Breaking the anxious cycle of self-criticism: Action orientation buffers the detrimental effects of a self-critical personality style

Abstract

Background: A self-critical personality style has been associated with psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Self-critical people also tend to strive more anxiously for basic motives such as affiliation, achievement, power, and autonomy. This anxious motive enactment mediates the relationship between self-critical style and psychological symptoms that may, in turn, reinforce self-criticism. The present study examines whether action orientation (i.e., a high self-regulatory ability) offers a way out of this anxious cycle and buffers the detrimental effects of self-criticism.

Methods: A coaching- and therapy-based sample (N = 479, age: 14-71 years) was collected by a private German institute as part of the assessment, research, and training program. Data were collected online in form of questionnaires. We performed moderated mediation analysis to test our hypothesis.

Results: The relationship between self-critical style and psychological symptoms was mediated by anxious motive enactment. Action orientation moderated the link between self-critical style and anxious motive enactment and buffered the effects of a self-critical style on both anxious motive enactment and psychological symptoms.

Limitations: The study used cross-sectional data and should be followed-up longitudinally. Our data come only from self-report and could be extended to non-reactive measures.

Conclusions: The detrimental effects of a self-critical personality style in terms of anxious motive enactment and psychological symptoms are more severe when self-regulation (action orientation) is low. The findings have practical implications for clinical work because action orientation is malleable. The ability to self-regulate affect is comparatively easier to train than to ease self-critical people's inherent affect sensitivity.

Keywords: Action versus state orientation; Affect sensitivity; Motive enactment; PSI theory; Personality Systems Interactions; Psychological symptoms; Self-critical personality; Self-regulation.