Defensive self-esteem impacts attention, attitude strength, and self-affirmation processes

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Volumn 47, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 1276-1284

  Haddock, Geoffrey ^a   Gebauer, Jochen E ^b  

^a CARDIFF UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY   (Germany)

Author keywords

Attention; Attitude strength; Defensive self esteem; Self affirmation

Indexed keywords

EID: 80051909532     PISSN: 00221031     EISSN: 10960465     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.05.020     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. Aiken L.S., West S.G. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions 1991, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
2. Alicke M.D., Sedikides C. Self-enhancement and self-protection: What they are and what they do. European Review of Social Psychology 2009, 20:1-48.
3. Armitage C.J., Rowe R. Testing multiple means of self-affirmation. British Journal of Psychology 2011, 102:535-545.
4. Barrett L.F., Williams N.L., Fong G.T. An analysis of defensive verbal behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2002, 28:776-788.
5. Bassili J.N. Meta-judgmental versus operative indexes of psychological attributes: The case of measures of attitude strength. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1996, 71:637-653.
6. Bosson J.K., Brown R.P., Zeigler-Hill V., Swann W.B. Self-enhancement tendencies among people with high explicit self-esteem: The moderating role of implicit self-esteem. Self & Identity 2003, 2:169-187.
7. Bosson J.K., Lakey C.E., Campbell W.K., Zeigler-Hill V., Jordan C.H., Kernis M.H. Untangling the links between narcissism and self-esteem: A theoretical and empirical review. Personality and Social Psychology Compass 2008, 2.
8. Briñol P., Petty R.E. Individual differences in attitude change. The handbook of attitudes and attitude change 2005, 575-615. Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ. D. Albarracín, B.T. Johnson, M.P. Zanna (Eds.).
9. Briñol P., Petty R.E., Wheeler S.C. Discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-concepts: Consequences for information processing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2006, 91:154-170.
10. Buhrmester M.D., Blanton H., Swann W.B. Implicit self-esteem: Nature, measurement, and a new way forward. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2011, 100:365-385.
11. Bushman B.J., Baumeister R.F. Threatened egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and displaced aggression: Does self-love or self-hate lead to violence?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1998, 75:219-229.
12. Cai H., Sedikides C., Gaertner L., Wang C., Carvallo M., Xu Y., et al. Tactical self-enhancement in China: Is modesty at the service of self-enhancement in East-Asian culture?. Social Psychological and Personality Science 2011, 2:59-64.
13. Campbell W.K., Bosson J.K., Goheen T.W., Lakey C.E., Kernis M.H. Do narcissists dislike themselves "deep down inside"?. Psychological Science 2007, 18:227-229.
14. Campbell W.K., Foster J.D. The narcissistic self: Background, an extended agency model, and ongoing controversies. Frontiers in social psychology: The self 2007, 115-138. Psychology Press, Philadelphia, PA. C. Sedikides, S. Spencer (Eds.).
15. Crocker J., Niiya Y., Mischkowski D. Why does writing about important values reduce defensiveness? Self-affirmation and the role of positive, other-directed feelings. Psychological Science 2008, 19:740-747.
16. Dandeneau S.D., Baldwin M.W. The inhibition of socially rejecting information among people with high versus low self-esteem: The role of attentional bias and the effects of bias reduction training. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 2004, 23:584-602.
17. DeBono K.G. Investigating the social adjustive and value expressive functions of attitudes: Implications for persuasion processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1987, 52:279-287.
18. Diener E., Emmons R.A. The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1984, 47:1105-1117.
19. Dijksterhuis A., Aarts H. On wildebeests and humans: The preferential detection of negative stimuli. Psychological Science 2003, 14:14-18.
20. Dijksterhuis A., Albers L.W., Bongers K.C.A. Digging for the real attitude: Lessons from research on implicit and explicit self-esteem. Attitudes: Insights from the new wave of implicit measures 2009, 229-250. Psychology Press, New York. R. Petty, R. Fazio, P. Briñol (Eds.).
21. Epstein S., Morling B. Is the self motivated to do more than enhance and/or verify itself?. Efficacy, agency, and self-esteem 1995, 9-30. Plenum Press, New York. M.H. Kernis (Ed.).
22. Fazio R.H. Attitudes as object-evaluation associations: Determinants, consequences, and correlates of attitude accessibility. Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences 1995, 247-282. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ. R.E. Petty, J.A. Krosnick (Eds.).
23. Fazio R.H., Olson M.A. Implicit measures in social cognition research: Their meaning and use. Annual Review of Psychology 2003, 54:297-327.
24. Fazio R.H., Sanbonmatsu D.M., Powell M.C., Kardes F.R. On the automatic activation of attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1986, 50:229-238.
25. Festinger L. Conflict, decision, and dissonance 1964, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
26. Gebauer J.E., Riketta M., Broemer P., Maio G.R. "How much do you like your name?" An implicit measure of global self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2008, 44:1346-1354.
27. Greenwald A.G., Banaji M.R. Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological Review 1995, 102:4-27.
28. Greenwald A.G., Farnham S.D. Using the Implicit Association Test to measure self-esteem and self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2000, 79:1022-1038.
29. Gregg A.P., Sedikides C. Narcissistic fragility: Rethinking its links to explicit and implicit self-esteem. Self and Identity 2010, 9:142-161.
30. Gyurak A., Ayduk O. Defensive physiological reactions to rejection: The effect of self-esteem and attentional control. Psychological Science 2007, 10:886-892.
31. Harris P.R., Epton T. The impact of self-affirmation on health cognition, health behaviour and other health-related responses: A narrative review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 2009, 3:962-978.
32. Jarvis W.B.G. MediaLab/DirectRT 2008, [computer software; Empirisoft Corp].
33. Jarvis W.B.G., Petty R.E. The need to evaluate. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1996, 70:172-194.
34. Jordan C.H., Logel C., Spencer S.J., Zanna M.P., Whitfield M.L. The heterogeneity of self-esteem: Exploring the interplay between implicit and explicit self-esteem. Attitudes: Insights from the new implicit measures 2009, 251-281. Psychology Press, New York, NY. R.E. Petty, R.H. Fazio, P. Briñol (Eds.).
35. Jordan C.H., Spencer S.J., Zanna M.P., Hoshino-Browne E., Correll J. Secure and defensive high self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003, 85:969-978.
36. Kaplan K.J. On the ambivalence-indifference problem in attitude theory and measurement: A suggested modification of the semantic differential technique. Psychological Bulletin 1972, 77:361-372.
37. Kernis M.H., Lakey C.E., Heppner W.L. Secure versus fragile high self-esteem as a predictor of verbal defensiveness: Converging findings across three different markers. Journal of Personality 2008, 76:477-512.
38. Klein W.M.P., Harris P.R. Self-affirmation enhances attentional bias toward threatening components of a persuasive message. Psychological Science 2009, 12:1463-1467.
39. Koole S.L., DeHart T. Self-affection without self-reflection: Origins, models, and consequences of implicit self-esteem. The self: Frontiers in social psychology 2007, 21-49. Psychology Press, New York, NY. C. Sedikides, S.J. Spencer (Eds.).
40. Koole S.L., Dijksterhuis A., van Knippenberg A. What's in a name: Implicit self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2001, 80:614-627.
41. Koole S.L., Pelham B.W. On the nature of implicit self-esteem: The case of the name letter effect. Motivated social perception 2003, 93-116. Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ. S.J. Spencer, S. Fein, M.P. Zanna, J.M. Olson (Eds.).
42. Kumashiro M., Sedikides C. Taking on board liability-focused feedback: Close positive relationships as a self-bolstering resource. Psychological Science 2005, 16:732-739.
43. Leary, M. R. (1995). Self-presentation: Impression management and interpersonal behavior. Boulder, CO: Westview.
44. Leary M.R., Baumeister R.F. The nature and function of self-esteem: Sociometer theory. Advances in experimental social psychology 2000, Vol. 32:1-62. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
45. Lei, X., & Gebauer, J. E. (2011). Name-liking as an indirect measure of self-esteem: Validity evidence from China. Unpublished Manuscript, Zhanjiang Normal University.
46. Lupien S.P., Seery M.D., Almonte J.L. Discrepant and congruent high self-esteem: Behavioral self-handicapping as a preemptive defensive strategy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2010, 46:1105-1108.
47. Maio G.R., Haddock G. The psychology of attitudes and attitude change 2010, Sage, London, UK.
48. Maio G.R., Olson J.M. Values as truisms: Evidence and implications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1998, 74:294-311.
49. Why we evaluate: Functions of attitudes 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Inc., Mahwah, NJ. G.R. Maio, J.M. Olson (Eds.).
50. McGregor I., Marigold D.C. Defensive zeal and the uncertain self: What makes you so sure?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003, 85:838-852.
51. McGregor I., Nail P.R., Marigold D.C., Kang S.-J. Defensive pride and consensus: Strength in imaginary numbers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2005, 89:978-996.
52. McGuire W.J. Personality and attitude change: An information-processing theory. Psychological foundations of attitudes 1968, 171-196. Academic Press, San Diego, CA. A.G. Greenwald, T.C. Brock, T.A. Ostrom (Eds.).
53. Olson M.A., Fazio R.H. Implicit and explicit measures of attitudes: The perspective of the MODE model. Attitudes: Insights from the new implicit measures 2009, 19-63. Psychology Press, New York, NY. R.E. Petty, R.H. Fazio, P. Briñol (Eds.).
54. Olson M.A., Fazio R.H., Hermann A.D. Reporting tendencies underlie discrepancies between implicit and explicit measures of self-esteem. Psychological Science 2007, 18:287-291.
55. Pelham B.W., Swann W.B. From self-conceptions to self-worth: The sources and structure of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1989, 57:672-680.
56. Petty R.E., Cacioppo J.T. The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. Advances in experimental social psychology 1986, Vol. 19:123-205. Academic Press, New York.
57. Attitudes: Insights from the new implicit measures 2009, Psychology Press, New York, NY. R.E. Petty, R.H. Fazio, P. Briñol (Eds.).
58. Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences 1995, Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ. R.E. Petty, J.A. Krosnick (Eds.).
59. Petty R.E., Wegener D.T. Matching versus mismatching attitude functions: Implications for scrutiny of persuasive messages. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 1998, 24:227-240.
60. Petty R.E., Wegener D.T. The elaboration likelihood model: Current status and controversies. Dual process theories in social psychology 1999, 41-72. Guilford, New York, NY. S. Chaiken, Y. Trope (Eds.).
61. Poortinga W., Pidgeon N., Lorenzoni I. Public perceptions of nuclear power, climate change and energy options in Britain: Summary findings of a survey conducted during October and November 2005. Understanding risk working paper 2006, University of East Anglia.
62. Rhodes N., Wood W. Self-esteem and intelligence affect influenceability: The mediating role of message reception. Psychological Bulletin 1992, 111:156-171.
63. Robins R.W., Hendin H.W., Trzesniewski K.H. Measuring global self-esteem: Construct validation of a single-item measure and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2001, 27:151-161.
64. Roskos-Ewoldsen D.R., Fazio R.H. On the orienting value of attitudes: Attitude accessibility as a determinant of an object's attraction of visual attention. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1992, 63:198-211.
65. Ross M., Wilson A.E. It feels like yesterday: Self-esteem, valence of personal past experiences, and judgments of subjective distance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2002, 82:792-803.
66. Rudolph A., Schröder-Abé M., Schütz A., Gregg A.P., Sedikides S. Through a glass, less darkly? Reassessing convergent and divergent validity in measures of implicit self-esteem. European Journal of Psychological Assessment 2008, 24:273-281.
67. Russell J.A., Carroll J.M. On the bipolarity of positive and negative affect. Psychological Bulletin 1999, 125:3-30.
68. Sandstrom M.J., Jordan R. Defensive self-esteem and aggression in childhood. Journal of Research in Personality 2008, 42:506-514.
69. Schmeichel B.J., Gailliot M.T., Filardo E., McGregor I., Gitter S., Baumeister R.F. Terror management theory and self-esteem revisited: The roles of implicit and explicit self-esteem in mortality salience effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2009, 96:1077-1087.
70. Schröder-Abé M., Rudolph A., Schütz A. High implicit self-esteem is not necessarily advantageous: Discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-esteem and their relationship with anger expression and psychological health. European Journal of Personality 2007, 21:319-339.
71. Schröder-Abé, M., Gebauer, J. E., Sedikides, C., & Schütz, A. (2011). Peer-perceptions of self-esteem: Explicit and implicit self-esteem matter. Unpublished manuscript, University of Bamberg.
72. Sedikides C., Gregg A.P. Self-enhancement: Food for thought. Perspectives on Psychological Science 2008, 3:102-116.
73. Sherman D.K., Cohen G.L. The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory. Advances in experimental social psychology 2006, Vol. 38:183-242. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
74. Sherman, D. K., & Hartson, K. A. (2011). Reconciling self-protection and self-improvement: Self-affirmation theory. In M. D. Alicke & C. Sedikides (Eds.), Handbook of self-enhancement and self-protection. New York, NY: Guilford.
75. Spalding L.R., Hardin C.D. Unconscious unease and self-handicapping: Behavioral consequences of individual differences in implicit and explicit self-esteem. Psychological Science 1999, 10:535-539.
76. Steele C.M. The psychology of self-affirmation: Sustaining the integrity of the self. Advances in experimental social psychology 1988, Vol. 21:261-302. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
77. Thompson M.M., Zanna M.P., Griffin D.W. Let's not be indifferent about attitudinal ambivalence. Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences 1995, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ. R.E. Petty, A.J. Krosnick (Eds.).
78. Verplanken B., Friborg O., Wang C.E., Trafimow D., Woolf K. Mental habits: Metacognitive reflection on negative self-thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2007, 92:526-541.
79. Wegener D.T., Downing J., Krosnick J.A., Petty R.E. Measures and manipulations of strength related properties of attitudes: Current practice and future directions. Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences 1995, 455-488. Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ. R.E. Petty, J.A. Krosnick (Eds.).
80. Williams J.M.G., Mathews A., MacLeod C. The emotional Stroop task and psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin 1996, 120:3-24.
81. Implicit measures of attitudes 2007, Guilford Press, New York. B. Wittenbrink, N. Schwarz (Eds.).
82. Zeigler-Hill V. Discrepancies between implicit and explicit self-esteem: Implications for narcissism and self-esteem instability. Journal of Personality 2006, 74:119-143.