Individual Differences in Reactivity to Daily Events: Examining the Roles of Stability and Level of Self‐Esteem

Abstract

Unstable self-esteem is thought to reflect fragile and vulnerable feelings of self-worth that are affected by specific positive and negative events. Direct evidence for this contention is lacking, however. To redress this situation, we examined the extent to which level and stability of self-esteem predicted the impact that everyday positive and negative events had on individuals' feelings about themselves. Participants recorded the most positive and most negative event that occurred each day Monday through Thursday for a period of 2 weeks. They then indicated the extent to which each event made them feel better or worse about themselves. As anticipated, negative and positive events had a greater impact on the self-feelings of individuals with unstable as opposed to stable self-esteem (although the effect for positive events was marginal). Additional findings indicated that event qualities (i.e., self-esteem relevance and concerns about social acceptance/rejection) could account for the unstable self-esteem/greater reactivity link for negative events, but not for positive events. Negative, but not positive, events had a greater impact on the self-feelings of individuals with low as compared to high levels of self-esteem. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Predictors of Self-Esteem Variability

“…We separated the measure of adverse daily events from the measure of self-esteem variability to more precisely assess the degree to which adverse events contributed to SE variability. Greenier et al (1999) showed that those with more self-esteem variability felt better about themselves when they experienced a positive event and worse about themselves when they experienced a negative event over a 2-week period. Raters judged the negative events by people with labile SE to be more self-esteem relevant and related to social acceptance/rejection than the negative events of people with more stable self-esteem.…”

“…Indeed, Greenier et al (1999) found that students with labile self-esteem at baseline felt worse about themselves in response to subsequent negative events than did those with a more stable sense of self. Raters judged the negative events reported by those with labile SE to be more self-relevant and more interpersonal in nature, though not more intense, than the negative events reported by those with more stable SE.…”

“…This reactivity has been linked directly to negative and positive events and differentiated from random fluctuations. Greenier et al (1999) showed that those with unstable self-esteem at baseline reported feeling worse about themselves after negative daily events that occurred over a subsequent 2-week period and better after positive events. Those with more unstable baseline SE also reported more reactivity to events.…”

“…A central feature of people with a fragile self-esteem is that they often see events and experiences as relevant to their sense of self, and therefore they are highly reactive to such events (Greenier et al, 1999). It is as if their self-esteem is continually "on the line" and must be defended against perceived threats (Kernis et al, 2000).…”

TARGET ARTICLE: Toward a Conceptualization of Optimal Self-Esteem

“…Stable high self-esteem individuals have positive, well-anchored feelings of self-worth that are little affected by specific evaluative events. In contrast, unstable high self-esteem individuals possess favorable, yet fragile and vulnerable feelings of self-worth that are influenced by specific evaluative events (Greenier et al, 1999). These events may be internally generated (e.g., reflecting on one's earlier interactions with others) or externally provided (e.g., a positive evaluation).…”