Effect of Self-awareness on Negative Affect Among Individuals with Discrepant Low Self-esteem

Past research suggests that individuals with discrepant low self-esteem (low explicit and high implicit self-esteem) may hold themselves against higher standards and judge themselves more critically when they fall short of those standards (Zeigler-Hill & Terry, 2007). We postulated that for discrepant low self-esteem individuals, self-awareness would activate their stringent standards and the fact that they have failed to meet those standards, thereby increasing negative affect. In this study, 144 participants completed implicit and explicit self-esteem measures, and half were then made to be self-aware by completing a task with a mirror in front of them for 3 minutes. We found that self-awareness increased negative affect among discrepant low self-esteem participants. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Duke Scholars

Author Tanya L. Chartrand Fuqua School of Business