Abstract
Linville shows that self-complexity — more, and more independent, self-aspects — can buffer stress-related illness and depression: a blow in one facet need not collapse the whole self.
Linville, P. W. (1987). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(4), 663–676. DOI
Key findings
- Facet buffer — Differentiable self-aspects absorb a hit in one role without shutting the others down.
- Independence matters — Overlapping facets transmit the blow; separable facets contain it.
Limits
Cite-anchor shelf — closed access; Crossref metadata confirmed, no abstract on the record. One-lab tradition — not a clinical parts protocol and not a license to treat every mood as a module.
Application
When you hear a global I shut the engine down, pull the facets into space before you replace the whole machine (Identity decoupling).