Positive Self-evaluation Research Articles

Effects of methylphenidate and expectancy on performance, self-evaluations, persistence, and attributions on a social task in boys with ADHD.

This study examined the effects of 0.3 mg/kg methylphenidate (MPH) and expectancy regarding medication on the performance and persistence of 137 boys with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a get-acquainted dyadic interaction with a peer, using a balanced-placebo design. Boys in 4 groups—administered placebo or MPH crossed with being told they received placebo or MPH—interacted with child confederates in experimental situations in which social success and failure were manipulated. In contrast with studies of academic persistence, MPH did not affect boys' task persistence or performance. Boys gave more positive self-evaluations and talked more in the success condition as compared with the failure condition. Boys attributed success to effort and ability and failure to task difficulty, and neither MPH nor expectancy affected this pattern. These findings are consistent with other studies in failing to find debilitating effects of MPH or medication expectancies on ADHD boys' attributions or self-evaluations. The primary features of attention-deficityhyperactivity disorder (ADHD) include inattention, impulsivity, and excessive motor activity. ADHD also has a number of secondary features, one of the most important being peer rela

Effects of methylphenidate and expectancy on performance, self-evaluations, persistence, and attributions on a social task in boys with ADHD.

This study examined the effects of 0.3 mg/kg methylphenidate (MPH) and expectancy regarding medication on the performance and persistence of 137 boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a get-acquainted dyadic interaction with a peer, using a balanced-placebo design. Boys in 4 groups-administered placebo or MPH crossed with being told they received placebo or MPH-interacted with child confederates in experimental situations in which social success and failure were manipulated. In contrast with studies of academic persistence, MPH did not affect boys' task persistence or performance. Boys gave more positive self-evaluations and talked more in the success condition as compared with the failure condition. Boys attributed success to effort and ability and failure to task difficulty, and neither MPH nor expectancy affected this pattern. These findings are consistent with other studies in failing to find debilitating effects of MPH or medication expectancies on ADHD boys' attributions or self-evaluations.

Maintaining Positive Self-Evaluations: Reducing Attention to Diagnostic but Unfavorable Social Comparison Information When General Self-Regard Is Salient

We predicted that when (1) people are faced with diagnostic but personally challenging social comparison information in a domain, and (2) their self-regard is salient, they will be less likely to use the comparison information when judging their standing in the domain (making the judgment less inductive). Participants in Study 1 estimated their standing on risk factors for two health problems, and some did so after their self-regard was made salient. Moreover, some received information (about their peers' standing on these risk factors) that challenged participants' self-serving comparative beliefs. As expected, estimates of personal risk factor standing among high self-regard salience/comparison information participants were less correlated with similar estimates collected 2 months earlier, suggesting the estimates had become less inductive. There was also tentative evidence that, in this condition, self-esteem played a greater role in constructing these estimates. In Study 2, participants were led to believe that their comparative standing on risk factors was better than it actually was, and in this case, they were more likely to use this information when making self-judgments about their personal risk. Evidently, the extent to which people use diagnostic comparison information inductively when making self-inferences depends on the favorability of that information.

Looking at the Self in a Rose-Colored Mirror: Unrealistically Positive Self-Views and Academic Performance

The relationship between unrealistically positive self-evaluations and performance in an academic setting was examined in the present study. As suggested by Colvin and Block (1 994), objective criteria were used to identify individuals who held unrealistically positive self-views. More specifically, academic records were compared to self-ratings of academic ability to classify students as accurate, unrealistically positive, or unrealistically negative about their academic abilities. Consistent with Taylor and Brown's (1988) theory of positive illusions, students who were unrealistically positive achieved higher grades the semester following the study than students who were realistic or unrealistically negative.

Job Insecurity and Health

As employers respond to new competitive pressures of global capitalism through layoffs and the casualization of labor, job insecurity affects a growing number of workers. It appears to harm mental health, but less is known about its effects on physical health and health behaviors and the mechanisms through which it may act. The prevailing individual-centered conceptualization of job insecurity as the perception of a threat to job continuity precludes systematic investigation of the social patterning of its health effects. Analysis of data from a 1994 Canadian national probability sample of adults determined that high levels of job insecurity lowered self-rated health and increased distress and the use of medications, but had no impact on heavy drinking. The findings support one possible mechanism of action whereby job insecurity reduces feelings of control over one's environment and opportunities for positive self-evaluation; these psychological experiences, in turn, have deleterious health consequences. There is little evidence of social patterning of this relationship by gender, education, household income, age, marital status, and social support at work.

Social and Academic Profiles of Externalizing and Internalizing Groups: Risk Factors for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Three groups of third-grade students classified as either Externalizers (n = 30), Internalizes (n = 55) or Controls (n = 96) were contrasted on 19 measures in social and academic domains using multivariate analyses. Based on these analyses, a series of descriptive discriminant function analyses were undertaken to determine the best predictors of Externalizing and Internalizing group membership. Of 19 variables, those that best predicted Externalizing status compared to Controls were critical events, social skills, academic competence, peer acceptance, negative narrative comments, math, and reading, in that order. Variables that best predicted Internalizing status compared to Controls were social skills, academic competence, math, critical events, reading, peer acceptance, and negative narrative comments. Variables that best separated students on Externalizing and Internalizing status were critical events, disciplinary referrals, social impact, academic self-concept, school absences, peer acceptance, and academic competence. Cross-validated classification analyses correctly classified 97% of the Externalizing group and 89% of the Internalizing group compared to Controls. A classification analysis contrasting Externalizers and Internalizes resulted in correct classification rates of 63% and 84%, respectively. Contrary to much research in special education, both Externalizing and Internalizing groups appeared to have adequate academic self-concepts and social self-concepts. These findings were interpreted in light of recent work on positive illusory biases and the hypothesized relationship between unrealistically positive self-evaluations and psychological adjustment.

The Effects of Depression and Mood States on Social Comparison Directions

Gibbons (1986) found the effects of people's depressiveness and mood on social comparison directions, and consequently has greatly influenced subsequent research. We conducted two experiments of university students to reexamine these effects and so on. In Experiment 1, his self-disclosure statement procedure was used for mood induction to examine whether his results were replicated or not. Results revealed that depressed subjects made downward comparison more often than non-depressed ones, although the effect of mood was not significant, and partly replicated his results. In Experiment 2, a bogus-feedback procedure was used for the induction. Results revealed that subjects' depressiveness did not affect their social comparison, and subjects in a negative mood made upward comparison more often than those in a positive mood. This was very different from his results. The correlations between downward comparison and positive self-evaluation were sometimes found in the two experiments. Based on these results, the generality and validity of his findings were discussed.

The Structure of Positive and Negative Automatic Cognition

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test hypotheses about the structure of positive and negative automatic cognitions, using the responses of 304 college students to separate questionnaires assessing positive (ATQP; Ingram & Wisnicki, 1988) and negative (ATQ-N; Hollon & Kendall, 1980) automatic thoughts. For each instrument, an oblique version of the four-factor model originally proposed by the developers (ATQ-N: Personal Maladjustment, Negative Expectations, Low Self-esteem, Giving Up/Hopelessness; ATQ-P: Positive Daily Functioning, Positive Self-evaluation, Other's Evaluations of Self, Positive Future Expectations) provided a marginally acceptable fit to the data (median relative-fit indices = .87 and .89, respectively). Whereas the structure of positive automatic cognition was invariant with respect to gender, women's negative automatic cognitions were more complexly interrelated than men's, and different cognitions were diagnostic of negative automatic thinking for males and females. Within each ATQ model, the four factors were highly intercorrelated (median standardised s = .87 and .82, respectively) and largely reflected a single, dominant second-order factor. Supporting this conclusion, a hierarchical model that posits an overarching ''super'' factor underlying the four first-order factors fits the data of each instrument better than did the popular total score model (i.e. one first-order factor). Analyses of convergent and discriminant validity using measures of personality and emotion provided mixed support for the separate four-factor models, with stronger evidence of discriminant validity for the model composed of two, correlated secondorder factors (standardised =- .53). When considered together, positive and negative automatic thoughts are most accurately conceptualised as separate, negatively correlated, higher-order domains of cognitive experience, each composed of multiple, interrelated subdimensions.

The effects of task importance and publicness on the relation between goal difficulty and performance.

AbstractIn a laboratory study using undergraduate students (N =200), perceived task importance was found to moderate therelationship between goal level and performance. More-over, participants performed better when both the goaland performance were public rather than anonymous.These findings suggest that by manipulating task impor-tance and publicness of performance, it is possible to influ-ence the impact that the difficulty of specific goals have onperformance. The results are consistent with our hypothe-ses that the motivation to preserve one's self-image andthe motivation to preserve one's public-image are twofactors that determine effort and persistence devoted toassigned goals.ResumeUne etude de laboratoire menee aupres d'etudiants de pre-mier cycle (N = 200) a revile que la perception de l'importancede la tache attenue la relation entre le niveau de l'objectif et laperformance. De plus, les participants fonctionnaient mieuxlorsque l'objectif et la performance etaient publics plutot qu'a-nonymes. Ces resultats suggerent qu'en modifiant l'impor-tance de la tache et le niveau de diffusion de la performance, ilest possible d'influencer l'incidence de la difficulte reliee a desobjectifs precis sur la performance. Les resultats confirmentnos hypotheses. La motivation pour preserver l'image de soiet la motivation pour preserver l'image publique sont deuxfacteurs qui determinent l'effort et la persistance consacresaux objectifs designes.Among the most robust findings in the behaviouralscience literature is that individuals who set a specificgoal perform significantly better than individuals who areurged to do their best (Latham & Locke, 1991). In addi-tion, assuming that individuals are committed to the goal,goal setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990) states that themore difficult a specific goal, the better the performance.However, when individuals reach the limits of theirability at high goal difficulty levels, the goal diffi-culty-performance function levels off (Locke, 1982).Though the overall validity and usefulness of goal settingtheory has been demonstrated in several reviews (Latham& Locke, 1991; Locke & Latham, 1990), meta-analyses(O'Leary-Kelly, Martocchio, & Frink, 1994; Wood, Mento,& Locke, 1987), and comparative assessments of goalsetting theory relative to other theories of motivation(Kanfer, 1990; Pinder, 1984), the specific reasons whyindividuals are motivated to devote effort and persistencetowards goal attainment are unclear. Thus, goal settingtheory offers explanations about how individuals attaina goal; however, the specific reasons for doing so areunknown. In the present study, two factors that mayexplain why individuals devote energy towards goalattainment were investigated, namely, task importanceand publicness of performance.A number of theories embrace the notion that individ-uals attempt to protect or enhance their self-image.Individuals prefer to feel positively rather than negativelyabout themselves. For example, a core assumption of theself-evaluation maintenance model (Tesser & Campbell,1983; Tesser, 1988) is that individuals attempt either tomaximize positive self-evaluation or to minimize negativeself-evaluation. Similarly, self-discrepancy theory (Hig-gins, 1987) states that individuals feel disappointed anddissatisfied when their performance is discrepant from anideal, personal aspiration. However, for any particularindividual it will be important to do well on only a smallsubset of all possible performance dimensions. These willtypically be the more central and important performancedimensions that form the core of the individual's identity.

Approach Versus Avoidance Goals: Differences in Self-Evaluation and Well-Being

Proceeding from a model of feature-positive goal monitoring, two studies tested hypothesized associations between approach goals and positive self-evaluations and between avoidance goals and negative self-evaluations. The existence of feature-positive searches in goal monitoring was expected to bias self-evaluations toward perceiving success for approach goals and failure for avoidance goals. Study 1 established the existence of a relationship between goal framing and global self-evaluations, or psychological well being, subjects with more avoidance goals evaluated themselves more negatively on measures of self-steem, optimism, and depression. Study 2 confirmed the causal role of goal framing in this relationship, for self perceptions of success and satisfaction differed as a function of manipulated approach versus avoidance goals.

Intergenerational links and positive self-cognitions: Parental correlates of optimism, learned resourcefulness, and self-evaluation

In a cross-sectional study of undergraduates and their parents we investigated parental correlates of three types of positive cognition related to mental and physical health outcomes: optimism, learned resourcefulness, and positive self-evaluation. The correlates were parental self-cognitions, parental approval and disapproval, and offspring's perception of parental approval and disapproval. Intergenerational effects were observed for learned resourcefulness and positive self-evaluation, but not for optimism. More parental approval was related to more positive self-attitudes in the offspring. For mothers, but not fathers, these relations were mediated by offspring's perceptions.

Effects of a skiing experience on adolescents with limb deficiencies: an occupational adaptation perspective.

Effects of a 6-day snow skiing trip on 14 adolescents with limb deficiencies were explored. The purpose was to determine whether components of mastery and self-esteem could be identified. Participant observation data collection methods included videotape, interviews, daily progress notes by ski instructors, and a 1-month posttrip questionnaire. Data were analyzed for evidence of efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction to self and others (properties of relative mastery described in occupational adaptation.) Skier reports of positive effects were analyzed for indications of an impact on self-esteem. Three occupational therapists who have extensive experience working with adolescents also reviewed videotapes and written information. The therapists acknowledged the presence of skill mastery as an important component of skiers' positive self-evaluation. They also commented that evidence of preexisting self-esteem and social aspects of the trip were as likely to produce positive effects as mastery of skiing. Research method considerations (use of participant observation for hypothesis testing) preclude definitive interpretation of a link between skill mastery and self-esteem. Short-term positive effects of the skiing experience reported by questionnaire were present 1 month after the trip. Long-term effects should be studied.

The relation between overly positive self-evaluation and adjustment: A comment on Colvin, Block, and Funder (1995).

The relation between overly positive self-evaluation and adjustment: A comment on Colvin, Block, and Funder (1995).

Religiosity and self-esteem among older adults.

The relationship between religiosity and self-esteem in later life was examined in this study. Previous research in this area provides conflicting findings. Some studies indicate that greater religious involvement tends to bolster feelings of self-worth, whereas others suggest that more religious involvement is associated with less positive self-evaluations. A new perspective is tested in the present study which predicts that there may be a nonlinear U-shaped relationship between these measures. More specifically, it is proposed that self-esteem is highest among elderly people with the greatest, as well as the least, amount of religious commitment and lowest among older adults with only modest levels of religiosity. The data tend to largely support this new view. However, feelings of self-worth tend to be lowest for those with very little religious commitment rather than those with moderate levels of religious involvement.

Stress and maternal adaptation in first-time mothers more than 35 years old

This prospective longitudinal study assessed relationships among variables of the early transition to parenthood and maternal stress and adaptation 1 year after delivery in primiparas older than 35 years. Life change scores at 1 month were associated with greater stress at 1 year. Positive self-evaluations of parenting early in the transition to parenthood were associated with greater confidence and support in mothering at 1 year. Compared with normative data, stress scores of study participants were found to be high. The importance of addressing early perceptions of parenting with older first-time mothers was supported.

Overly positive self-evaluations and personality: negative implications for mental health.

The relation between overly positive self-evaluations and psychological adjustment was examined. Three studies, two based on longitudinal data and another on laboratory data, contrasted self-descriptions of personality with observer ratings (trained examiners or friends) to index self-enhancement. In the longitudinal studies, self-enhancement was associated with poor social skills and psychological maladjustment 5 years before and 5 years after the assessment of self-enhancement. In the laboratory study, individuals who exhibited a tendency to self-enhance displayed behaviors, independently judged, that seemed detrimental to positive social interaction. These results indicate there are negative short-term and long-term consequences for individuals who self-enhance and, contrary to some prior formulations, imply that accurate appraisals of self and of the social environment may be essential elements of mental health.

Overly positive self-evaluations and personality: Negative implications for mental health.

Overly positive self-evaluations and personality: Negative implications for mental health.

Do comparative self-appraisals during young adulthood predict adult personality?

Archival data from the University of North Carolina Alumni Heart Study were used to assess whether positive, neutral, and negative social comparisons assessed during college predicted the expression of personality during adulthood. College students in 1966 rated themselves relative to peers on several personal attributes. For men and women, these attributes produced 3 similar yet distinct variables reflecting gregariousness, achievement striving, and expressiveness. These students were contacted 20 years later and completed the NEO Personality Inventory and M. Rosenberg's (1965) self-esteem measure. In general, persons with comparatively positive self-evaluations during college viewed themselves as possessing more positive and less negative personality traits during adulthood and were also less likely to report poorer self-esteem during middle adulthood. The implications of social comparison processes for personality development are discussed.

Two Dimensions of Self-Esteem: Reciprocal Effects of Positive Self-Worth and Self-Deprecation on Adolescent Problems

The presumed relationship between adolescent's self-esteem and the occurrence of social problems is a recurring theme in academic and public discourse. Evidence for this relationship is limited by an overreliance on global measures of self-esteem that combine positive and negative self-evaluations in a single measure. My study uses this prior research on the relationship of global measures of self-esteem to adolescent social problems as a comparative reference point for an analysis of the link between negative and positive self-worth and youth problems. Using nonrecursive linear structural equation models and data from the Youth in Transition study, I compare the reciprocal interrelations of self-deprecation (negative self-evaluations), positive self-worth (positive selfevaluations), and global self-esteem (which includes both positive and negative evaluations) on high school grades, depression, and delinquency. Ifind that when self-deprecation and positive self-worth measures are employed, nuances are revealed that were previously overlooked in studies relying exclusively on global self-esteem. For example, I find a powerful reciprocal causal relationship between self-deprecation and depression and an effect of self-deprecation and positive self-worth on grades in school. These findings encourage theoretical developments of a bidimensional construct to measure selfesteem that includes, in particular, self-deprecation.

Narcissism and Self-Evaluation Maintenance: Explorations in Object Relations

This study examined effects of threat to the sef on efforts to maintain a positive self-evaluation in individuals with varying levels of narcissism. Male students (N= 216) with varying levels of narcissism, as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, were given feedback that they had been either slightly or substantially outperformed on an ego-relevant task. Subjects completed personality ratings of the better-performing other believing that the other would or would not see the evaluation. According to Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model, one way to reduce threat from a better-performing other is to derogate the other More narcissistic individuals reacted to such a threat to self by rating the other more negatively than less narcissistic individuals. However, in contrast to prediction, narcissists were somewhat less negative in public than in private. Discussion centers on the utility of translating a psychoanalytic construct into social cognitive processes.