Self-certainty: Parallels to Attitude Certainty

The purpose of this article is to apply theory and research on attitude certainty to the\nstudy of the self. Our main goal is to show that research on attitudes, and in particular\nattitude certainty, can provide useful insights into self-related phenomena. By considering\nresearch on attitudes, we may be able to re-interpret previous self-related findings, make\nnew predictions regarding the self, and increase the precision with which we can make\nexisting predictions. Furthermore, this framework can offer new ideas for research on\nattitudes as well and foster integration between the areas. In this paper, we will 1) outline\nsome fundamental parallels between attitudes and self research, 2) discuss the specific\nconstruct of self-certainty, including both the consequences and the origins of certainty,\nusing research on attitude certainty as our organizing framework, and 3) suggest new\nideas that this analysis can produce.