Self-concept can have motivational properties. There are four types of motives in particular that are most related to self-concept:^[44]


Some of these motives may be more prominent depending on the situation. In Western societies, the most automatic is the self-enhancement motive, and may be dominant in some situations where motives contradict one another.^[44] For example, the self-enhancement motive may contradict and dominate the self-assessment motive if one seeks out inaccurate compliments rather than honest feedback. Additionally, self-concept can motivate behavior because people tend to act in ways that reaffirm their self-concept,^[45] which is consistent with the idea of the self-verification motive. In particular, if people perceive the self a certain way and receive feedback contrary to this perception, a tension is produced that motivates them to reestablish consistency between environmental feedback and self-concept.^[45] For example, if someone believes herself to be outgoing, but someone tells her she is shy, she may be motivated to avoid that person or the environment in which she met that person because it is inconsistent with her self-concept of being an outgoing person. Further, another major motivational property of self-concept comes from the desire to eliminate the discrepancy between one's current self-concept and his or her ideal possible self.^[45] This is parallel with the idea of the self-improvement motive. For example, if one's current self-concept is that she is a novice at piano playing, though she wants to become a concert pianist, this discrepancy will generate motivation to engage in behaviors (like practicing playing piano) that will bring her closer to her ideal possible self (being a concert pianist).