Distinguishing Between Fragile and Secure High Self-Esteem

关于自尊的大量理论和研究表明，高自尊给个人带来许多好处，它与许多积极的心理结果有关。 然而，越来越清楚的是，高自尊也有黑暗的一面，因为它有时与适应不良的结果有关，例如增强的攻击行为。 因此，确定高自尊何时与积极的心理功能和结果相关，何时不相关是极其重要的。 一个关键因素可能是高自尊的脆弱性或安全性。 具有脆弱的高自尊的人似乎愿意竭尽全力保持、维持和增强他们对自我价值的积极感受。 防御性和其他适应不良的过程似乎是这些人的特征。 相比之下，具有安全的高自尊的人具有良好的自我价值感，这种自我价值感与健康的心理功能和积极的结果有关。 过去关于自尊稳定性的研究表明，区分脆弱和安全的高自尊的一种方法是确定个人的自尊在多大程度上是稳定的;自尊越不稳定，它就越脆弱。 拟议中的研究将促进自尊过程的理解，专注于这种脆弱的安全区分的多种表示。 具体地说，研究建议检查（a）个人的内隐（即，自动的、高效率的，并且很大程度上是无意识的）和明确的（即，有意的和有意识的）自尊;（B）偶然的自尊，（即，自我价值感依赖于具体结果或评价的实现的程度）;（c）自尊的稳定性（即，人们在基于情境的自我价值感中经历的短期波动的幅度）;（d）自恋;（e）防御性。 虽然这些结构的细节不同，但它们都反映了自尊的一个组成部分，与其水平不同（即，一般或典型的自我价值感）。 六项拟议的研究探讨了这些脆弱与安全的自尊标记的个体差异，在其对紧迫的社会问题，即侵略和偏见，以及日常的社会冲突，言语防御，和密切的关系功能，质量和满意度的影响。研究一关注自我威胁时的防御性言语行为。 研究2关注人际拒绝后的攻击行为。 研究3侧重于偏见，研究4侧重于日常互动中冲突的发生，研究5-6侧重于对威胁的反应和亲密关系的运作。 这些研究中的一个共同点是检查言语防御的作用，这是人们倾向于防御性地处理威胁体验的相对直接的指标（Feldman Barrett et al.，2002年）。 作为一个整体，这些研究允许在一系列的人际关系背景下与脆弱与安全的高自尊相关的过程进行全面检查。 长期目标是更好地了解高度自尊的性质及其在心理功能和人际关系中的作用。

Considerable theory and research on self-esteem reveals that high self-esteem confers many benefits to individuals and that it relates to many positive psychological outcomes. Increasingly, however, it has become clear that high self-esteem also has a dark side, as it sometimes relates to maladaptive outcomes such as heightened aggressive behavior. Therefore, it is extremely important to determine when high self-esteem relates to positive psychological functioning and outcomes and when it does not. One critical factor may be the extent to which high self-esteem is fragile or secure. Individuals with fragile high self-esteem appear willing to go to great lengths to preserve, maintain, and enhance their positive feelings of self-worth. Defensiveness and other maladaptive processes appear to characterize these individuals. In contrast, individuals with secure high self-esteem have well-anchored feelings of self-worth that relate to healthy psychological functioning and positive outcomes. Past research on stability of self-esteem indicates that one way to distinguish between fragile and secure high self-esteem is to determine the extent to which individuals' self-esteem is stable over time; the more unstable self-esteem is, the more fragile it is. The proposed research will promote understanding of self-esteem processes by focusing on multiple representations of this fragile-secure distinction. Specifically, research is proposed to examine (a) discrepancies between individuals' implicit (i.e., automatic, highly efficient, and largely nonconscious) and explicit (i.e., deliberate and conscious) self-esteem; (b) contingent self-esteem, (i.e., the extent to which feelings of self-worth are dependent upon the achievement of specific outcomes or evaluations); (c) stability of self-esteem (i.e., the magnitude of short-term fluctuations that people experience in their contextually-based feelings of self-worth); (d) narcissism; and (e) defensiveness. Though different in their particulars, each of these constructs reflects a component of self-esteem that is distinct from its level (i.e., general or typical feelings of self-worth). Six proposed studies examine individual differences in these markers of fragile versus secure self-esteem, in the context of their implications for pressing societal problems, namely aggression and prejudice, as well as for everyday social conflicts, verbal defensiveness, and close relationship functioning, quality and satisfaction. Study 1 focuses on defensive verbalizations in response to self-threat. Study 2 focuses on aggression following interpersonal rejection. Study 3 focuses on prejudice, Study 4 focuses on the occurrence of conflict within everyday interactions, and Studies 5-6 focuses on reactions to threats and close relationship functioning. A common thread in each of these studies is to examine the role of verbal defensiveness, which is a relatively direct index of people's tendencies to process threatening experiences defensively (Feldman Barrett et al., 2002). Taken as a whole, these studies allow for a comprehensive examination of the processes associated with fragile versus secure high self-esteem in a range of interpersonal contexts. The long-range objectives are to understand better the nature of high self-esteem and its role in psychological functioning and interpersonal relations.