Facets of self-esteem at an implicit level? Investigation of implicit–explicit correlations and development of four IATs

Abstract

Correlations between implicit and explicit self-esteem have consistently been shown to be smaller than implicit–explicit correlations in other areas. As past research has not taken the facet structure of self-esteem into account, the present studies investigated area-specific implicit–explicit correlations. In Study 1, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the link between the Standard Self-Esteem Implicit Association Test and facets of explicit self-esteem. Across 11 samples, we found small but significant implicit–explicit correlations for the facets of social self-esteem and self-regard. In Study 2 (N=223), we developed new IATs to measure facets of implicit self-esteem. Confirmatory Factor Analyzes (CFAs) showed that a facet structure can also be distinguished at the implicit level. Concerning correlations between implicit and explicit self-esteem, a model allowing for implicit–explicit correlations only within but not across facets of self-esteem yielded the best model fit. Significant latent correlations between implicit and explicit self-esteem were found for the social self-esteem facet. Implications of these findings concerning the measurement of implicit self-esteem, congruency versus discrepancy between explicit and implicit self-esteem, and the relevance of the different facets are discussed.