Feminine self-esteem, self-ratings of competence, and maternal career commitment.

Conducted a study with 71 college females to examine the relationship between self-esteem (as measured by Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory) and self-ratings of competence on Rosenkrantz's Sex-Role Stereotype Questionnaire. Comparisons were made of Ss whose mothers differed in work history and attitudes toward careers. Higher self-esteem was predicted for Ss who rated themselves highly on competence-related traits; this hypothesis was supported. Higher self-esteem and higher self-ratings on competence were expected for Ss whose mothers worked and Ss whose mothers desired a career. Findings were that maternal preference for a career had a positive effect upon Ss' self-esteem and evaluations of their own competence; maternal employment did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-awareness, psychological perspective, and self-reinforcement in relation to personal and social standards.

Assessed whether Ss would be more likely to judge their own behavior from a social perspective when they were self-aware than when they were not self-aware. 48 undergraduates reinforced themselves after receiving feedback about a performance task that indicated they had surpassed their own standard, a social standard, both standards, or neither standard. Ss did not alter their reinforcement as a function of the self-awareness manipulation when they surpassed both standards or neither standard. However, when Ss learned that they had surpassed their own standard but not the social standard, they rewarded themselves significantly more (p?p?p?p?p?     

Vicarious acquisition of learned helplessness.

In a study with 75 female undergraduates, the performance of Ss following either direct or vicarious experience with a noncontingent training task was compared with the performance of Ss who experienced contingent outcomes on the same task. Ss given no experience with the training task served as an additional control group. Relative to Ss experiencing either no prior training or contingent training, Ss exposed to noncontingency manifested performance deficits on a subsequent test task. Moreover, the magnitude of these deficits was comparable for Ss who had directly experienced noncontingency and those who had merely observed someone else experience noncontingency. These findings suggest that perceiving a low degree of contingency in a given situation may be a result of either direct or vicarious exposure to noncontingency. Thus, learned helplessness effects may be induced by a modeling procedure. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of group expectations and self-esteem upon self-evaluation.

This study explores the effect of a specific level of achievement upon an individual's evaluations of his performance when the achievement is relative to an aspiration level set by a group and to the member's stabilized expectations about himself as represented by his self-esteem. Ss were assigned to one of 4 conditions, composed of the combinations of high and low group expectations and relevance and non-relevance of task to the purposes of the group. Half of the Ss within each experimental condition were allowed to succeed and the other half made to fail. Several specific hypotheses within this framework were tested. "The group's expectations appear to have been more potent as a scale of reference than the individual's self-esteem in determining his evaluation of his performance. When the influence of the group was weakest (task was non-relevant) persons high in self-esteem… differed in the way they evaluated their performance. When the influence of the group was strongest (task was relevant) there was no difference in the way that persons high or low in self-esteem rated their achievement." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive self-presentation: Beyond self-handicapping.

An experiment was conducted to examine the notion that depressives' responses would reflect a protective self-presentation style (M. G. Hill et al, 1986), the underlying goal of which would be the avoidance of future performance demands and potential losses in self-esteem. In this study, depressed and nondepressed Ss were asked to perform a relatively simple visual–motor task. Half of the depressed and half of the nondepressed Ss were told that if they were successful at the task, they would be asked to perform a 2nd similar task. The remaining Ss were given no such expectation of future performance. We predicted and found that depressed compared with nondepressed Ss strategically failed at the task when presented with the possibility of future performance and further losses in esteem. Moreover, this strategic failure was associated with some costs; depressed, future performance expectancy Ss experienced more discomfort or negative affect as a result of their performance. The relationship between this depressive self-presentation and self-handicapping strategies is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional focus and locus of performance causality as determinants of equity behavior.

168 undergraduates divided reward between themselves and a competitor following performance on a task in which they were either responsible or not responsible for the results. While receiving performance feedback and allocating reward, Ss either faced a mirror (self-focused condition) or a nonreflecting surface (not-self-focused condition). The equity norm was followed when Ss were responsible for their performance, although the degree of differentiation between recipients was much more extreme among self-focused allocators than among not-self-focused allocators. The equality norm was followed when Ss were not responsible for their performance, regardless of their attentional focus. Results show that equity behavior is exacerbated by self-awareness when the Ss sees himself or herself as responsible for relative performance differences. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When ego threats lead to self-regulation failure: Negative consequences of high self-esteem.

The tendency for people with high self-esteem to make inflated assessments and predictions about themselves carries the risk of making commitments that exceed capabilities, thus leading to failure. Ss chose their performance contingencies in a framework where larger rewards were linked to a greater risk of failure. In the absence of ego threat, Ss with high self-esteem showed superior self-regulation: They set appropriate goals and performed effectively. Ego threat, however, caused Ss with high self-esteem to set inappropriate, risky goals that were beyond their performance capabilities so they ended up with smaller rewards than Ss with low self-esteem. The results indicate the danger of letting egotistical illusions interfere with self-regulation processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of reward upon the social perception and motivation of psychiatric patients varying in depression.

This study is concerned with the effects of task performance upon the affective state and social judgments of depressed individuals. Nondepressed and depressed male psychiatric patients were randomly assigned to an experimentally-induced superior- and inferior-performance condition. Prior to and immediately following the experimental task, Ss rated their own mood and judged photographs of male and female adults on a happiness-sadness continuum. Indices of self-confidence were also obtained. Ss in the superior-performance group in comparison to inferior-performance Ss were more self-confident, rated themselves as happier, and perceived others as happier. Depressive Ss tended to be more affected than nondepressed Ss by task performance when estimating how they would do in a future task; the groups did not differ, however, in performance effects on self-ratings or on judgments of photographs. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of self-esteem, hypothetical explanations, and verbalization of expectancies on future performance.

A hypothetical explanation task was used to make success- or failure-related cognitions differentially available for 60 high self-esteem (HSE) and 60 low self-esteem (LSE) undergraduates. Ss wrote an explanation for either a hypothetical failure or success, or they wrote no explanation. Half of the Ss in each condition stated performance expectancies. The effects of these variables on subsequent performance were examined. Success explanations increased the performance of both HSE and LSE Ss, whereas failure explanations only decreased the performance of LSE Ss. A content analysis revealed that the content of failure explanations, but not success explanations, was related to self-esteem and subsequent performance. These effects were more pronounced for Ss who stated expectancies, and expectancies were more highly correlated with performance in the explanation conditions than in the no-explanation control condition. Results are discussed in terms of current self-esteem theory and the cognitive processes associated with generating causal scenarios for success and failure, expectations, and performance. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of self-esteem and performance feedback on future affective preferences and cognitive expectations.

Tested the hypothesis that individuals, regardless of their chronic levels of self-esteem, affectively prefer success to failure but cognitively continue to expect success or failure in a manner consistent with their chronic levels of self-esteem. 64 high, moderate, and low self-esteem females (Texas Social Behavior Inventory) were given either success, failure, or no feedback regarding their performance on an "analogies test." Ss' preference for performance, perceived ability for performance, and predictions for actual performance on a future task were assessed. As predicted, Ss preferred future success to future failure regardless of chronic level of self-esteem. Ss with high or low chronic levels of self-esteem perceived ability for future performance and expected actual future performance in a manner consistent with their chronic levels of self-esteem rather than consistent with feedback on current performance. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reality attentiveness-inattentiveness and externalization-internalization in defensive style.

Attempts to link the degree of attentiveness or inattentivenss characteristically displayed toward the immediate environment and the locus of conflict in subjective experience. It was hypothesized that Ss who avail themselves of opportunities to withdraw attention from reality when such an option is an adaptive alternative in a particular situation would also tend subjectively to experience conflict as lying within themselves, whereas Ss who remain attentionally anchored in their immediate surroundings even when the task requirements do not demand sustained environmental attentiveness would tend to experience conflict as lying between themselves and something else. Several measures of different aspects of reality attentiveness-inattentiveness were all found to correlate significantly with an index of externalization-internalization in defensive style among a sample of 83 female college students. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in interaction style as a product of perceived sex differences in competence.

Observed the interaction styles of 72 male and 72 female university students while they worked in 4-person, mixed-sex groups on a discussion task. In some groups, Ss were only given information about each other's names and gender. In this circumstance, males were perceived by themselves and other group members to be higher in competence than females. Males also engaged in a greater amount of active task behavior than females, who exhibited a greater amount of positive social behavior than males. In other groups, Ss' competency-based status was manipulated by providing false feedback that they were high or low relative to their group in intellectual and moral aptitude. High-status Ss were then perceived to be more competent and engaged in more active task and less positive social behavior than low status ones. In this condition, no sex differences were obtained on perceived competence or on active task or positive social behavior. Findings support the idea that the gender differences obtained in interaction when status was not specified were partially a function of Ss' belief that the sexes differ in competence. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-schemas, possible selves, and competent performance.

College students were classified as either schematic for being a good problem solver (i.e., they believed they were very good in this area, and this ability was very important to their self-evaluation) or aschematic for this ability (i.e., they believed they had moderate ability in this area, and this ability was of moderate to low importance to their self-evaluation). In Study 1, schematic and aschematic Ss performed equally well in an initial problem-solving test; however, aschematic Ss did not enjoy the task and had negative possible selves related to logical ability active in working memory. In Study 2, aschematic Ss maintained competent performance on a problem-solving test only when given failure feedback on an earlier test. The results point to the importance of the self-concept in the development and maintenance of competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Segmentation of behavior: Effects of actual deception and expected deception.

In Exp I, 6 undergraduate judges viewed videotapes of 59 sender-Ss who described someone they liked, someone they disliked, someone they dominated, and someone to whom they submitted. Each target person was either described truthfully, using concealment, or using deception. Results show that in the face, deceptive and concealed messages were associated with a smaller number of segments than truthful messages. In Exp II, 24 Ss were assigned the role of senders of deceptive and truthful messages, 84 Ss performed the segmentation (judging) task, and 98 Ss provided the perceived deception scores. Ss asked to segment the materials were either informed or uninformed that the messages were at times deceptive. Videotaping of the face and body was done in Exp II. Results show that deceptive messages elicited a greater number of segments in the body. Ss informed about deception generated a smaller number of segments; these observers may have been distracted and/or aroused by their need to distinguish lie- from truth-telling and may not have been able to identify all breakpoints in the messages. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptions of ability and related affects in task involvement and ego involvement.

Conducted 5 studies to determine if 207 high school and college students would employ different conceptions of ability in different achievement situations. Each experiment involved a 2 (task vs ego involvement) by 2 (low vs high effort) design. In self-referenced (task-involving) situations, Ss employed a less differentiated conception of ability: Judgments of greater competence and more positive affects were associated with higher effort when performance was controlled. In interpersonally competitive (ego-involving) testing situations, Ss employed a more differentiated conception of ability. Given a fixed level of performance, Ss judged their ability lower when they worked harder than others and higher when they worked less than others. They also expected to feel more guilty when they did not try hard, but more embarrassed when they did. It is concluded that effort is a double-edged sword in ego-involving conditions, but not in task-involving conditions. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task ego-involvement and self-esteem as moderators of situationally devalued self-esteem.

Conducted 2 experiments to investigate the effects of situationally devalued self-esteem and 2 levels of task involvement on performance on a word-sorting task. In Exp I, 48 male undergraduates completed an 8-min pretest and were told either that they had done poorly or acceptably. Ss then completed a 35-min real test under high or low involvement conditions (which stressed or did not stress the importance of the task). In Exp II, 60 undergraduates completed the same tests but only self-esteem was manipulated. A chronic self-esteem measure derived from a self-assurance scale, was administered to all Ss (see record 1969-03188-001). Results indicate increased productivity in the high involvement and high self-esteem conditions, suggesting that protection of self-concept effects occurred (i.e., performance will be increased); however, productivity was not decreased in the low conditions, indicating a failure of self-consistency effects to emerge. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contingency judgments by depressed college students: Sadder but not always wiser.

Three experiments with 296 undergraduates examined depressed and nondepressed (Beck Depression Inventory) Ss' perceptions of control over outcomes in a task similar to the one introduced by L. B. Alloy and L. Y. Abramson (see record 1981-02686-001). In Exp I, when Ss completed a contingency learning task with no one else present, nondepressed Ss perceived themselves to have more control over frequently occurring response-independent outcomes than did depressed Ss, which replicated Alloy and Abramson's finding. When Ss completed the task in the presence of an observer, depressed students perceived themselves to have more control than did nondepressed Ss. In Exp II, the observer effects found in Exp I were replicated; the present authors also showed that, when response-independent outcomes occurred relatively infrequently, depressed and nondepressed Ss who completed the task in the presence of an observer did not reliably differ in their estimates of personal control. In Exp III, the pattern of results found in Exps I and II was replicated under conditions in which observers were present while Ss received frequently occurring outcomes. Overall findings demonstrate that the consistently accurate personal control estimates of depressed Ss that have been found across a variety of situations break down when Ss complete a contingency learning task in the presence of an observer, and outcomes occur independently of response at a high frequency. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of strategic self-presentation on subsequent self-esteem.

Three experiments (88 male and 36 female undergraduates) explored the effects of self-enhancement or self-deprecation on the actor's self-esteem as measured in a separate context. In Exp I, Ss were influenced, by observing others in a screening interview, to emulate their self-enhancing or self-deprecating behavior when they themselves were interviewed. This carried over and was reflected in their subsequent self-esteem. In Exp II, this carry-over effect was replicated in a setting in which S was interviewed while playing the role of a job candidate. In Exp III, Ss instructed to be self-enhancing in an interview subsequently showed elevated self esteem (unless their interview behavior was prescribed by the experimenter and thus not self-referring). Ss instructed to be self-deprecating subsequently showed lowered self-esteem if they had been given a clear choice as to whether to engage in the interview. It is concluded that self-perception theory can account for self-enhancing carry-over, whereas dissonance theory offers a more appropriate explanation for the carry-over or internalization of self-deprecating actions. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-esteem, self-consciousness, and task performance: Replications, extensions, and possible explanations.

Previous research has suggested that the task performance of low self-esteem individuals (low SEs) is impaired under conditions designed to increase self-focused attention. Task-focusing, rather than self-focusing, manipulations have actually bolstered the achievement of low SEs. The results of the present 2 experiments with 207 undergraduates demonstrated that the performance of low SEs on a concept formation task was affected by a variety of attentional manipulations. As before, task-focusing instructions enhanced and self-focusing stimuli impaired their performance on a concept formation task (Study 1). Similar results were obtained for Ss who scored high (but not for those who scored low) on an individual difference measure of self-consciousness. Study 2 also demonstrated that when the task-focusing manipulation worked, it neutralized the adverse effects of the self-focusing stimulus on the low SEs' performance. Supplementary data suggested that the manipulations generally had their intended effects on attentional focus and that attentional focus influenced performance. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)