Implicit Self-esteem Research Articles

Psychological and Biological Validation of a Novel Digital Social Peer Evaluation Experiment (digi-SPEE).

Negative social evaluation is associated with psychopathology. Given the frequency of evaluation through increasingly prevalent virtual social networks, increased understanding of the effects of this social evaluation is urgently required. A new digital social peer evaluation experiment (digi-SPEE) was developed to mimic everyday online social interactions between peers. Participants received mildly negative feedback on their appearance, intelligence, and congeniality. Two hundred and forty-one young people [58.9% female, aged 18.9 years (15 to 34)] from an ongoing novel general population twin study participated in this study. Positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), implicit self-esteem, and cortisol were assessed before and after exposure to the social evaluation experiment. The social evaluation experiment decreased PA (B=-5.25, p<.001) and implicit self-esteem (B=-.19; p<.001), whereas it increased NA (B=5.99; p<.001) and cortisol levels (B=.07; p<.001). Females (PA: B=-7.62; p<.001; NA: B=8.28; p<.001) and participants with higher levels of general psychological distress (PA: B=-.04, p=.035; NA: B=.06; p=.028) showed stronger affective responses. Stressor-induced cortisol increase was stronger in adolescents under the age of 18 than in participants 18 years and older (B=-.06, p=.002). The digi-SPEE represents a social evaluation stressor that elicits biological and implicit and explicit mental changes that are relevant to mechanisms of psychopathology.

On the context dependency of implicit self-esteem in social anxiety disorder

Background and objectivesCognitive models assume that negative self-evaluations are automatically activated in individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) during social situations, increasing their individual level of anxiety. This study examined automatic self-evaluations (i.e., implicit self-esteem) and state anxiety in a group of individuals with SAD (n = 45) and a non-clinical comparison group (NC; n = 46). MethodsParticipants were randomly assigned to either a speech condition with social threat induction (giving an impromptu speech) or to a no-speech condition without social threat induction. We measured implicit self-esteem with an Implicit Association Test (IAT). ResultsImplicit self-esteem differed significantly between SAD and NC groups under the speech condition but not under the no-speech condition. The SAD group showed lower implicit self-esteem than the NC group under the speech-condition. State anxiety was significantly higher under the speech condition than under the no-speech condition in the SAD group but not in the NC group. Mediation analyses supported the idea that for the SAD group, the effect of experimental condition on state anxiety was mediated by implicit self-esteem. LimitationsThe causal relation between implicit self-esteem and state anxiety could not be determined. ConclusionThe findings corroborate hypotheses derived from cognitive models of SAD: Automatic self-evaluations were negatively biased in individuals with SAD facing social threat and showed an inverse relationship to levels of state anxiety. However, automatic self-evaluations in individuals with SAD can be unbiased (similar to NC) in situations without social threat.

The effect of social exclusion on state paranoia and explicit and implicit self-esteem in a non-clinical sample

Background and objectivesThe relationship between self-esteem and paranoia may be influenced by social stress. This study aimed to replicate previous research on the impact ofsocial exclusion on paranoia and self-esteem in a non-clinical sample and to extend this work by examining the effect of exclusion on self-esteem at the ‘implicit’ level. MethodsNon-clinical participants (N = 85) were randomly allocated to the Inclusion or Exclusion condition of a virtual ball-toss game (‘Cyberball’). They completed self-reportmeasures of state paranoia and self-esteem, and two implicit measures of self-esteem – theImplicit Association Task (IAT) and Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) –prior to and after exposure to Cyberball. ResultsSocial exclusion increased state paranoia. This effect was moderated by distress associated with trait paranoia. Exclusion was also associated with decreased self-reported self-esteem, as well as reduced implicit self-esteem on the IAT. Changes in self-reported self-esteem were associated with state paranoia at post-Cyberball. The IRAP indicated that reductions in implicit self-esteem may be due to increases in ‘Me-Negative’ and ‘Others-Positive’ biases (rather than reductions in ‘Me-Positive’ bias). LimitationsThe current study involved a non-clinical sample and so findings cannot be generalized to clinical paranoia. ConclusionsThese findings are consistent with previous evidence that paranoia is associated with negative self-evaluations, whereas positive self-evaluations can persist in paranoia. They also provide support for the suggestion that investigations of self-esteem in paranoia should extend beyond global self-esteem and might benefit from a distinction between positive and negative components.

Stability of Implicit Self-Esteem Among Internetaddicted College Students in China

We explored the stability of, and between-group differences in, the implicit self-esteem of Internet-addicted and Internet-nonaddicted college students in China. Internet addiction was assessed using Young's Internet Addiction Scale and the participants comprised 52 Internet addicts (26 men, 26 women) and 52 Internet nonaddicts (26 men, 26 women). We then used the Implicit Association Test to assess levels of implicit self-esteem, employing a 2 (addiction, nonaddiction) × 2 (positive feedback, negative feedback) between-subjects factorial design. The pretest implicit self-esteem level of the Internet-addicted group was significantly higher than that of the control group; however, the implicit self-esteem levels of both groups were unstable. Positive feedback did not change the level of implicit self-esteem of the Internet addiction group. In future studies researchers need to pay more attention to the measurement of implicit self-esteem, long-term stability, and addiction to online games.

Voluntary and Involuntary Imagery in Social Anxiety.

Negative mental imagery is ubiquitous in cognitive models of social anxiety and in the social anxiety literature. Previous research has shown that it is causal of increased anxiety, lower social performance ratings and lower implicit self-esteem. Despite its prevalence, few studies have investigated this imagery directly. This study aimed to provide an in-depth analysis of the phenomenology of negative imagery experienced by socially anxious individuals, and to compare recurrent and intrusive images with images deliberately generated by participants during the study. Thirty-eight undergraduate students screened to be above average in social anxiety scores completed a computerized imagery questionnaire adapted from previous qualitative work. Thematic analyses revealed four major image themes for intrusive images and three for deliberately generated images including interacting with others and anxiety symptoms. Most intrusive images were based on negative episodic memories and were experienced at least fortnightly. Images were primarily visual, auditory and somatic but could involve any sensory modality. Depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21) scores were higher in participants who experienced intrusive imagery and increased with the frequency of intrusions. Emotionality was generally higher in intrusive images than generated images. The phenomenology of negative imagery experienced by socially anxious individuals is idiosyncratic and may be inherently different from images generated for use in experimental research. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Assessment of Implicit Self-Esteem in Older Adults: The Role of Actual and Ideal Self-Esteem in Negative Mood.

The interplay between actual and ideal self-esteem may be a key component in emotional disorders. Since automatic self-evaluations are not always consciously accessible, assessment through implicit measures is necessary. Given the lack of implicit self-esteem measures in late life, we aimed to identify a reliable measure and to clarify the role of actual and ideal self-esteem in mood and depressive symptoms in older adults. Forty-nine older adults completed two adapted Go/No go Association tasks measuring implicit actual and ideal self-esteem and measures of mood and depressive symptoms. The two Go/No go Association tasks showed satisfactory internal consistency. Moderation analyses revealed that lower actual self-esteem in older adults is related to higher levels of sad mood when ideal self-esteem is high. Moreover, lower actual self-esteem is related to more anxious mood. Given the role of self-esteem in emotional well-being, a reliable measure for older adults is crucial to improve age-appropriate diagnostics and treatment.

Genetic and Environmental Sources of Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem and Affect: Results from a Genetically Sensitive Multi-group Design.

In today's world, researchers frequently utilize indirect measures of implicit (i.e., automatic, spontaneous) evaluations. The results of several studies have supported the usefulness of these measures in predicting behavior, as compared to utilizing direct measures of explicit (i.e., purposeful, deliberate) evaluations. A current, under-debate issue concerns the origin of these implicit evaluations. The present genetically sensitive multi-group study analyzed data from 223 twin pairs and 222 biological core families to estimate possible genetic and environmental sources of individual differences in implicit and explicit self-esteem and affect. The results show that implicit self-esteem and affect maintain a substantial genetic basis, but demonstrate little influence from the shared environment by siblings (e.g., shared familial socialization in childhood). A bivariate analysis found that implicit and explicit evaluations of the same construct share a common genetic core which aligns with the motivation and opportunity as determinants (MODE) model.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what my name means to me: The effects of marketplace misidentification on consumption

Little research has focused on understanding how the misuse of consumers' names in the marketplace impacts consumption. Building on the motivation and personal identity threat literatures, we explore the impact of being identified by someone else's given name in the marketplace. We find that consumers exhibit avoidance behaviors when misidentified (versus remaining unidentified or being correctly identified), which is mediated by feelings of respect. We also show that misidentification effects are moderated by ego fragility (i.e., as measured by implicit self-esteem), with the effects more pronounced among those with more fragile egos. We attenuate this effect via self-affirmation, showing that misidentified consumers who have been affirmed no longer exhibit product avoidance responses. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Narcissistic Traits and Explicit Self-Esteem: The Moderating Role of Implicit Self-View.

Objective: Whilst the relationship between narcissism and self-esteem has been studied for a long time, findings are still controversial. The majority of studies investigated narcissistic grandiosity (NG), neglecting the existence of vulnerable manifestations of narcissism. Moreover, recent studies have shown that grandiosity traits are not always associated with inflated explicit self-esteem. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between narcissistic traits and explicit self-esteem, distinguishing between grandiosity and vulnerability. Moreover, we consider the role of implicit self-esteem in qualifying these associations.Method: Narcissistic traits, explicit and implicit self-esteem measures were assessed among 120 university students (55.8% women, Mage = 22.55, SD = 3.03).Results: Results showed different patterns of association between narcissistic traits and explicit self-esteem, depending on phenotypic manifestations of narcissism. Narcissistic vulnerability (NV) was linked to low explicit self-evaluations regardless of one’s levels of implicit self-esteem. On the other hand, the link between NG and explicit self-esteem was qualified by levels of implicit self-views, such that grandiosity was significantly associated with inflated explicit self-evaluations only at either high or medium levels of implicit self-views.Discussion: These findings showed that the relationship between narcissistic traits and explicit self-esteem is not univocal, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between NG and NV. Finally, the study suggested that both researchers and clinicians should consider the relevant role of implicit self-views in conditioning self-esteem levels reported explicitly by individuals with grandiose narcissistic traits.

Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem in Current, Remitted, Recovered, and Comorbid Depression and Anxiety Disorders: The NESDA Study.

BackgroundDual processing models of psychopathology emphasize the relevance of differentiating between deliberative self-evaluative processes (explicit self-esteem; ESE) and automatically-elicited affective self-associations (implicit self-esteem; ISE). It has been proposed that both low ESE and ISE would be involved in major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders (AD). Further, it has been hypothesized that MDD and AD may result in a low ISE “scar” that may contribute to recurrence after remission. However, the available evidence provides no straightforward support for the relevance of low ISE in MDD/AD, and studies testing the relevance of discrepant SE even showed that especially high ISE combined with low ESE is predictive of the development of internalizing symptoms. However, these earlier findings have been limited by small sample sizes, poorly defined groups in terms of comorbidity and phase of the disorders, and by using inadequate indices of discrepant SE. Therefore, this study tested further the proposed role of ISE and discrepant SE in a large-scale study allowing for stricter differentiation between groups and phase of disorder.MethodIn the context of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), we selected participants with current MDD (n = 60), AD (n = 111), and comorbid MDD/AD (n = 71), remitted MDD (n = 41), AD (n = 29), and comorbid MDD/AD (n = 14), recovered MDD (n = 136) and AD (n = 98), and never MDD or AD controls (n = 382). The Implicit Association Test was used to index ISE and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale indexed ESE.ResultsControls reported higher ESE than all other groups, and current comorbid MDD/AD had lower ESE than all other clinical groups. ISE was only lower than controls in current comorbid AD/MDD. Discrepant self-esteem (difference between ISE and ESE) was not associated with disorder status once controlling for ESE.LimitationsCross-sectional design limits causal inferences.ConclusionFindings suggest a prominent role for ESE in MDD and AD, while in comorbid MDD/AD negative self-evaluations are also present at the implicit level. There was no evidence to support the view that AD and MDD would result in a low ISE “scar”.

Predicting Self–Confident Behaviour with Implicit and Explicit Self–Esteem Measures

The present research compared the validity of popular direct and indirect measures of self–esteem in predicting self–confident behaviour in different social situations. In line with behavioural dual–process models, both implicit and explicit self–esteem were hypothesized to be related to appearing self–confident to unacquainted others. A total of 127 participants responded to the Rosenberg Self–Esteem Scale, the Multidimensional Self–Esteem Scale, and an adjective scale for measuring explicit self–esteem (ESE). Participants‘ implicit self–esteem (ISE) was assessed with four indirect measures: the Implicit Association Test (IAT), the name–letter task (NLT), and two variants of an affective priming task, the reaction–time affective priming task (RT–APT) and the error–based affective priming task (EB–APT). Self–confident behaviour was observed in four different social situations: (i) self–introduction to a group; (ii) an ostracism experience; (iii) an interview about the ostracism experience; and (iv) an interview about one's personal life. In general, appearing self–confident to unknown others was independently predicted by ESE and ISE. The indirect measures of self–esteem were, as expected, not correlated, and only the self–esteem APTs—but not the self–esteem IAT or the NLT—predicted self–confident behaviours. It is important to note that in particular the predictive power of the self–esteem EB–APT pertained to all four criteria and was incremental to the ESE measures. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

Do Narcissism and Emotional Intelligence Win Us Friends? Modeling Dynamics of Peer Popularity Using Inferential Network Analysis.

This research investigated effects of narcissism and emotional intelligence (EI) on popularity in social networks. In a longitudinal field study, we examined the dynamics of popularity in 15 peer groups in two waves ( N = 273). We measured narcissism, ability EI, and explicit and implicit self-esteem. In addition, we measured popularity at zero acquaintance and 3 months later. We analyzed the data using inferential network analysis (temporal exponential random graph modeling, TERGM) accounting for self-organizing network forces. People high in narcissism were popular, but increased less in popularity over time than people lower in narcissism. In contrast, emotionally intelligent people increased more in popularity over time than less emotionally intelligent people. The effects held when we controlled for explicit and implicit self-esteem. These results suggest that narcissism is rather disadvantageous and that EI is rather advantageous for long-term popularity.

Fixated on rejection: Attentional blindness following socially rejecting faces in people with defensive self-esteem

People with defensive self-esteem (high explicit and low implicit self-esteem) respond more negatively to ego threat than do those with secure (high explicit and implicit) self-esteem. We examined whether they would also be more attentive to a cue indicating the presence of such threat–namely, a face signaling social rejection. In a rapid serial visual presentation task, participants with defensive self-esteem made more errors than those with secure self-esteem following a picture of a rejecting face than following either an accepting face or a negative control image. Our findings suggest a possible relationship between defensive self-esteem and rejection sensitivity. Potential negative ramifications of this sensitivity to rejection cues are discussed.

Suppression of negative affect in cancer patients. Trauma and defensiveness of self-esteem as predictors of depression and anxiety

Abstract The results of the work show that the relatively small differences in declared, negative emotional states (such as depression or anxiety) between people suffering and not suffering from cancer can be explained by the suppression of negative affect in the former. It was assumed that the suppression is related to a compensation of an automatic, affective self-assessment - i.e. implicit self-esteem, lower in cancer patients. The results confirmed that the connection of cancer and depression (similarly cancer and anxiety) became significantly stronger while the self-esteem defensiveness and past stress are statistically controlled.

Drinking to belong: The effect of a friendship threat and self-esteem on college student drinking

The current study examined how implicit and explicit self-esteem and time spent drinking with friends influence college student drinking after a friendship threat manipulation. Poisson regression analyses revealed that students with low implicit self-esteem showed a greater increase in alcohol consumption when drinking with friends after experiencing a friendship threat than in the control condition. These effects were not found among students with high implicit self-esteem. A similar, but weaker, pattern emerged when testing the independent effects of explicit self-esteem. We suggest that low self-esteem students are drinking because they lack the self-resources to deal with unmet belongingness needs. These findings suggest that low implicit self-esteem may be a risk factor for college student drinking.

Explicit self-esteem mediates the relationship between implicit self-esteem and memory biases in major depression

This study examines the relationships between explicit and implicit self-esteem and self-referent memory biases in depression. We specifically tested the hypothesis that implicit self-esteem would influence depression-related memory biases via its association with explicit self-esteem. Self-esteem was assessed in patients with a current Major Depressive Disorder (MDD; n=38) and in a control group of participants who had never experienced depression (ND; n=40) by using explicit (Rosenberg Self-esteem Questionnaire) and implicit (Go/No-go Association Task) measures. A self-referent processing task of negative and positive adjectives was used to assess memory bias. Our analyses revealed that participants diagnosed with MDD showed lower levels of both explicit and implicit self-esteem in comparison to ND participants. MDD compared to ND participants also recalled a greater number of depressed self-referent adjectives and lower recall of positive self-referent information. Mediation analyses showed an indirect effect of explicit self-esteem on the relationship between implicit self-esteem and depression-related memory biases in the MDD group. These findings suggest an association between implicit and explicit self-esteem in depression that may result in negative cognitive processing, as reflected by self-referent memory biases.

On the Applicability of the Big Five Implicit Association Test in Organizational Settings

Two studies were conducted with the aim of investigating whether the Big Five traits, as measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT), predict supervisor ratings of job performance. Two incumbent groups composed respectively by 52 security guards (Study 1) and 71 semi-skilled workers (Study 2) completed a self-report measure of the Big-Five and five IATs for assessing the same personality dimensions in an implicit way. In study 1, job performance was positively related to self-ratings of energy/extraversion (r = .35, p < .01), agreeableness (r = .25, p < .01), and conscientiousness (r = .22, p < .05), and to the implicit measure of conscientiousness (r = .27, p < .05). In study 2, job performance was positively related to explicit conscientiousness (r = .26, p < .05) and emotional stability (r = .26, p < .05), and to the implicit counterparts of the same traits (r = .25, p < .05, for conscientiousness, and r = .24, p < .05, for emotional stability). These relations held after controlling for the effect of pure valence, as measured by implicit self-esteem (Study 2). In both studies, implicit and explicit measures of personality traits predict unique aspects of job performance (i.e. they have incremental validity over each other). Practical implications of findings and future research directions are discussed.

Explicit self-esteem and contingencies of self-worth: The moderating role of implicit self-esteem

Among the contemporary approaches of self-esteem, the dual-process model and the contingencies of self-worth model have been linked to similar phenomena like narcissism, perfectionism or negative emotions. The present studies aimed to investigate the way in which implicit self-esteem can moderate the relations between explicit self-esteem and particular contingencies of self-worth. In Study 1, we found that implicit self-esteem moderates the relation of explicit self-esteem with academic competencies and family support. In Study 2, the data supported the same moderating role of implicit self-esteem in the relation between explicit self-esteem and family support, while showing that implicit self-esteem also moderates the relation between explicit self-esteem and virtue. Since we used two different ways to assess self-esteem, the converging results from the two studies can be considered to be particularly robust.

A masked negative self-esteem? Implicit and explicit self-esteem in patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder

The mask model of narcissism states that the narcissistic traits of patients with NPD are the result of a compensatory reaction to underlying ego fragility. This model assumes that high explicit self-esteem masks low implicit self-esteem. However, research on narcissism has predominantly focused on non-clinical participants and data derived from patients diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) remain scarce. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to test the mask model hypothesis of narcissism among patients with NPD. Male patients with NPD were compared to patients with other PD's and healthy participants on implicit and explicit self-esteem. NPD patients did not differ in levels of explicit and implicit self-esteem compared to both the psychiatric and the healthy control group. Overall, the current study found no evidence in support of the mask model of narcissism among a clinical group. This implicates that it might not be relevant for clinicians to focus treatment of NPD on an underlying negative self-esteem.

How implicit self-esteem influences perceptions of self-esteem at zero and non-zero acquaintance

People’s perceptions of others’ self-esteem correspond with others’ explicit self-esteem. We test whether implicit self-esteem also affects perceptions of self-esteem at zero and non-zero acquaintance. Targets completed measures of implicit and explicit self-esteem, had photographs taken, and completed self-related interviews. Unacquainted perceivers rated targets’ self-esteem after viewing varying degrees of information about targets (Study 1) or pre-selected high and low implicit self-esteem targets (Studies 2 and 3). When perceivers viewed photographs, only target explicit self-esteem predicted self-esteem ratings. However, when perceivers read targets’ interview transcripts, both target explicit and implicit self-esteem predicted self-esteem ratings. When targets described sensitive information, their apparent comfort and self-certainty were associated with ratings of their self-esteem. These cues, moreover, were valid indicators of implicit self-esteem.