There's more to self-esteem than whether it is high or low: The importance of stability of self-esteem.

Abstract

Study 1 examined the extent to which stability and level of self-esteem predicted cognitive and emotional reactions to interpersonal feedback. Among high self-esteem individuals, instability was associated with acceptance and positive emotions following positive feedback but to rejection and defensiveness following negative feedback. Among low self-esteem individuals, instability was unrelated to reactions to positive feedback but was related to less defensiveness and greater acceptance of negative feedback. Study 2 examined the extent to which variability and importance of specific self-evaluations were associated with instability of global self-esteem. Discussion focused on the roles of level and stability of self-esteem in reactions to evaluations and on the nature of self-esteem instability.

Cites (6)

1. Society and the Adolescent Self-Image
   Rosenberg, Morris · 1965
2. Emotion And Adaptation
   Lazarus, Richard S · 1991
3. Control and information in the intrapersonal sphere: An extension of cognitive evaluation theory.
   Ryan, Richard M. · 1982 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
4. Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept.
   Campbell, Jennifer D. · 1990 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
5. Agreeable fancy or disagreeable truth? Reconciling self-enhancement and self-verification.
   Swann, William B., Pelham, Brett W., Krull, Douglas S. · 1989 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
6. Responses to evaluation as a function of initial self-perceptions.
   Shrauger, J. Sidney · 1975 · Psychological Bulletin

Show all 6 references

Cited by (53)

1. Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem.
   Baumeister, Roy F., Smart, Laura, Boden, Joseph M. · 1996 · Psychological Review
2. Unraveling the Paradoxes of Narcissism: A Dynamic Self-Regulatory Processing Model
   Morf, Carolyn C., Rhodewalt, Frederick · 2001 · Psychological Inquiry
3. Threatened egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and displaced aggression: Does self-love or self-hate lead to violence?
   Bushman, Brad J., Baumeister, Roy F. · 1998 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
4. Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: The implications of treating oneself kindly
   Leary, Mark R., Tate, Eleanor B., Adams, Claire E., Batts Allen, Ashley, Hancock, Jessica · 2007 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
5. TARGET ARTICLE: Toward a Conceptualization of Optimal Self-Esteem
   Kernis, Michael H. · 2003 · Psychological Inquiry

See all 534