Individual differences in self-discrepancies and emotional experience: Do distinct discrepancies predict distinct emotions?

Self-Discrepancy Theory (SDT) proposes that ideal-self discrepancies predict dejection/depression and ought-self discrepancies predict agitation/anxiety, but individual differences research has rarely found clear support for this pattern. After considering methodological and statistical reasons for these mixed findings, the present research tested SDT’s predictions using a multivariate structural equation model with latent predictors and outcomes (n = 245 college students). SDT was broadly but incompletely supported: ought discrepancies uniquely predicted anxious affect, but both ideal and ought discrepancies predicted depressed affect.