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

The Qwantify app dataset: A remote experience sampling study of desire, emotion, and well-being

Experiences of desire—the feeling of wanting to have, do, or experience something—are pervasive and varied. Recent theoretical advances draw attention to characterizing this variation. Thus, this study investigated experiences of desire in everyday life and co-occurring social, physical, and emotional states, including facets of emotional experiences known to be related to well-being (e.g., perceived loneliness and stress). The Qwantify app was designed to run a remote experience sampling study. Through the app, participants were randomly alerted during their daily life to report on their experience in the moment. During the data collection period, any individual could download the freely available Qwantify app and participate in the study, without providing identifying information or communicating with researchers. Similar to other remote experience sampling studies, an incentive for participants to engage in the study was unlocking visualizations of their own data. Over 600 participants downloaded the app, completed the sign-up process, and responded to at least one experience sampling alert. Approximately 40% of these participants went on to respond to 50 alerts. The purpose of this report is to describe this experience sampling dataset such that it can be used to test a variety of hypotheses, including hypotheses regarding individual differences.

Neural mechanisms associated with semantic and basic self-oriented memory processes interact moderating self-esteem

Individuals constantly encounter feedback from others and process this feedback in various ways to maintain positive situational state self-esteem in relation to semantic-based or trait self-esteem. Individuals may utilize episodic or semantic-driven processes that modulate feedback in two different ways to maintain general self-esteem levels. To date, it is unclear how these processes work while individuals receive social feedback to modulate state self-esteem. Utilizing neural regions associated with semantic self-oriented and basic encoding processes (medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), respectively), in addition to time-frequency and Granger causality analyses to assess mPFC and PCC interactions, this study examined how the encoding of social feedback modulated individuals' (N = 45) post-task state self-esteem in relation to their trait self-esteem. Findings highlight the dynamic interplay between mPFC and PCC that modulate state self-esteem in relation to trait self-esteem, to maintain high self-esteem in general in the moment and over time.

Mediators and Moderators of Reinforced Self-Affirmation as a Method for Reducing the Memory Misinformation Effect

The misinformation effect occurs when an eyewitness includes information in his or her account that is incongruent with the event he or she witnessed, and stems from being exposed to incorrect external sources. This is a serious threat to the quality of witness testimony and to the correctness of decisions reached by courts. However, few methods have been developed to reduce the vulnerability of witnesses to misinformation. This article presents such a method, namely, reinforced self-affirmation (RSA), which, by increasing memory confidence of witnesses, makes them less inclined to rely on external sources of information and more on their own memory. The effectiveness of this method was confirmed in three experiments. It was also found that memory confidence, but not general self-confidence, is a mediator of the impact of RSA on misinformation effect (ME), and that contingent self-esteem and feedback acceptance, but not sense of self-efficacy or general self-esteem, are moderators of this impact. It is concluded that RSA may be a promising basis for constructing methods, which can be used by forensic psychologists in real forensic settings.

Narcissism and Devaluing Others: An Exploration of Impaired Control Over Drinking as a Mediating Mechanism of Alcohol-Related Problems

Devaluing or diminishing the worth of others is how many individuals destroy their relationships, such as by drinking beyond limits at inappropriate times and letting others down. Impaired control over drinking (IC) reflects consuming alcohol beyond predetermined limits. This investigation sought to determine whether facets of vulnerable narcissism (e.g., entitlement-rage, hiding-the-self, contingent-self-esteem, and devaluing) or narcissistic grandiosity (e.g. grandiose-fantasy, self-sacrificing-for-self-enhancement, and exploitativeness) were directly related to IC and indirectly related to drinking outcomes. We examined a path model of 759 university student drinkers. Our results show that while grandiose-fantasy (i.e., desire for special recognition) was negatively linked to IC, devaluing was positively linked to IC. In addition, men scored higher on exploitativeness (i.e., interpersonally manipulative for personal gain) than women. We conducted mediational analysis with asymmetric confidence intervals and a bias-corrected bootstrap technique. Mediational tests showed that higher levels of grandiose-fantasy were indirectly related to fewer alcohol-related problems through less IC and less heavy-episodic drinking. In contrast, higher levels of devaluing were indirectly related to more alcohol-related problems through more IC and heavy-episodic-drinking. Our results suggest that targeting thought processes in which people with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) are actively devaluing others may be a good target for therapeutic intervention.

Identity in bipolar disorder: Self-worth and achievement

This article considers self and self-concept in bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder, defined on the basis of manic symptoms, is a highly debilitating psychopathology. It is heavily grounded in biology but symptom course is still very responsive to psychological and social forces in the lives of persons who have the disorder. This review assumes an overall view of the self that is typical of personality psychology: self as traits, self as goals and aspirations, and ongoing efforts to attain those goals. In this review, we will discuss two different facets of self and identity in bipolar disorder. First, we review a body of goal pursuit literature suggesting that persons with bipolar disorder endorse heightened ambitions for attaining goals and recognition from others. Second, we will review multiple findings which suggest that among persons with bipolar disorder, self-worth depends on measurable success in an extreme way. We will consider how the intersection of these two themes may lead to unique identity challenges for people with bipolar disorder, drawing from self-report, behavioral, and neuroscience findings to critically examine this viewpoint.

Technology, attributions, and emotions in post-secondary education: An application of Weiner's attribution theory to academic computing problems

As technology becomes increasingly integrated with education, research on the relationships between students' computing-related emotions and motivation following technological difficulties is critical to improving learning experiences. Following from Weiner's (2010) attribution theory of achievement motivation, the present research examined relationships between causal attributions and emotions concerning academic computing difficulties in two studies. Study samples consisted of North American university students enrolled in both traditional and online universities (total N = 559) who responded to either hypothetical scenarios or experimental manipulations involving technological challenges experienced in academic settings. Findings from Study 1 showed stable and external attributions to be emotionally maladaptive (more helplessness, boredom, guilt), particularly in response to unexpected computing problems. Additionally, Study 2 found stable attributions for unexpected problems to predict more anxiety for traditional students, with both external and personally controllable attributions for minor problems proving emotionally beneficial for students in online degree programs (more hope, less anxiety). Overall, hypothesized negative effects of stable attributions were observed across both studies, with mixed results for personally controllable attributions and unanticipated emotional benefits of external attributions for academic computing problems warranting further study.

The Moral Self-Image Scale: Measuring and Understanding the Malleability of the Moral Self

Recent ethical decision-making models suggest that individuals' own view of their morality is malleable rather than static, responding to their (im)moral actions and reflections about the world around them. Yet no construct currently exists to represent the malleable state of a person's moral self-image (MSI). In this investigation, we define this construct, as well as develop a scale to measure it. Across five studies, we show that feedback about the moral self alters an individual's MSI as measured by our scale. We also find that the MSI is related to, but distinct from, related constructs, including moral identity, self-esteem, and moral disengagement. In Study 1, we administered the MSI scale and several other relevant scales to demonstrate convergent and discriminant validity. In Study 2, we examine the relationship between the MSI and one's ought versus ideal self. In Studies 3 and 4, we find that one's MSI is affected in the predicted directions by manipulated feedback about the moral self, including feedback related to social comparisons of moral behavior (Study 3) and feedback relative to one's own moral ideal (Study 4). Lastly, Study 5 provides evidence that the recall of one's moral or immoral behavior alters people's MSI in the predicted directions. Taken together, these studies suggest that the MSI is malleable and responds to individuals' moral and immoral actions in the outside world. As such, the MSI is an important variable to consider in the study of moral and immoral behavior.

Mood-Reactive Self-Esteem and Depression Vulnerability: Person-Specific Symptom Dynamics via Smart Phone Assessment

Cognitive theories of depression suggest that mood-reactive self-esteem, a pattern of cognitive reactivity where low self-esteem is temporally dependent on levels of sadness, represents vulnerability for depression. Few studies have directly tested this hypothesis, particularly using intensive data collection methods (i.e., experience sampling) required to capture the temporal dynamics of sadness and self-esteem as they unfold naturally, over time. In this study we used participants' smartphones to collect multiple daily ratings of sadness and self-esteem over three weeks, in the real world. We then applied dynamic factor modeling to explore theoretically driven hypotheses about the temporal dependency of self-esteem on sadness (i.e., mood-reactive self-esteem) and its relationship to indices of depression vulnerability both contemporaneously (e.g., rumination, sad mood persistence) and prospectively (e.g., future symptomatology). In sum, individuals who demonstrated mood-reactive self-esteem reported higher levels of rumination at baseline, more persistent sad mood over three weeks, and increased depression symptoms at the end of three weeks above and beyond a trait-like index of self-esteem. The integration of smartphone assessment and person-specific analytics employed in this study offers an exiting new avenue to advance the study and treatment of depression.

Linking stable and dynamic features of positive affect to sleep

BACKGROUND

Poor sleep contributes to adult morbidity and mortality.

PURPOSE

The study examined the extent to which trait positive affect (PA) and PA reactivity, defined as the magnitude of change in daily PA in response to daily events, were linked to sleep outcomes.

METHODS

Analyses are based on data from 100 respondents selected from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States.

RESULTS

Multilevel analyses indicated that higher levels of trait PA were associated with greater morning rest and better overall sleep quality. In contrast, PA reactivity was associated with diminished sleep efficiency. Finally, interactions between PA reactivity and trait PA emerged on all three sleep measures, such that higher event-related change in daily positive affect was associated with impaired sleep, especially among individuals high in trait PA.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that high trait PA, when coupled with high PA reactivity, may contribute to poor sleep.

The Dynamics of Self-Esteem in Cognitive Therapy for Avoidant and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders: An Adaptive Role of Self-Esteem Variability?

Self-esteem variability is often associated with poor functioning. However, in disorders with entrenched negative views of self and in a context designed to challenge those views, variable self-esteem might represent a marker of change. We examined self-esteem variability in a sample of 27 patients with Avoidant and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders who received Cognitive Therapy (CT). A therapy coding system was used to rate patients' positive and negative views of self expressed in the first ten sessions of a 52-week treatment. Ratings of negative (reverse scored) and positive view of self were summed to create a composite score for each session. Self-esteem variability was calculated as the standard deviation of self-esteem scores across sessions. More self-esteem variability predicted more improvement in personality disorder and depression symptoms at the end of treatment, beyond baseline and average self-esteem. Early variability in self-esteem, in this population and context, appeared to be a marker of therapeutic change.

Physical activity, body composition and physical self-esteem: a 3-year follow-up study among adolescents in Sweden

AIMS

To measure physical activity by means of daily pedometer steps, body composition, expressed as body mass index (BMI) and bioelectrical impedance as percent body fat, and perceived physical self-esteem and additionally, to evaluate eventual predictors for a healthy lifestyle i.e., highly physically active, normal weighted and a high physical self-esteem in a follow-up group.

METHODS

During autumn 2000 physical activity level was assessed and BMI was calculated in 871 children aged 7-14 in south eastern Sweden and in 501 of these, physical self-esteem were also assessed. During autumn 2003 a total of 375 adolescents aged 15-18 were assessed using the same methodology and additionally percent body fat was measured. Ninety-three of these adolescents (46 girls), were also measured in 2000 and they formed the follow-up group.

RESULTS

In the follow-up group a significant increase in BMI and stability in physical self-esteem in boys and girls, and in boys a significant decrease in daily steps was found 3 years later. Strongest predictor to be highly physically active, maintain normal BMI and high self-esteem 3 years later, i.e., to have a healthy lifestyle, was for girls increased self-esteem and for boys a decreased BMI.

CONCLUSION

Consequently, for a healthy lifestyle, promoting physical self-esteem in girls and weight control in boys is of great importance in early adolescence.

The Pursuit of Self-Esteem: Contingencies of Self-Worth and Self-Regulation

Successful self-regulation is defined as the willingness to exert effort toward one's most important goals, while taking setbacks and failures as opportunities to learn, identify weaknesses and address them, and develop new strategies toward achieving those goals. Contingencies of self-worth can facilitate self-regulation because people are highly motivated to succeed and avoid failure in domains of contingency. However, because boosts in self-esteem are pleasurable and drops in self-esteem are painful, protection, maintenance, and enhancement of self-esteem can become the overriding goal. Several pitfalls for self-regulation can result, especially when tasks are difficult and failure is likely. In this article, we describe a program of research examining these self-regulation pitfalls associated with contingent self-worth and suggest that learning orientations, particularly the willingness to embrace failure for the learning it affords, foster successful self-regulation even in people with highly contingent self-esteem.

Aggression and self-esteem: a diary study of children's reactivity to negative interpersonal events

The study employs a daily diary design to assess self-esteem reactivity and its association with children's aggressive behavior. We test the hypothesis that the self-esteem of aggressive children will be more reactive to negative interpersonal events than the self-esteem of nonaggressive children. Results provide partial support for the aggression/reactivity hypothesis. Aggressive children's self-esteem was more reactive to negative peer events but less reactive to negative adult events than the self-esteem of less aggressive children. These findings are discussed in relation to the experimental literature relating self-esteem instability and ego-threat to aggression and in relation to the extensive body of research on childhood aggression. Intervention implications are also considered.

Costs of Self-Handicapping

Four studies examined the relation of trait self-handicapping with health-related measures. Study 1 showed that, over time, self-handicapping and maladjustment reinforce each other. Study 2 showed that self-handicappers reported a loss in competence satisfaction which, in turn, mediated the relation of self-handicapping with negative mood. Study 3 found that, over time, self-handicappers report an increase in substance use. Study 4 showed that self-handicappers reported a loss in intrinsic motivation for their jobs. It was suggested that people with unstable (or contingent) self-esteem use self-handicapping to bolster a fragile self-concept.