Four experiments demonstrated that certainty about self-attributes is associated with positive affect about the self. In Experiments (Exps.) 1-3, low esteem was associated with less certainty about possessing several trait attributes, as measured by confidence intervals (Exps. 1-2) and reaction time (Exp. 3). The finding that low-esteem Ss were less certain was reversed when Ss rated the traits in public (Exp. 2a), suggesting that low-esteem Ss do not simply respond to impression management cues, and was attenuated when Ss estimated the traits of friends (Exps. 2b and 3), suggesting that lack of certainty of low-esteem people is specific to self-judgments. In Exp. 4, Ss exposed to certain diagnoses of their self-perceived traits showed an improvement in self-affect and egotism. Links between prediction and control, and subsequent affect about the self are discussed.

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We tested the hypothesis that low self-esteem persons use self-presentation to improve their affect. In Experiments 1-3, Ss high in self-esteem (HSE) and low in self-esteem (LSE) responded publicly or privately to positive or negative feedback from a computer "personality test" (Experiments 1 and 2) or from a peer (Experiment 3). In public, LSE Ss complimented positive sources and derogated negative sources more than their counterparts did. Experiment 2 showed that this was not due to another person's awareness of the feedback, ruling out a strict impression management interpretation. In Experiment 4, some Ss were coaxed to compliment the source of feedback and others were coaxed to derogate the source of feedback. When publicly complimenting positive feedback or derogating negative feedback, LSE Ss generally showed a rise in esteem relative to their counterparts. Based on these findings, a model of affect regulation in interpersonal relations is proposed.Typically, individuals react favorably to compliments and unfavorably to insults (e.g.,

The purpose of this study was to replicate a study examining the relationship of client and counselor sex, experience level, and type of referral to the return rate of clients after intake interviews. In addition, the effect on return rate of clients referred to another counselor versus those who continued with the counselor at intake and the agreement between client and intake counselor on the nature of the problem were examined. Most of the differences related to sex were not significant. No differences were found relating to counselor experience level. Significant differences were found in return rates relating to counselor/client agreement on the nature of the problem and to the decision to keep or refer clients. The replicated finding that counselor experience level does not seem to make any difference is not reassuring. The inconsistent findings relating to sex suggest turning to other variables for further study.

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