SelfComplexity, Daily Events, and Perceived Quality of Life

Recent research has demonstrated that self-cognitions can play an important role in physical and emotional well-being. One important aspect of self-cognition concerns the complexity of self-representations. This study tested the hypothesis that self-complexity, as assessed by Linville's self-trait sorting task, would moderate the effects of positive and negative daily events on the perceived quality of life in undergraduate subjects (N=163). It was expected that as self-complexity increased the positive effect of positive daily events and the negative effect of negative daily events on perceived quality of life would decrease. Results revealed that although both positive and negative daily events influenced perceived quality of life scores, these scores were not influenced by the interaction between self-complexity and daily events. These findings suggest that, when major life events occur, high self-complexity short-circuits the spread of negative affect through the self-structure, but, on a daily basis, it creates a demand to juggle multiple self-aspects. Future research should investigate whether self-complexity is more likely to interact with major, as opposed to daily, events. (ABL)