Abstract
The present study made a distinction between latent self (personality traits) and manifest self (surface behaviors) in a single interpersonal situation. The major focus was on the psychological process where a person, in interacting with his or her interaction partner, transforms his or her latent mode of self into its manifest mode. The unit of inquiry consisted of dyadic social relationship between supervisors and subordinates. The results showed that those subordinates who are sensitive to social appropriateness (high self-monitors), interact with highly authoritarian supervisors (strong situations), and perceive positive incentives for having or continuing to maintain good interpersonal relations with their supervisors (high expectancy), modified their latent traits to fit the social situations as defined by their supervisors. The strengths and weaknesses of the study and future research directions are discussed.
