This volume pulls together research on several aspects of the self. One set of chapters deals with the importance of building a self based on authenticity and "Who I really am."; a second group deals with the ways in which we defend views of the self as positive and powerful; a third group is concerned with multiple aspects of self regulation. Each of the chapters is a well-written, non-technical description of an important, currently active research program.

About the Editors
Contributors
Introduction: Building, defending and regulating the self: An overview
Abraham Tesser, Joanne V. Wood and DiederikA. Stapel
I. Building the self: The Ideal, theauthentic and the open self
Chapter 1: The Michelangelo Phenomenon in Close Relationships
CarylE. Rusbult, Madoka Kumashiro, Shevaun L. Stocker, andScott T. Wolf
Chapter 2: From Thought and Experience to Behavior and Interpersonal Relationships: A Multicomponent Conceptualization of Authenticity
Michael H. Kernis and Brian M. Goldman
Chapter 3: Transportation into Narrative Worlds: Implications for the Self
Melanie C. Green
Chapter 4: Conflict and Habit: A Social Cognitive neuroscience Approach to the Self
Matthew D. Lieberman and Naomi I.Eisenberger
II. Defending the self
Chapter 5: Ideal Agency: The Perception of Self as an Origin of Action
Jesse Preston and Daniel M. Wegner
Chapter 6: Reflections in Troubled Waters: Narcissism and the Vicissitudes of an Interpersonally Contextualized Self
Frederick Rhodewalt and CarolynC. Morf
Chapter 7: Nagging Doubts and a Glimmer of Hope: The Role of Implicit Self-Esteem in Self-Image Maintenance
Steven J. Spencer, ChristianH. Jordan, Christine E.R. Logel, and Mark P.Zanna
III. Regulating the self
Chapter 8: Approach Avoidance Motivation and Self-Concept Evaluation
Andrew J. Elliot and Rachel R. Mapes
Chapter 9: Self Conscious Emotion and Self-Regulation
Dacher Keltner and Jennifer S. Beer
Chapter 10: On the Hidden Benefits of State Orientation: Can People Prosper without Efficient Affect Regulation Skills?
Sander L. Koole, Julius Kuhl, NilsJostmann, and Kathleen D. Vohs
Chapter 11: The Roles of the Self in Priming-to-Behavior Effects.
S.Christian Wheeler, Kenneth G. DeMarree, and Richard E.Petty
Author Index
Subject Index

Abraham Tesser, Research Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia, is a former Editor of the Journalof Personality and Social Psychology and a former President of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Recognition of his research on self-evaluation and on thought and ruminative processes includes the Donald T. Campbell Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity.
After completing her Ph.D. at UCLA, Joanne Wood has held faculty positions at SUNY-Stony Brook and at the University of Waterloo. She has served as an associate editor of Personality and SocialPsychology Bulletin and on the editorial boards for Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal ofExperimental Social Psychology, Personality and SocialPsychology Bulletin, and Self and Identity. Wood's publications concern affect regulation, social comparison, and mechanisms underlying the maintenance of self-esteem.
Diederik Stapel, Professor at the University of Groningen, is a former Associate Editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology and has served on the editorial boards of Self and Identity, EuropeanJournal of Social Psychology, and Personality and SocialPsychology Bulletin. For his research on knowledge accessibility effects he earned the Jos Jaspars Award of the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology. Stapel's publications concern person perception, unconscious emotional responses, and social comparison.