Low Self-Concept Clarity Leads to Self-Instrumentalization: The Mediating Effect of Anxiety

Self-instrumentalization or the perception of oneself as a functional tool, represents a psychological phenomenon that is frequently observed yet against the prohibition on using people merely as means. In our research, we hypothesized that low self-concept clarity leads to self-instrumentalization via anxiety, and that self-instrumentalization in turn reduces anxiety caused by low self-concept clarity. Our investigation consisted of five mixed-methods studies, including one large-scale survey and four experimental studies, all of which provided converging evidence supporting our hypotheses. Specifically, low self-concept clarity was either associated with (Study 1) or led to (Studies 2 & 3) self-instrumentalization, and anxiety was identified as a key factor mediating this relationship (Studies 3 & 4). Furthermore, we discovered that self-instrumentalization mitigates anxiety stemming from low self-concept clarity (Study 5). We posited that self-instrumentalization is a coping strategy for low self-concept clarity. Implications were discussed.