esteem memories, and hoped-for and feared possible selves. Findings revealed that, regardless of the emotional tone, self-esteem memories mostly discussed interpersonal relationships, and possible selves, independent from emotional valence, mostly included achievement related themes. The only gender difference observed was, females provided significantly a higher number of communal themes both for their positive self-esteem memories, and hoped-for possible selves, compared to males did. The results were discussed in light of the current literature, and limitations and suggestions for future studies were presented.