Psychological Development and Education ›› 2024, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (2): 288-297.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2024.02.16

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Quiet Ego: A Growth and Balance Perspective

ZHANG Li, PAN Peilin, NIU Ziyu, MA Min   

  1. School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081
  • Published:2024-03-18

RichHTML

PDF (PC)

Abstract: Quiet ego is a kind of identity that neither pays too much attention to self nor others, integrating with others without losing self. It is beneficial to individual mental health, especially to improve the individual subjective well-being, self-rated physical health, and the reduction of materialism. By introducing the concept of quiet ego, the perspectives of growth and balance, the measurement, and the influence of quiet ego on mental health, it can be seen that quiet ego is essentially the balance and integration of self in space and time dimensions. So far, there have been increasing studies about quiet ego, but as a relatively new perspective, the conceptualization, the localization in China, the development and promotion of the quiet ego remains to be investigated in the future. Based on allostasis, we assume that quiet ego involves both stability and flexibility in time and space.

Key words: quiet ego, mental health, balance, growth, promotion

CLC Number: 

  • B844
Andersen, S. M., & Chen, S. (2002). The relational self:An interpersonal social-cognitive theory.Psychological Review, 109(4), 619-645.
Aubin, E., & Skerven, K. (2008). Homonegativity and the lesbian self:Portraits of the ego as either transcender or occluder of negative social stereotypes. In H. A. Wayment & J. J. Bauer (Eds.), Transcending self-interest:Psychological explorations of the quiet ego (pp. 211-220). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.
Barger, S. D.,Cribbet, M. R., & Muldoon, M. F. (2016). Participant-reported health status predicts cardiovascular and all-cause mortality independent of established and nontraditional biomarkers:Evidence from a representative US sample. Journal of the American Heart Association, 5(9), Article e0034741. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.116.003741
Batson, C. D., Early, S., & Salvarani, G. (1997). Perspective taking:Imagining how another feels versus imaging how you would feel. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(7), 751-758.
Becht, A. I., Nelemans, S. A., Branje, S., Vollebergh, W., & Meeus, W. (2021). Daily identity dynamics in adolescence shaping identity in emerging adulthood:An 11-year longitudinal study on continuity in development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(8), 1616-1633.
Bauer, J. J. (2008). How the ego quiets as it grows:Ego development, growth stories, and eudaimonic personality development. In H. A. Wayment, & J. J. Bauer (Eds.), Transcending self-interest:Psychological explorations of the quiet ego (pp.199-210). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.
Bauer, J. J., McAdams, D. P., & Sakaeda, A. R. (2005). Interpreting the good life:Growth memories in the lives of mature, happy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(1), 203-217.
Bauer, J. J., & Wayment, H. A. (2008). The psychology of the quiet ego. In H. A. Wayment, & J. J. Bauer (Eds.), Transcending self-interest:Psychological explorations of the quiet ego (pp.7-19). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.
Bauer, M. A.,Wilkie, J. E. B., Kim, J. K., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2012). Cuing consumerism:Situational materialism undermines personal and social well-being. Psychological Science, 23(5), 517-523.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present:Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822-848.
Burroughs, J. E., & Rindfleisch, A. (2002). Materialism and well-being:A conflicting values perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(3), 348-370.
Cambell, W. K., & Buffardi, L. E. (2008). The lure of the noisy ego:Narcissism as a social trap. In H.A. Wayment, & J. J. Bauer (Eds.), Transcending self-interest:Psychological explorations of the quiet ego (pp. 23-32). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.
Chandler, M.,Lalonde, C. E., Sokol, B. W., & Hallett, D. (2003). Personal persistence, identity development, and suicide:A study of native and non-native North American adolescents. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 68(2), 907-913.
Cieciuch, J., & Strus, W. (2017). Two-factor model of personality. In V. Zeigler-Hill, & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences (pp. 1-17). Cham:Springer International Publishing AG.
Collier, A. F., & von-Károlyi, C. (2014). Rejuvenation in the "making":Lingering mood repair in textile handcrafters. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 8(4), 475-485.
Collier, A. F., & Wayment, H. A. (2018). Psychological benefits of the "maker" or do-it-yourself movement in young adults:A pathway towards subjective well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19(4), 1217-1239.
Collier, A. F., & Wayment, H. A. (2019). Enhancing and explaining art-making for mood-repair:The benefits of positive growth-oriented instructions and quiet ego contemplation. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 15(2),363-376
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits:Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268.
DeYoung, C. G., Peterson, J. B., & Higgins, D. M. (2002). Higherorder factors of the Big Five predict conformity:Are there neuroses of health? Personality and Individual Differences, 33(4), 533-552.
Digman, J. M. (1997). Higher-order factors of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(6), 1246-1256.
Donnelly, G. E.,Ksendzova, M., Howell, R. T., Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (2016). Buying to blunt negative feelings:Materialistic escape from the self. Review of General Psychology, 20(3), 272-316.
Garoarsdottir, R. B., Jankovic, J. & Dittmar, H. (2008). Is this as good as it gets? Materialistic values and well-being. In Dittmar, H. (Ed.), Consumer culture, identity and well-being (pp. 71-94). Hove and New York:Psychology Press.
Gauthier, B., & Wassenhove, V. V. (2016). Cognitive mapping in mental time travel and mental space navigation. Cognition, 154, 55-68.
Gebauer, J. E., Nehrlich, A. D., Stahlberg, D., Sedikides C., Hackenschmidt, A., Schick, D., … Mander, J. (2018). Mind-body practices and the self:Yoga and meditation do not quiet the ego but instead boost self-enhancement. Psychological Science, 29(8), 1299-1308.
Granic, I., Morita, H., & Scholten, H. (2020). Beyond screen time:Identity development in the digital age. Psychological Inquiry, 31, 195-223.
Guo, S., Ning, X., & Qin, T. (2020). The Interaction effect of traditional Chinese culture and ego identity exploration on the flourishing of rural Chinese children. Children and Youth Services Review, 118(4), Article 105341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105 341
Hamamura, T., & Xu, Y. (2015). Changes in Chinese culture as examined through changes in personal pronoun usage. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46(7), 930-941.
Jack, D. C. (1991). Silencing the self:Women and depression. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press.
James, W. (1891). The Principles of Psychology (Vol.1). Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press.
Karanika, K., & Hogg, M., K. (2016). Being kind to ourselves:Self-compassion, coping and consumption. Journal of Business Research, 69, 760-769.
Kernis, M. H., & Heppner, W. L. (2008). Individual differences in quiet ego functioning:Authenticity, mindfulness, and secure self-esteem. In H. A. Wayment, & J. J. Bauer (Eds.), Transcending self-interest:Psychological explorations of the quiet ego. Decade of behavior (pp. 85-93). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.
Klimstra, T. A., & Schwab, J. R. (2021). Time and Identity:An evaluation of existing empirical research, conceptual challenges, and methodological opportunities. Identity, 21(4), 275-288.
Liu, G., Isbell, L. M., & Leidner, B. (2021). Quiet ego and subjective well-being:The role of emotional intelligence and mindfulness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(6), 2599-2619.
Lutz-Zois, C. J., Dixon, L. J., Smidt, A. M., Goodnight, J. A., Gordon, C. L., & Ridings, L. E. (2013). An examination of gender differences in the construct validity of the silencing the self scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(1), 35-40.
Marcia, J. E. (1966).Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3, 551-558.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2003). Culture, self, and the reality of the social. Psychological Inquiry, 14(3-4), 277-283.
Maslow, A. H. (1968).Toward a psychology of being. New York:Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Nix, G. A., Ryan, R. M., Manly, J. B., & Deci, E. L. (1999). Revitalization through self-regulation:The effects of autonomous and controlled motivation on happiness and vitality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(3), 266-284.
Parfit, D. (1971). Personal identity. Philosophical Review, 80(1), 3-27.
Rogers, C. R. (1961).On becoming a person. Boston:Houghton Mifflin.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials:A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141-166.
Schwartz, S. J. (2001). The evolution ofEriksonian and neo-Eriksonian identity theory and research:A review and integration. Identity:An International Journal of Theory and Research, 1, 7-58.
Schacter, D. L., & Madore, K. P. (2016). Remembering the past and imagining the future:Identifying and enhancing the contribution of episodic memory. Memory Studies, 9(3), 245-255.
Sedikides, C., & Brewer, M. B. (2002). Individual, relational and collective self:Partners, opponents, or strangers? In, C. Sedikides, & M. B. Brewer (Eds.), Individual Self, Relational Self, Collective Self. New York, NY, US:Psychology Press.
Sterling, P., & Eyer, J. (1988). Allostasis:A new paradigm to explain arousal pathology. In S. Fisher, & J. Reason (Eds.), Handbook of life stress, cognition and health (pp.629-649). Chichester, England:Wiley.
Tang, Y. (2015). Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity and Chinese culture. Heidelberg:Springer.
Thayer, R. E. (1996). The origin of everyday moods:Managing energy, tension, and stress. New York:Oxford University Press.
Triandis, H. C., & Gelfand, M. J. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118-128.
Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-level theory of psychological distance. Psychological Review, 117(2), 440-463.
Topolewska-Siedzik, E., & Cieciuch, J. (2018). Trajectories of identity formation modes and their personality context in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(2), 775-792.
Vignoles, V. L., Schwartz, S. J., & Luyckx, K. (2011). Introduction:Toward an integrative view of identity. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 1-27). New York, NY:Springer
Watson, D. C. (2018). Self-compassion, the 'quiet ego' and materialism. Heliyon, 4(10), Article e00883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00883
Wayment, H. A., Al-Kire, R., & Brookshire, K. (2019). Challenged and changed:Quiet ego and posttraumatic growth in mothers raising children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism:The International Journal of Research and Practice, 23(3), 607-618.
Wayment, H. A., & Bauer, J. J. (2017). The quiet ego:Motives for self-other balance and growth in relation to well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19, 881-896.
Wayment, H. A., Bauer, J. J., & Sylaska, K. (2015). The quiet ego scale:Measuring the compassionate self-identity. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(4), 999-1033.
Wayment, H.A., Collier, A. F., Birkett, M., Traustadóttir, T., & Till, R. E. (2015). Brief quiet ego contemplation reduces oxidative stress and mind-wandering. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 01481. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01481
Wayment, H. A., Huffman, A.H., & Eiler, B. A. (2019). A brief "quiet ego" workplace intervention to reduce compassion fatigue and improve health in hospital healthcare workers. Applied Nursing Research, 49, 80-85.
Wayment, H.A., Huffman, A.H., & Irving, L.H. (2018). Self-rated health among unemployed adults:The role of quiet ego, self-compassion, and post-traumatic growth. Occupational Health Science, 2(3), 247-267.
Wayment H. A., West T. N., & Craddock E. B. (2016). Compassionate values as a resource during the transition to college:Quiet ego, compassionate goals, and self-compassion. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 28(2), 93-114.
Wayment, H. A., Wiist, B., Sullivan, B. M., & Warren, M.A. (2011). Doing and being:Mindfulness, health, and quiet ego characteristics among buddhist practitioners. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(4), 575-589.
Welch-Ross, M. (2001). Personalizing the temporally extended self:Evaluative self-awareness and the development of autobiographical memory. In C. Moore, & K. Lemmon (Eds.), The self in time:Developmental perspectives (pp.97-120). Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wirtz, D., & Chiu, C. (2008). Perspectives on the self in the east and the west:Searching for the quiet ego. In H. A. Wayment, & J. J. Bauer (Eds.), Transcending self-interest:Psychological explorations of the quiet ego (pp. 149-158). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.
埃里克森. (2015). 同一性:青少年与危机 (孙名之 译). 北京:中央编译出版社.
陈莹. (2008). 时间自我:过去我, 现在我和将来我的一致与不一致(博士学位论文). 西南大学, 重庆.
韩世辉, 张逸凡. (2012). 自我概念心理表征的文化神经科学研究. 心理科学进展, 20(5), 633-640.
坎农. (1982). 躯体的智慧 (范岳年, 魏有仁 译). 北京:商务印书馆.
李抗, 汪凤炎. (2019). 探寻中国人的多重互依自我:理论、挑战与整合. 心理科学, 42(1), 245-250.
刘云芝, 杨紫嫣, 王娱琦, 陈鋆, 蔡华俭. (2018). 未来自我连续性及其对个体心理和行为的影响. 心理科学进展, 26(12), 2161-2169.
苏红, 任孝鹏, 陆柯雯, 张慧. (2016). 人名演变与时代变迁. 青年研究, 8(3), 31-38.
孙俊芳, 辛自强, 包呼格吉乐图, 刘敏, 岳衡. (2021). 幸福感的稳态与跃迁:一个新的整合视角. 心理科学进展, 29(3), 481-491.
杨宜音. (2015). 多元混融的新型自我:全球化时代的自我构念. 中国社会心理学评论, 1, 97-116.
詹姆斯. (2013). 心理学原理. 北京:北京大学出版社.
张铭. (2015). 稳态应激——变化的稳态. 生理科学进展, 46(4), 269-272.
张舒. (2017). 安静自我量表的信效度检验及初步应用(硕士学位论文). 郑州大学.
[1] WANG Yimeng, WANG Zhendong, WANG Fengyan. Solution to “Being in the Game”——A Mindfulness Intervention Study on Wisdom: The Role of Personal Growth Initiative and Reflection [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(1): 142-152.
[2] WANG Lijuan, MA Jialin. Imagery Encoding in Action Memory of Art Students and Non-art Students [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(4): 457-464.
[3] PENG Haiyun, SHENG Liang, WANG Jinrui, ZHOU Ziyan, XIN Sufei. Changes of Adolescents’ Loneliness in China (2001~2019): The Perspective of Cross-temporal Meta-analysis [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(3): 449-456.
[4] XU Fuming, HUANG Long. The Influence of Poverty on Children's Mental Health and Its Internal Mechanism [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(1): 132-139.
[5] WANG Yue, ZHANG Bao, ZHOU Hui. Mindful Awareness and Mental Health among Primary and Middle School Students: The Cross-time Mediating Effect of Emotion Regulation and Positive Appraisal [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(5): 692-702.
[6] HE Anming, WAN Jiaojiao, HUI Qiuping. The Relationship between Mobile Phone Dependence and Mental Health in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Academic Burnout and the Moderating Role of Coping Style [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(3): 391-398.
[7] ZHAO Yafei, ZHAI Xiangping, ZHANG Guangxu, LIANG Xin, XIN Sufei. The Relationship between Growth Mindset and Grit: Serial Mediation Effects of the Future Time Perspective and Achievement Motivation [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(2): 216-222.
[8] WANG Xu, LIU Yanling, LIN Jie, LIU Chuanxing, WEI Lingzhen, QIU Hanyu. The Effect of Parent-child Relationship on Mental Health of Middle School Students: The Chain Mediating Role of Social Support and Psychological Suzhi [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(2): 263-271.
[9] MA Li, WANG Tao. Effects of Mental Health of Disabled Children on Parenting Stress: A Moderated Mediation Model [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(1): 126-133.
[10] WU Peng, ZHANG Qi, WANGYANG Chunzi. The Relationship between Parental Style and Cyber Victimization of Junior High School Students: A Longitudinal Study [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(5): 719-726.
[11] TANG Huiyi, CHEN Qian, WU Junhua. The Relationship between College Student's Social Development Level and Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia and the Gender Difference [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(5): 735-742.
[12] ZHOU Li, GENG Jingyu, WANG Xingchao, LEI Li. The Role of Basic Needs in the Relationship between Supervisor-induced Ostracism and Mental Health among Postgraduate Students [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(2): 222-229.
[13] ZHANG Hao, MA Tianyu, WANG Yuan, LI Caina. Trajectory of Friendship Quality and Loneliness in Junior High School Students: A Multivariate Growth Model Analysis [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(2): 230-239.
[14] WANG Yanhong, YE Liyuan, LI Fugui, ZHOU Mingjie. The Effect of Type D Personality on College Freshmen's Mental Health: A Three-wave Moderated Mediation Analysis [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(1): 120-127.
[15] CHENG Huabin, LIU Xia, LI Yimin, LI Yongxin. Is Parenting a Happy Experience? Review on Parental Burnout [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(1): 146-152.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited
  Shared   
  Discussed   
No Suggested Reading articles found!
Copyright 2018 © Editorial office of Psychological Development and Education
Supported by Beijing Magtech Co.Ltd