Integration and expression: The complementary functions of self‐reflection

No construct is more central to personality than the person's self‐concept. Higher‐order domains of self‐assessment, including self‐perceived skills, traits, and values, are expressed in action and provide frames of reference for deciding whether to accept or reject personally relevant social feedback. To perform these functions in a consistent manner, the domains of self‐concept need to achieve coherence, with the components of each domain sufficiently integrated to provide an unequivocal platform for decision making and behavior. This depiction implies two functions of self‐reflection—one focused on forging coherence in self‐concept and the other focusing on the expression of domains that have achieved coherence. We refer to these two modes of self‐reflection, respectively, as integration and expression. Both modes can be understood in terms of a spotlight of attention that focuses on different regions of the self‐structure. In the integration mode, the spotlight converges on incoherent regions of self‐concept to eliminate inconsistencies among the lower‐level components. In the expression mode, the spotlight converges on coherent regions of self‐concept that can provide an unequivocal platform for decision making and effective action. Using agent‐based modeling, we illustrate the operation of both modes, discuss the conditions that differentially activate them, and develop their implications for personality dynamics.