Language Teaching Research Quarterly

Drawing on Markus and Nurius’s (1986) theory of possible selves and Higgins’s (1987) theory of self-discrepancies, Dörnyei (2005, 2009) developed the L2 self-guide, a construct explaining the generation of motivation for language learning. Because Dörnyei focused on convergences in the source theories, L2MSS researchers have come to regard possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986) and self-guides (Higgins, 1987) as differing manifestations of a common underlying phenomenon. However, when constructs are similar, but not identical, assumptions of equivalence can lead to theoretical and methodological confusion (Lawson & Robins, 2021). Drawing on observations by MacIntyre (2022; MacIntyre et al., 2009a, 2009b) in critical engagements with Dörnyei’s scholarship, this article addresses disparities in the source construct conceptualizations. It considers the implications that follow when sibling constructs are viewed as identical, and when possible selves and self-guides are conjoined in a unitary construct. Together, conceptual divergencies in the source constructs and concerns about the validity of L2MSS scales (Al-Hoorie, et al., 2024a, 2024b) mean that the L2 self-guide should be disassembled. Ultimately, it is only if possible selves and self-guides are understood and investigated as discrete constructs that the value they may have for L2 motivation research can be fully assessed.