Private self-consciousness as a moderator of outcome expectancy and outcome attribution in influencing behavior and affect

This study examined the moderating effect of private self-consciousness in influencing behavioral and affective responses in an achievement situation. Predictions were derived from the Carver-Scheier (1981a) theory of self-directed attention. Fifty undergraduate females were pretested on the Self-Consciousness Scale and randomly assigned to four information conditions in a 2 x 2 (Outcome Expectancy x Outcome Attribution) factorial design. Private self-consciousness was modeled as a continuous variable to investigate its interaction with the treatments. With a confederate, subjects attempted four trials of a digit-cancellation task. Previously reported results for behavioral outcome were not replicated. However, the predicted three-way interaction did materialize for affective reactions to self (ps = .05 and .02) and to the confederate (p = .06). Results are discussed in terms of a reconciliation of the Carver-Scheier and Hull-Levy (1979) models of cognitive processes associated with private self-consciousness.