Some individuals are sensitive to how others perceive them, while others do not care. People who are high self-monitors continually view other individuals and what they do and how they respond to the actions and behavior of others. These people are therefore very self-conscious and want to look good; they will thus normally adapt to different social situations. To the contrary, low self-monitors are typically uncaring to how others see them and therefore follow their own inclinations.

Snyder (1974) identified the personality trait of self-monitoring or the tendency to monitor one's behavior to the given situation. Individuals who are high in self-monitoring are especially responsive to situational and interpersonal cues. Those, on the other hand, who are low in self-monitoring usually reflect their attitudes, dispositions, and values. Snyder, for example, found a relationship between self-monitoring and friendship. In one study, high and low self-monitors could choose between playing tennis with...
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