Dr Madoka Kumashiro

MICHELANGELO PHENOMENON: AFFIRMATION AND PERSONAL GROWTH/SELF-REGULATION/MOTIVATION

Relationship partners often play a crucial role in helping individuals achieve their most important goals, dreams, hopes, and aspirations. The "Michelangelo phenomenon" examines a process of how close partners shape each other toward each person's ideal self. According to the sculptor Michelangelo, "ideal forms" slumber within blocks of marble, waiting to be released; the sculptor's job is simply to chip away the excess stone in such a manner as to reveal the ideal form. Analogously, humans possess slumbering ideal forms – the ideal self to which each individual aspires. Comparable to blocks of stone, the ideal self often requires assistance in its efforts to emerge. This project examines the various ways in which affirmation by other people facilitate movement toward the ideal self, defined in part through measuring self-regulation and motivation to achieve important, ideal-relevant goals. 
Although research on Michelangelo phenomenon has traditionally examined close romantic relationships, the current project is open to examining other types of interdependent and influential relationships, such as friendships, mentoring relationships and leader-subordinate relationships, in a variety of settings, including organisational and educational settings.  Different mechanisms involving properties of individuals, relationships, and the situation are examined, including responsiveness, type of support provision, individual differences (e.g., self-concept clarity, self-respect, self-regulatory strategy styles, attachment styles), and corresponding/conflicting interests of the relationship partners.

Finding the 'right' balance between personal and relational concerns

In romantic relationships, personal concerns and relational concerns constitute two of the most powerful and central sources of human concerns; yet, it is often difficult to simultaneously gratify important needs in these two domains. It is inevitable that individuals will sometimes confront the choice between engaging in behaviors that promote personal well-being (e.g., working long hours, spending time with friends) versus relationship well-being (e.g., spending time together, supporting partner’s career aspirations). The personal-relational equilibrium model predicts that individuals are motivated to regulate their behavior to maintain equilibrium between the personal and relational domains. How individuals resolve such personal-relational conflicts – and the consequences of foregoing one class of concern for the other – may have important implications for both personal and relational well-being. This project examines consequences of failure to maintain equilibrium on personal and relational well-being, as well as factors that predict threshold for experiencing tension between the two domains.

Dr. Kumashiro can be contacted by email m.kumashiro (@gold.ac.uk).