Toward Greater Understanding of Self-Esteem Instability

项目描述。大量证据表明，(A)人们在自我价值感方面表现出短期波动的程度各不相同，(B)自尊稳定性(或脆弱性)的这些差异与一系列重要的心理现象(如抑郁、愤怒和敌意倾向)有关。然而，关于人们自尊稳定程度的差异，目前还知之甚少。因此，这项拟议的研究旨在考察可能支撑或促进不稳定自尊的性格和情景因素。在性格方面，研究将检验这样的假设：与自尊稳定的人相比，自尊不稳定的人将(A)具有主要是内嵌式而不是融合式的自我调节风格，(B)更关注潜在的自我评估刺激，(C)即使任务验证不佳，也会对反馈做出更多反应，以及(D)自我概念发展较差，正如各种指数所揭示的那样。在环境方面，研究将考察反馈的重要性和诊断性，以及背景下高度的自我介入，如何影响个人对评价性反馈的敏感性和反应性。最后，将获得关于自尊稳定性的收敛效度和判别效度的更多信息。总之，拟议的研究将对自我评估过程的性质、这些过程在不同个体中的差异程度以及它们如何受到各种环境条件的影响提供相当大的洞察力。此外，这项研究将有助于更好地理解(和潜在的治疗)广泛的临床相关现象，其中涉及脆弱的自尊(例如，抑郁，愤怒管理)。%项目调整。先前的研究表明，人们的自我价值感每天波动的程度各不相同，这些自尊稳定性(脆弱性)的个体差异与一系列重要的心理现象(如抑郁、愤怒和敌意倾向)有关。然而，关于人们自尊稳定程度的差异，目前还知之甚少。因此，这项拟议的研究旨在考察可能支撑或促进不稳定自尊的“个性”和情景因素。这项研究有望为自我评估过程的性质、这些过程在不同个体中的不同程度以及它们如何受到各种环境条件的影响提供相当大的洞察力。此外，这项研究将有助于更好地理解(和潜在的治疗)广泛的临床相关现象，其中涉及脆弱的自尊，包括那些与抑郁和愤怒管理有关的现象。

Project Description. Considerable evidence indicates that (a) people vary in the extent to which they exhibit short-term fluctuations in feelings of self-worth, and that (b) these differences in self-esteem stability (or fragility) are implicated in a wide range of important psychological phenomena (e.g., depression, anger and hostility proneness). Not much is currently known, however, about why people vary in the extent to which their self-esteem is stable. The proposed research is therefore designed to examine both dispositional and situational factors that may underlie or promote unstable self-esteem. On the dispositional side, studies will test the hypotheses that, compared to people with stable self-esteem, people with unstable self-esteem will (a) have self-regulatory styles that are primarily introjected rather then integrated, (b) pay greater attention to potentially self-evaluative stimuli, (c) react more to feedback even when the task is poorly validated, and (d) have less well-developed self-concepts, as revealed through a variety of indices. On the environmental side, studies will examine how feedback importance and diagnosticity, and contextually heightened ego-involvement, affect individuals' sensitivity and reactivity to evaluative feedback. Finally, additional information will be obtained on the convergent and discriminant validity of self-esteem stability. In sum, the proposed studies will provide considerable insight into the nature of self-evaluative processes, the extent to which these processes vary across individuals, and how they are affected by various environmental conditions. In addition, the research will contribute to greater understanding (and potential treatment) of a wide range of clinically relevant phenomena in which fragile self-esteem is implicated (e.g., depression, anger management). %%% Project Justification. Prior research indicates that people vary in how much their feelings of self-worth fluctuate from day to day, and that these individual differences in self-esteem stability (fragility) are implicated in a wide range of important psychological phenomena (e.g., depression, anger and hostility proneness). Not much is currently known, however, about why people vary in the extent to which their self-esteem is stable. The proposed research is therefore designed to examine both `personality` and situational factors that may underlie or promote unstable self-esteem. The research is expected to provide considerable insight into the nature of self-evaluative processes, the extent to which these processes vary across individuals, and how they are affected by various environmental conditions. In addition, the research will contribute to greater understanding (and potential treatment) of a wide range of clinically relevant phenomena in which fragile self-esteem is implicated, including those related to depression and anger management.