Low Trait Self-esteem Research Articles

More cooperation compensates for lower self-esteem in social dilemmas

This research examined how self-esteem influences a person's strategy for social dilemmas where their own interests are in conflict with social interests. Using the Prisoner's Dilemma game, we designed three studies and observed robust results across the gain and loss domains, payoff amounts, and cooperation indexes. Participants who had low trait self-esteem (Study 1), participants who had state self-esteem after recall of failure (Study 2), and participants whose self-esteem was threatened (Study 3) adopted more cooperative strategies than those with high self-esteem. Choosing to cooperate helped participants with low state self-esteem improve their self-esteem, as compared to choosing to defect (Studies 2–3). By testing three underlying mechanisms, it was observed that lower levels of self-esteem induced a stronger motive to gain social interdependence, rather than social identity or social comparison (Study 3). These findings suggest a compensatory relationship between self-esteem and cooperation in social interaction. The implications for management, cooperation and collective action are discussed.

A narrative review of cross-sectional and prospective associations between self-schemas and bipolar disorder.

The role of self-concept in bipolar disorder (BD) has not been well understood. The present review utilizes the notion of self-schema and interrogates existing research concerning evidence for cross-sectional and prospective associations between four schema-like constructs (i.e. trait self-esteem, dysfunctional beliefs concerning contingent self-worth, early maladaptive schemas and implicit self-esteem) and various facets of BD. Existing findings demonstrate various types of involvement of self-schemas in BD. Of particular clinical relevance, the present review suggests that low trait self-esteem and dysfunctional beliefs concerning contingent self-worth are risk factors for ongoing BD symptoms and mood episodes. The present review also yields important yet unaddressed questions with respect to the evaluative content of self-schemas associated with the hypo/manic phase of BD.

Within- and Between-Persons Effects of Self-Esteem and Affective State as Antecedents and Consequences of Dysfunctional Behaviors in the Everyday Lives of Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder

Dysfunctional behaviors are conceptualized as maladaptive affective coping attempts in borderline personality disorder (BPD). The recent benefits-and-barriers model extended the affective function assumption by adding self-esteem as a barrier to engaging in dysfunctional behaviors. Patients with BPD ( N = 119) carried e-diaries to report their current self-esteem, emotional valence, tense arousal, and whether they engaged in dysfunctional behaviors 12 times a day for 4 days. Dynamic structural equation modeling revealed that on the within-person level, high momentary negative affect predicted dysfunctional behaviors, and on the between-person level, low trait self-esteem predicted dysfunctional behaviors. We also found an association between engaging in dysfunctional behaviors and momentary self-esteem and trait levels of valence and tense arousal. Moreover, our results indicate a deterioration of, rather than relief from, negative affective state after dysfunctional behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of emotion-regulation skills and reestablishing a positive self-view as important treatment targets to reduce dysfunctional behaviors in BPD.

‘Heroes aren’t always so great!’ – Heroic perceptions under mortality salience

ABSTRACTAccording to terror management theory, in a first study (N = 80), we tested the hypothesis that heroic perceptions of historic heroes would become more positive under mortality salience. Results, however, showed the opposite effect – heroic perceptions were less positive. To explain this unexpected finding, we referred to a social comparison perspective, assuming comparisons with a hero are likely to be unfavorable for one’s self-esteem. Two further (pre-registered) studies were conducted to test this idea. Mortality salience effects in Study 2 (N = 615) were not significant. However, using an improved experimental procedure in Study 3 (N = 600), heroic perceptions were indeed significantly less positive under MS, especially for participants with low trait self-esteem and low social comparison orientation.

Social Media Envy: How Experience Sharing on Social Networking Sites Drives Millennials’ Aspirational Tourism Consumption

The sharing of travel experiences has become ubiquitous in today’s era. This study focuses on a pervasive trend among Millennial consumers: the experience of benign envy toward others’ positive travel experience sharing on social networking sites. Drawing on social comparison theory, the current study reveals why and under what conditions others’ positive experience sharing may trigger Millennial consumers’ destination visit intention. Using a mixed experimental design, this study finds that, among consumers with low trait self-esteem, luxury travel experiences shared by similar others stimulate focal consumers’ own intentions to visit the same destination. In addition, destination visit intention is triggered by benign envy toward the experience sharer. Important theoretical insights are provided regarding peer influence mechanism on social networking sites and travel consumption. Finally, managerial implications for destination marketers are presented with a focus on how to improve the effectiveness of social media marketing in targeting Millennials.

Dissimilar effects of task‐relevant and interpersonal threat on independent–interdependent self‐construal in individuals with high self‐esteem

Previous research has indicated that individuals with high trait self‐esteem (HSEs) become more independent and less interdependent after experiencing a task‐relevant threat. However, these studies have not investigated other sources of ego threats, such as interpersonal threats. Therefore, the moderating effects of the degree of trait self‐esteem on task‐relevant and interpersonal ego threats were investigated in relation to independent, or interdependent self‐construal. It was predicted that in HSEs, the level of task‐relevant stress would be positively–negatively related to their independence–interdependence, whereas the level of interpersonal stress would be negatively–positively related to their independence–interdependence. In individuals with low trait self‐esteem (LSEs), the two types of stresses and independent–interdependent self‐construal may not have a significant relationship. We conducted a questionnaire survey with undergraduates. Correlational analysis of the results indicated that in HSEs, greater task‐relevant stress was related to heightened independence, whereas greater interpersonal stress had the opposite effect, indicating lower independence and heightened interdependence. However, these stresses were not related to the self‐construal of LSEs. These findings suggest that task‐relevant and interpersonal threat could have differential effects on independent and interdependent self‐construal for HSEs, but not in LSEs.

Claiming the Validity of Negative In-group Stereotypes When Foreseeing a Challenge: A Self-handicapping Account

This research proposes a self-handicapping process in which people proactively endorse negative in-group stereotypes when there is the prospect of failure in a task. In Experiment 1, we found that women were more likely to endorse the math-gender stereotype stigmatizing their gender group when they anticipated a difficult versus easy math task. In Experiment 2, the same pattern was observed among men stigmatized with relatively poor verbal skills. In Experiment 3, we found that such a self-handicapping tendency was most prominent among individuals with high trait self-esteem, who are presumably more motivated to maintain self-esteem versus those with low trait self-esteem. All together, these results suggest that endorsing negative in-group stereotypes can be used as an anticipatory coping mechanism, occurring even before receiving failure feedback in the presence of a high risk of failure.

Self-esteem predicts quality of responding to interview questions when skill in responding is low

Self-esteem, skill in responding, and skill appraisals have each been posited to influence the quality of information gathered during interviews about witnessed events. This study examined whether self-esteem exacerbates or buffers skill related deficits and awareness of skill. Participants viewed a video, completed measures of self-esteem, estimated their skill in responding, responded to answerable and unanswerable questions about the video, and re-estimated their skill. Skill was indexed as effectiveness in resisting unanswerable questions. Moderated regression analyses showed that high self-esteem was associated with higher accuracy and fewer errors to answerable questions, but only when skill was low. Low skill individuals overestimated their ability. Following practice, low skill individuals with low trait self-esteem recalibrated their skill appraisals, while low skill high self-esteem individuals did not become aware of their lack of skill. When skill was high, self-esteem was not related to responding. Understanding the influence of self-esteem on the quality of information gathered during interviews about witnessed events requires attention to interactions with skill and performance appraisals.

Compensating, Resisting, and Breaking: A Meta-Analytic Examination of Reactions to Self-Esteem Threat

Much research has identified how people react to receiving threatening information about the self. The purpose of this article is to discuss such experiences in the context of a model of state self-esteem regulation. The authors propose that people engage in one of three regulatory responses to threat: compensation, resistance, and breaking. They conduct a meta-analysis aimed to examine when people engage in each of these three responses to threat and how trait self-esteem affects the selection and success of selecting each regulatory response. Furthermore, the authors test six theoretical models that might explain why responses to ego threat vary across level of trait self-esteem. The models for differences between people with low and high trait self-esteem that fit the data best suggest that (a) self-esteem serves as a resource and (b) there is a self-verification motivation.

Does low self-esteem enhance social pain? The relationship between trait self-esteem and anterior cingulate cortex activation induced by ostracism

According to sociometer theory, self-esteem serves as a barometer of the extent to which individuals are socially included or excluded by others. We hypothesized that trait self-esteem would be related to social pain responsiveness, and we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to experimentally investigate this potential relationship. Participants (n = 26) performed a cyberball task, a computerized game of catch during which the participants were excluded from the game. Participants then rated the degree of social pain experienced during both inclusion in and exclusion from the game. Individuals with lower trait self-esteem reported increased social pain relative to individuals with higher trait self-esteem, and such individuals also demonstrated a greater degree of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activation. A psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed a positive connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices for the lower trait self-esteem group, and a corresponding negative connectivity for the higher trait self-esteem group. Heightened dorsal anterior cortex activity and a corresponding connection with the prefrontal cortex might be one possible explanation for the greater levels of social pain observed experienced by individuals with low trait self-esteem.

Gaze-Triggered Orienting as a Tool of the Belongingness Self-Regulation System

Social-psychological theories of belongingness self-regulation suggest that when one's need for interpersonal relationships is not being met, one begins to monitor the social environment more closely. Presumably, this serves to increase awareness of the likelihood of social acceptance versus rejection and to inform later social decision- making processes. The current investigation tested whether low belongingness increases a particular form of social monitoring that has recently been documented in the cognitive literature: gaze-triggered orienting. Low belongingness was operationalized either in terms of low trait self-esteem(Studies 1a and 1b) or in terms of the priming of rejection-related thoughts (Study 2). Across the studies, the normal tendency to orient attention in accordance with another individual's eye gaze was augmented under conditions of low belongingness. However, belongingness had no influence on a nonsocial form of orienting. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for theories of belongingness self-regulation and social attention.

Drinking to regulate negative romantic relationship interactions: The moderating role of self-esteem

A 30-day diary study examined the relations among trait self-esteem, negative romantic relationship interactions, and alcohol consumption. Multilevel analyses revealed that people with low trait self-esteem (compared with people with high trait self-esteem) drank more on days when they experienced more negative relationship interactions with their romantic partners. In addition, daily increases in state self-esteem buffered people with low trait self-esteem from the desire to drink in response to negative romantic relationship interactions. In contrast, participants with high and low self-esteem both decreased their drinking in response to negative non-romantic relationship events, but people with low self-esteem decreased their drinking less. These findings suggest that people with low trait self-esteem may drink as a way to regulate unfulfilled needs for acceptance.

Ego Threat Elicits Different Social Comparison Processes Among High And Low Self-esteem People: Implications For Interpersonal Perceptions

Two studies examined the effect of self-image threat on the use of social comparisons by those who have high and low trait self-esteem. In the absence of threat, trait high and low self-esteem people engaged in similar social comparison processes. When threatened, however, trait high self-esteem people made more downward social comparisons and trait low self-esteem people made more upward social comparisons. In Study 1, these effects were found for comparisons against an interaction partner and against generalized others. Study 1 also showed that state self-esteem rose among high self-esteem participants because they made downward social comparisons. Study 2 linked social comparisons to interpersonal likability and found that people with high trait self-esteem were liked less by perceivers when they made downward comparisons, whereas those with low trait self-esteem were liked more when they made upward comparisons. Discussion focuses on the interrelations among trait self-esteem, self-concept, and interpersonal perceptions in the context of self-defense.

Affect- and self-based models of relationships between daily events and daily well-being.

The present study examined affect- self-based explanatory models of relationships between daily events and daily well-being. Twice a week for up to 10 weeks, participants described the events that occurred each day and provided measures of their daily affect, self-esteem, and depressogenic thinking. Participants also provided trait-level measures of affect, depression, and self-esteem. Measures of daily well-being representing each model covaried jointly and independently with daily negative and positive events. Positive events buffered the effects of negative events on daily self-esteem and daily depressogenic thinking, whereas there was no buffering effect for daily affect. More depressed people were more reactive to positive events, and those higher in trait PA were less reactive to negative events. Buffering effects for self-esteem were pronounced for those with lower trait self-esteem, and buffering effects for daily depressogenic adjustment were now more pronounced for those with higher trait negative affect. The results suggest that affect- and self-based models provide complementary perspectives on relationships between psychological well-being and daily events.

Coping with threats to self-esteem: the differing patterns of subjects with high versus low trait self-esteem in first-person accounts

Based on retrospective self-reports, strategies of coping with threats to self-esteem in close relationships were investigated in a sample of 412 adults in south-west Germany. Results indicate that self-esteem was negatively associated with experiencing failure or criticism as a threat to self-esteem. There was a positive association between participants' self-esteem and their self-reported tendency to approach the problem optimistically and act in a rational manner. Self-esteem was negatively associated with feeling dependent on the partner and with treating the partner in a hostile way. As far as women were concerned, self-esteem was also positively related to coping effectiveness. In the case of men the results were less clear. It is suggested that the self-defeating coping style associated with low self-esteem may be self-perpetuating. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Trait Self-Esteem, Positive and Negative Events, and Event-Specific Shifts in Self-Evaluation and Affect

Relations between trait self-esteem and event-specific shifts in self-evaluation and affect were explored in two studies of undergraduates (Ns = 170 and 198). Participants were exposed to eight scenarios in which they received positive or negative self-relevant information. In both studies, low trait self-esteem participants anticipated larger negative shifts in global self-evaluation, greater negative generalization across areas of self-concept, and more negative affect after negative events. Trait self-esteem did not consistently predict reactions to positive events. Implications of the findings for the measurement of self-concept stability and affect and for the maintenance and treatment of low trait self-esteem are discussed.

A comparison of self-esteem lability and low trait self-esteem as vulnerability factors for depression.

Self-esteem lability (SEL), defined as daily event-related variability in state self-esteem, and low trait self-esteem (TSE) were assessed among 205 male and female undergraduates who were currently depressed (CD), previously depressed (PD), and never depressed (ND). SEL scores were derived for the effect of positive, negative, and combined events on state self-esteem over 30 days. Consistent with psychodynamic and cognitive theories, SEL was found to be a better index of depression proneness than TSE. PD Ss showed higher lability on all SEL scores than ND controls but did not differ from controls on TSE. Ss were reassessed 5 months later, and new cases showed higher premorbid SEL than ND controls but did not differ from controls on premorbid TSE. SEL at Time 1 was found to increase risk for depression at Time 2 among Ss reporting high life stress at Time 2. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

A comparison of self-esteem lability and low trait self-esteem as vulnerability factors for depression.

A comparison of self-esteem lability and low trait self-esteem as vulnerability factors for depression.