ideal-self

Meaning: The ideal self is the part of self-concept that holds your hopes, goals and values, the person you would like to become. It is compared with the real self (actual self), the person you currently believe you are. In Carl Rogers' humanistic view, a close match is congruence and a large mismatch is incongruence. Incongruence is linked to anxiety and low self-esteem, and congruence supports self-actualization. Higgins' self-discrepancy theory adds a third self, the ought self, which holds the duties and obligations you think you should meet. It links an actual–ideal gap mainly to dejection-type emotions such as sadness and disappointment. It links an actual–ought gap mainly to agitation-type emotions such as fear and anxiety.

On the MCAT: A passage may describe a person who rates "who I am" against "who I want to be," or a case where goals feel out of reach. You predict that a larger gap goes with more distress and lower self-esteem. Narrowing the gap, by changing behavior or by revising the ideal, tends to improve well-being.

Common confusion: The ideal self is not the ought self. The ideal is what you wish to be, while the ought is what you feel obliged to be, often because of others' expectations. It is also not self-esteem (your overall evaluation of your worth) or self-efficacy (belief in your ability to succeed at a task). The gap between ideal and real self is one influence on self-esteem.