Self-Esteem Maintenance Processes: Why Low Self-Esteem May be Resistant to Change
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2003
Keywords
self-esteem, positive feedback, negative feedback, self-worth, source credibility
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203029007010
Abstract
If most people desire to maximize feelings of self-worth, how do we explain the persistence of low self-esteem? Results from four studies suggest that people with low self-esteem may be less likely to accept positive feedback from themselves than from an outside source but equally likely to accept negative feedback from the self and an outsider. When the self was the source of positive feedback, people high, but not low, in self-esteem incorporated the feedback into their self-views; in contrast, when positive feedback came from a knowledgeable external source, both high and low self-esteem people accepted it. Finally, when self-generated feedback was negative, participants low in self-esteem accepted it. The authors discuss how these findings shed light on the maintenance of low self-esteem.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, v. 29, issue 7, p. 920- 933
Scholar Commons Citation
Josephs, Robert A.; Bosson, Jennifer K.; and Jacobs, Christopher G., "Self-Esteem Maintenance Processes: Why Low Self-Esteem May be Resistant to Change" (2003). Psychology Faculty Publications. 1192.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/1192
