The Golden Section and Structure of Self-Concepts

Abstract

It was hypothesized that, when subjects form impressions of a person whom they have just met for the first time, the mean proportion of perceived differences between self and other will be approximately 0.368. Undergraduates, 15 women and 15 men, were asked to categorize a new acquaintance, following a brief conversation with him, on 22 bipolar dimensions elicited from themselves. They also categorized themselves on the same dimensions. The mean proportion of judgments of unlike-self. of the new acquaintance was 0.364, which is quite close to the predicted value and consistent with the results of related experiments. Perhaps differences between self and others define the contours of the self as “figure” against a diffuse background of similarities.