The roles of self-esteem and self-consciousness in the Wortman-Brehm model of reactance and learned helplessness.

Studied the conditions under which failure would enhance or inhibit subsequent task performance. Based on the theory of C. B. Wortman and J. W. Brehm (1975), it was expected that small amounts of failure would produce reactance (manifested by improved performance at a subsequent task); large amounts would lead to learned helplessness (i.e., impaired later performance). It was further expected that individual differences in self-esteem and private self-consciousness would serve as moderator variables for the effects. In Exp I, 78 college students were exposed to either a small amount or no failure before working on an anagrams task. As predicted, Ss high in self-consciousness, who showed greater reactance arousal in attitude change studies, performed better on the anagrams task than Ss low in self-consciousness in the small-failure condition, but not in the no-failure condition. In Exp II, 119 Ss were pretreated with either a small amount of failure, an extended amount of failure, or no failure before working on the task. A significant Self-Esteem by Helplessness Training interaction emerged. Low self-esteem Ss (low SEs) performed marginally better than did high SEs in the small-failure condition but significantly worse than high SEs in the extended-failure condition. Questionnaire data from Exp II were consistent with the notion that enhanced performance reflected reactance, whereas impaired performance signified helplessness. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance impairment after failure: Mechanism and sex differences.

Conducted 2 experiments in which 120 male and 120 female 7th graders completed 10 solvable or unsolvable matching-figures tasks and then tried to solve 15 anagrams described as highly or moderately difficult. In Exp I, 120 Ss did not have the option to give up on an anagram before the allotted time had elapsed. No performance impairment in response to failure was found. In Exp II with another 120 Ss, Ss were able to give up and choose to move on to the next anagram. Boys performed significantly worse after failure when anagrams were described as moderately difficult. They performed as well as Ss who completed solvable matching figures, however, when the 2nd task was described as very difficult. These data for the boys were consistent with M. Zuckerman's (see record 1980-28101-001) ego-threat hypothesis. Girls followed the pattern associated with learned helplessness (e.g., C. S. Dweck and N. D. Reppucci; see record 1973-26160-001), performing less well when the 2nd task was described as very difficult. The presence or absence of an observer had no effect. (18 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)     

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)     

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)     

Self-esteem and persistence in the face of failure.

In 2 studies, the authors examined self-esteem, persistence, and rumination in the face of failure. Study 1 manipulated degree of failure and availability of goal alternatives. When an alternative was available, high self-esteem (HSE) participants persisted more than low self-esteem (LSE) participants after a single failure, but less after repeated failure. When no alternative was available, no self-esteem differences in persistence emerged. LSE participants ruminated more than HSE participants. Study 2 examined persistence and rumination for 10 personal goals across an academic year. HSE participants were better calibrated (higher within-subject correlations between perceived progress and persistence across goals), had higher overall levels of persistence, higher grade point averages, and lower levels of rumination than LSE participants. Although traditional views that emphasize the tenacious persistence of HSE individuals need revision, HSE people appear more effective in self-regulating goal-directed behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of assigned versus participatively set goals, knowledge of results, and individual differences on employee behavior when goal difficulty is held constant.

In Exp I, 60 female clerical workers were randomly assigned to participative, assigned, and "do best" goal conditions on a clerical test. Specific goals led to higher performance than did the "do best" goals. With goal difficulty held constant, there was no significant difference between the assigned and participative conditions on performance or goal acceptance. Goal attainment, however, was higher in the assigned condition than it was in the participative condition. No main or interaction effects were found for knowledge of results (KR) or for individual difference measures with performance or goal acceptance. However, high self-esteem Ss who received KR attained their goals more often than did Ss with low self-esteem when the goals were participatively set. Exp II was conducted with 28 employees from the same sample in a performance-appraisal setting over an 8-mo period. Assigned goals resulted in higher performance and greater goal acceptance than participatively set goals. There was a positive linear relationship between goal difficulty and performance in the participative condition only. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Required high effort increases subsequent persistence and reduces cheating.

Two experiments examined the effect of the degree of effort required in preliminary tasks on the persistence and cheating in subsequent tasks. Undergraduates (N?=?276) were administered mathematics problems and perceptual identifications requiring high effort for one group and low effort for another group. A control group received neither of these tasks. All Ss then received an anagram task in which success depended on persistence with no opportunity to cheat (Exp I) or success was improbable and depended on cheating (Exp II). In Exp I, increasing the degree of effort required in the preliminary tasks increased the number of anagrams subsequently solved and increased the duration spent on unsolved anagrams. In Exp II, requiring high effort in the preliminary tasks decreased how often Ss falsified their performances. Results suggest that honesty may be increased by generalized effects of rewarded high efforts. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postperformance attributions and task persistence among Type A and B individuals: A clarification.

Tested the hypothesis that Type A (coronary-prone) Ss would be more self-serving than Type B (noncoronary-prone) Ss in their attributions for success and failure. It was also hypothesized that task persistence would differ among Type A's and B's and would be dependent on task difficulty and perceived task diagnosticity. 78 undergraduates classified on the basis of scores on the Jenkins Activity Survey as Type A's and B's attempted multiple sets of anagrams that were either easy or difficult. Persistence was measured by the number of anagram sets attempted, and, after task performance, attributions for success and failure were assessed. Results support both hypotheses. Type A's took more credit for success than for failure, whereas Type B's did not provide reliably different attributions for success and failure. Furthermore, Type A's persisted longer at the task when it was difficult and when it was viewed as relatively low in information value. Type B's persisted longer at the task when it was difficult but viewed as relatively high in information value. Results are discussed in the context of current debates regarding the responses of Type A's and B's to performance settings. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-consciousness, self-esteem, and success–failure as determinants of alcohol consumption in male social drinkers.

Tested the proposition that alcohol is consumed as a function of the quality of past performances and of the individual's level of private self-consciousness. 120 adult male Ss were randomly given success or failure feedback on an intellectual task. They then participated in a separate "wine-tasting" experiment in which they were allowed to regulate alcohol consumption. As predicted, high self-conscious Ss who had received failure feedback drank significantly more than did high self-conscious Ss who received success feedback. Consumption by low self-conscious Ss fell between these extremes and did not vary as a function of success and failure. Ss' scores on the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List indicated that these results were mediated by differential sensitivity to the positive or negative implications of success/failure by high and low self-conscious Ss. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned helplessness and learned resourcefulness: Effects of noncontingent success and failure on individuals differing in self-control skills.

In Exp I, 72 undergraduates were assessed using the Self-Control Schedule and received noncontingent success-, failure-, or no-feedback on a task that ostensibly assessed therapeutic abilities. Ss were subsequently tested on insolvable puzzles. In Exp II, 72 undergraduates followed the same procedure as in Exp I but were subsequently tested on solvable anagrams. Results show that the performance of Ss with low resourcefulness (LR) in self-control skills on the insolvable puzzles was debilitated by the helplessness induction, while Ss with high resourcefulness (HR) and LR Ss showed equal helplessness-induced deficits on the anagrams. As predicted from the self-control model, HR Ss more frequently checked statements indicating positive self-evaluations and task-oriented thoughts and less frequently checked negative self-evaluations than did LR Ss during exposure to uncontrollability in both experiments. It is concluded that the self-control model best accounts for Ss' self-reactions during exposure to uncontrollability or failure, while the learned helplessness model accounts for the generalization of helplessness from uncontrollable situations to controllable ones. The list of self-referent statements used in the experiments is appended. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Focusing on the exterior and the interior: Two investigations of the initiation of personal relationships.

Tested the hypothesis that the construct of self-monitoring would identify individuals who characteristically adopt distinctly different orientations when initiating dating relationships. In each of 2 studies, low and high self-monitoring men chose a female partner for a date. In Study 1, attentional differences in the initial information-seeking stage of relationship initiation in an open-field setting were examined with 19 high- and 20 low-scoring Ss on a self-monitoring scale. In Study 2, actual choices of dating partners were examined where one type of desirable attribute in a partner had to be sacrificed in order to obtain another type of desirable attribute. 16 high- and 16 low-scoring Ss on a self-monitoring scale participated. Behavioral and self-report evidence revealed that in both the initial information-gathering stage and the actual choice of whom to date, low self-monitoring Ss paid a greater amount of attention to and placed greater weight on information about interior personal attributes than did high self-monitoring Ss; by contrast, high self-monitoring Ss paid more attention to and put greater weight on exterior physical appearance than did low self-monitoring Ss. (28 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)     

Strategies of social comparison among people with low self-esteem: Self-protection and self-enhancement.

People with low self-esteem (LSE) seem to focus on self-protection; rather than trying to achieve gains for their self-esteem, they try to avoid losses. This research examined, in a social comparison context, the hypothesis that LSE Ss seek self-enhancement when they have an opportunity that is "safe," that is, carrying little risk of humiliation. Exps 1 and 2 indicated that LSE Ss sought the most social comparisons after receiving success feedback, whereas high-self-esteem (HSE) Ss sought the most comparisons after failure. Further results suggested that LSE Ss who succeeded were seizing a safe means of self-enhancement and that HSE Ss who failed were seeking to compensate for the failure. Also supporting this interpretation for LSE Ss was Exp 3, in which LSE Ss who succeeded sought the most comparisons when such comparisons promised to be favorable. All 3 studies illustrate the value of a new measure of social comparison selection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of positive and negative thinking on performance in an achievement situation.

To induce different types of thinking, 151 undergraduates were given either positive or negative self-referent statements about competence in either an achievement or a social interaction situation and were asked to recall an experience in which they had had the thoughts conveyed by these statements. They then completed an anagrams task that was described as a measure of intelligence and verbal ability. Before doing the anagrams, half the Ss in each condition predicted how well they might perform, whereas the other half performed the task without generating predictions. Negative thinkers tended to perform better than positive thinkers when either (a) Ss' thoughts were achievement-related and they did not predict their performance on the anagrams task before engaging in it, or (b) Ss' thoughts pertained to social relations and they did predict their performance on the anagrams task. In no case did positive thinking lead to significantly better performance than negative thinking. Results suggest that the effects of positive and negative thinking were mediated by the influence of these different types of thinking on the motivation to perform well on the achievement task. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mode of failure, interference tendencies, and achievement imagery.

The relative effects upon addition performance of failure to reach goals set by the subject himself and failure to reach goals set by the experimenter are studied, as well as the relative performance of groups differing in scores on the Interfering Tendency Questionnaire (IT) and the Achievement Imagery (AI) scale of the Iowa Picture Interpretation Test. The major findings were as follows: (1) There was no overall difference in the effects of the two failure procedures. High AI Ss showed greater improvement following failure to reach goals they had set for themselves while low AI Ss showed greater improvement following failure to reach experimenter set goals. (2) Under failure conditions, low IT Ss were superior, while under non failure conditions, high IT Ss were superior. (3) High AI Ss worked significantly faster than low AI Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pessimistic self-preoccupation, performance deficits, and depression.

Conducted 3 studies to test a model of the cognitive performance deficits shown in depression. The model proposes that such deficits occur as an interaction of expectancy and focus of attention variables, that is, in the presence of both low expectancy of success and high self-focus. In Study 1 (a pilot study), 11 depressed Ss (DSs) and 16 nondepressed Ss (NSs) were selected from a large pool of undergraduate students who were administered the Beck Depression Inventory. Results indicate that DSs evidenced poorer anagram performance, greater self-focus, and lower pretask expectancies than did NSs. Study 2, conducted with 60 Ss drawn from the Study 1 S pool, showed that NSs evidenced performance deficits only when both expectancy was lowered and self-focus was increased. Data from the 59 Ss (also selected from the Study 1 S pool) in Study 3 suggest that DSs' performance deficits were overcome either by lowering self-focus or by raising expectancy. Discussed are discrepancies between self-report and performance data; the relevance of these studies to the test anxiety literature; the need to integrate literature concerning the effects of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem on performance; and how the interactive roles of positive expectancy and focus of attention may be related to effective coping in a variety of situations. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-evaluation and assessments of performance by self and others.

Explored the relationship between self-esteem, the perception of competence, and actual competence when performance is attributed to oneself or to someone else. 44 male and 43 female undergraduates with high and low self-esteem performed a concept-formation task and evaluated their performance; 1 wk later they either rerated their own performance after watching a videotape of their previous session or rated the videotaped performance of "another S," actually a model who mimicked their previous performance. High-self-esteem Ss perceived themselves as doing better on the task than low-self-esteem Ss, although their performance was actually comparable. The 2 groups' evaluations differed only when they thought they were assessing themselves and not when they felt they were evaluating someone else. Potential mechanisms accounting for the differences in self-evaluations are explored. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When depression breeds contempt: Reassurance seeking, self-esteem, and rejection of depressed college students by their roommates.

To test J. C. Coyne's (1976) theory of depression, students' levels of depressive symptoms, reassurance seeking, and self-esteem were assessed at Time 1, and their same-gender roommates' apprasials of them were assessed 5 wks later. Mildly depressed students engaged in the type of reassurance seeking described by Coyne. Among men, but not women, mildly depressed Ss were rejected if they strongly sought reassurance and had low self-esteem but not if they did not seek reassurance or had high self-esteem. Although induction of depressed symptoms in roommates did occur, this contagion effect did not account for the depression-rejection relationship. The prediction that unsupportive, intolerant, or unempathic others would be particularly likely to respond with rejection to reassurance-seeking depressed Ss with low self-esteem received partial support. Implications for future work on the interpersonal aspects of depression are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)