Regulating affect interpersonally: When low esteem leads to greater enhancement.

Abstract

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.,

Perception of A Model’s Self-Esteem as A Function of Observer Self-Esteem and Model’s Duration of Eye Contact

“…In spite of these cautions, however, our results are compatible with studies discussed earlier and other research showing that people often have a tendency to evaluate themselves in a positive fashion to enhance and protect their view of self (Gibbon, 1986;Greenberg & Pyszczynski, 1985;Hattie & Marsh, 1996;Lewinsohn, Mischel, Chaplin, & Barton, 1980;Taylor & Brown, 1988). Baumeister et al (1989) and Baumgardner et al (1989) note, however, the strategies used in this process can vary as a function of self-esteem. Along these lines, it seems reasonable to infer that our high self-esteem participants enhanced their self-esteem by perceiving lower self-esteem in the low-eye contact model.…”

“…Similarly, to the extent the low self-esteem observer identifies with the model in the short eye-contact condition, they could be expected to assign a relatively higher self-esteem to that model, again as a way of enhancing their own weak self-esteem. Hattie and Marsh (1996) describe a variety of ways in which low self-esteem individuals monitor others' behavior for cues and attributions to enhance their own sense of self, and Baumgardner, Kaufman, and Levy (1989) note the selfenhancement strategies of low self-esteem people is different from those with high self-esteem; the former are more likely to affiliate with less fortunate others in order to make downward comparisons and facilitate the self-enhancement process. A tentative, but reasonable prediction in the present study, therefore, is that high self-esteem observers will perceive greater self-esteem in the long-duration eye-contact model, whereas low self-esteem observers will perceive greater self-esteem in the shortduration eye-contact model.…”

Self-Esteem, Self-Prediction, and Living up to Commitments

“…There is considerable evidence that situational factors can lead to temporary changes in self-evaluation (Baumgardner, Kaufman, & Levy, 1989;Jones, Rhodewalt, Berglas, & Skelton, 1981) and it appears that although self-esteem is a relatively enduring trait, there are fluctuations that can be measured . Some aspects of the self may be more malleable than others and individuals are generally able to offset a threat to one dimension of their self-esteem by af-firming other unrelated aspects of the self (Steele, 1990).…”

Self-Esteem Maintenance Processes: Why Low Self-Esteem may be Resistant to Change

“…This idea is consistent with Blaine and Crocker's (1993) proposal that "people who are low in self-esteem have trouble believing their intrapsychic attempts at self-enhancement. Hence, they rely on eliciting positive reactions from others to enhance the self" (p. 80; see also Baumgardner, Kaufman, & Levy, 1989).…”