Shaping Self‐Concept: The Elusive Importance Effect

This study examined the hypothesis that the contributions of specific domains of self-concept to global self-concept are dependent upon their perceived importance. The Self Description Questionnaire III was administered to a sample of 506 male and female participants. Analysis of the data using Marsh's original individually weighted multiple regression model confirmed previous findings of no support for the importance hypothesis. In contrast, the results from alternative individually weighted regression models provided strong support for the importance hypothesis. These alternative models utilized idiographically determined as opposed to nomothetically determined relative importance. The data also showed evidence of strong discounting for certain domains, moderate discounting for other domains, and no discounting for still others. The findings challenge previous thinking on the limited role of the importance hypothesis.