To know oneself is to like oneself: Self-certainty and self-affect.

Abstract

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.

The cultural narrative of Francophone and Anglophone Quebecers and their perceptions of temporal relative deprivation: Links with esteem and well-being

“…Maslow (1954) and Rogers (1951) further asserted that developing and maintaining a consistent personal identity is a key foundation of an individual's wellbeing. Experimental research in social psychology has now well established that people holding a clear personal identity -that is to say, people with well articulated notions of who or what they are -have more positive personal self-esteem (Baumgardner, 1990;Campbell, 1990) and more positive self-affect (Baumgardner, 1990).…”

“…If "to know oneself is to like oneself' (Baumgardner, 1990), then what is the impact ofknowing the groups to which we belong? Religious, ethnic, and cultural groups from which we derive a sense of collective identity are unquestionably connected to one's state ofpersonal well-being (Ashmore, Deaux, & McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004).…”

“…Baumgardner, 1990;Campbell, 1990;Deaux, 1992), by investigating the role of collective identity and, specifically, the c1arity of one's cultural identity. The over-riding hypothesis ofthis research program is that a c1ear cultural identity is associated with positive personal wellbeing.…”

“…Two social psychological research programs have provided systematic evidence that the extent to which the content of one's personal identity is c1early and confidently held is related to positive personal self-esteem (Baumgardner, 1990;Campbell, 1990) and positive self-affect (Baumgardner, 1990).…”

Self-concept clarity: Measurement, personality correlates, and cultural boundaries.

“…That is, any particular set of selfbeliefs could, in principle, be organized with varying degrees of complexity or be held with different levels of confidence and stability. Campbell ( 1990;Campbell & Fehr, 1990;Campbell, Chew, & Scratchley, 1991; see also Baumgardner, 1990), has demonstrated, however, a connection between clarity and global self-esteem, an evaluative component of the contents. Although high-self-esteem people have positive, well-articulated beliefs about the self, the prototypic low-self-esteem person does not, in contrast, have a well-defined negative view of the self.…”