Psyc 333 midterm 2

1990 self esteem report

all societal ills explained by epidemic of low self esteem

Methodological issues of self esteem

measuring self esteem, correlation vs causation, conflicting research and researcher bias

Measuring self esteem

is it an easy construct to look at?

correlation vs causation

issue of directionality

conflicting research

some like between aggression and high SE. are enhancement programs always beneficial?

Researcher bias

many different definitions/types of self esteem, very ambiguous results

Self esteem

success and pretensions

Pretensions

personal standards, aspirations or values people use to judge their performance in life

State vs trait

State is current feelings about self, trait is typical SE across situations

Global vs specific

Global is self worth, sepcific is self evaluation in particular areas of life

Implicit vs explicit

Implicit is unconscious evaluations of the self, explicit are conscious evaluations of self

High trait self esteem

uses confidence building strategies, strive to stand out in social situations

Low trait self esteem

use protective self presentation, seek to fit in, high rejection sensitivity

High rejection sensitivity

abstract feedback over specific feedback, self worth tied to external specific things

Changes in SE

little diff in SE before age 8, after adolecnece SE rises and peaks around 60 before declining around 70

Developmental factors to SE

Quality of home environment like parenting, cognitive stimulation, physical home environment

Self verification theory

functions to confirm whether we are aligning with how we see ourselves

Dominance theory

functions to signal dominance and status is social gropu

Terror management theory

acts as an existential buffer to death and suffering, SE measures how well we are doing this

Sociometer theory

Fundamental desire to be accepted and belong to grouped, SE as measure of our relational value

To test sociometer theory

Acceptance vs rejection in groups of 5, questionnaires with bogus feedback

Results of acceptance rejection study

Not being chosen for the group significantly lowered state self esteem whereas being excluded for random reason had no effect

how does SE respond to a wider range of feedback beyond rejection and acceptance?

sociometer sensitivity being measured. found that this is best at detecting subtle differences in treatments

Does trait self esteem also reflect people’s perceived relational value?

testing trait self esteem . found that yes, trait SE correlates highly w peoples perception of the degree to which they are valued, acceptance and supported by others

Do people have SE that is immune to social influence?

testing social influence. found no!

Claim that high se makes people more physically attractive

No sig correlation between ratings of attractiveness and self esteem but self reported physical attractiveness was strongly related to SE

claim that high SE leads to improved academic performance

found that doing well in school led to higher self esteem the next year but high SE did not lead to performing well in school

high se improves job performance

weak positive correlations

High SE results in social sucess

superior social skills and interpersonal success exists mostly in the mind with the exception of social initiative

Social initiative

tendency to initiate interpersonal contact

Dark side to SE

troubling link between high SE and aggression, but low SE individuals are less likely to take risks and stand out

criminals and high SE

Consistent findings suggest strong relationship between assaults and ego threats, high but unstable SE reliably predicts violent offenses

Group differences and agression

Men have higher SE and more violent than women. depressed people have low SE and less violent than control

Narcissim

High SE becomes an all encompassing need, often linked to social problems

Unmitigated agency

little concern for community with emphasis on status (at any cost)

Grandiose vs Vulnerable narcissit

positive association between grandiose narcissist and explicit SE, negative association between vulnerable narcissist and explicit SE

Mixed results of high se

predicts both perpetrators of bullying and those who stand up to bullies, also least and most likely to cheat

Contingencies of self worth

people tie self esteen to sucess in specific domains, motivational trade off

People tie self esteem to success in specific domains

where they stake their self worth, academic, relational and physical domains

motivational trade off

increased drive but higher emotional vulnerability, focus on proving oneself can undermine learning and relationships

Adolescents and contingencies

study found that higher reliance on external validation predicts future depressive symptoms

Baumeister review

beneifts of high SE were initiative, feeling good, limits of high SE, potential link to violence (outcome vs antecendent)

Fragile self esteem

can be high but fluctuates, attached to contingent domains

Stable self esteem

rarely fluctates, stable low SE assc w low SCC and stable high SE assc w high SCC