Self-consciousness and the complexity of private and public aspects of identity

Complexity of private and public aspects of the self was investigated as a function of private and public self-consciousness. Using a sorting task to assess self-complexity, it was found that private self-consciousness was associated with greater complexity of private aspects but not public aspects of the self, whereas public self-consciousness was associated with greater complexity of public aspects but not private aspects of the self. These findings complement and extend previous research on the articulation of self-schemas as a function of self-consciousness.