Self-Evaluation: To Thine Own Self Be Good, To Thine Own Self Be Sure, To Thine Own Self Be True, and To Thine Own Self be Better

This chapter tries to accomplish three objectives. Firstly, it defines the four motives and provides a selective review of research that indicates their prevalence. Secondly, it addresses the issue of the operation of four motives together to regulate self-evaluation. This chapter presents a conceptual framework for understanding the interplay of the four motives. This framework serves as a useful heuristic for consideration of potential moderators that govern the expression of the four motives. Finally, this chapter discusses several problems related to the self-evaluation motives that one believes are in need of empirical attention. This chapter serves to justify the claim that four basic self-evaluation motives have been demonstrated convincingly. Finally, the speculations of this chapter are meant to remind researchers that empirical work to date has taken certain aspects of the self-evaluation process for granted or has neglected other important issues.