Difficulty: Intermediate | Prerequisites: The Self Part 1 notes
Self-esteem comes in two forms (state and global) and serves as an internal gauge of social acceptance (sociometer hypothesis) and a buffer against existential anxiety (terror management theory). People protect and enhance their self-esteem through reflection, comparison, distancing, and impression management, though high but unstable self-esteem can lead to aggression.
State self-esteem
A momentary evaluation of the self that fluctuates with context. Think of it as your self-esteem right now, in this situation.
Global self-esteem (trait self-esteem)
A generally stable evaluation of the self that persists across situations and over time. It shows some stability from childhood to old age.
Sociometer hypothesis
Self-esteem functions as an internal gauge of how included or excluded you are by others. In simple terms, your self-esteem is a social acceptance meter.
Terror management theory
People are driven to maintain positive self-esteem because it buffers the anxiety that comes from awareness of their own mortality. Cultural worldviews and self-esteem protect against existential terror.
Mortality salience
Being reminded of one's own death. Under mortality salience, people cling more tightly to their worldviews and react more positively to in-group members and more negatively to those who threaten their beliefs.
Self-evaluation maintenance model
A theory of how we maintain self-esteem through two processes: reflection (basking in a close other's success) and comparison (feeling threatened by a close other's success in a domain we care about).
Basking in reflected glory (BIRGing)
Attaching yourself to successful others to boost your self-image. "We won" when your team wins; "They lost" when your team loses.
Discrepancy theory
Self-esteem is determined by the gap between who you actually are, who you think you should be, and who you would ideally like to be. Larger gaps produce lower self-esteem.
Self-awareness theory
Certain situations (e.g., watching yourself on video, standing in front of a mirror) force self-focus, which leads to comparing yourself against standards. This can cause temporary drops in self-esteem and mood.
Self-enhancement
The tendency to view oneself in an unrealistically positive light. Those who are least competent tend to overestimate their abilities the most.
Better-than-average effect
The tendency to believe you are above average on positive traits. Most people think they are a better-than-average driver, friend, or student.
Implicit egotism
An unconscious, subtle preference for things associated with the self. Example: people tend to prefer the letters in their own name.
Self-presentation (impression management)
Controlling the information you reveal to others to manage how they perceive you. People play roles and tailor their performance to the situation.
Two-factor theory of emotion
Emotions are based on physiological arousal plus a cognitive label drawn from the situation. The body provides the raw arousal; the context tells you which emotion you are feeling.
Self-esteem is our positive or negative evaluation of ourselves. State self-esteem fluctuates with context (a bad exam result drops it temporarily). Global self-esteem is generally stable across situations and time, with some continuity from childhood onward.
Key assumption: people have a fundamental need to maintain their self-esteem and will protect what they already know about themselves. People with low self-esteem lack a clear, stable self-understanding and tend to manage themselves less effectively.
State self-esteem functions as an internal index of social inclusion or exclusion. Being included is essential for survival, so self-esteem evolved as an early-warning system for social rejection.
The Intercom Study tested this: participants in the acceptance condition felt more positively about themselves than those in the rejection condition. Those in the no-feedback condition did not differ from the other two groups.
Humans are programmed for self-preservation but aware of their own mortality. To cope, we adopt cultural worldviews (including religion) that provide meaning and the possibility of literal or symbolic immortality. Self-esteem protects against the anxiety that comes from awareness of death.
Evidence: when reminded of their mortality (mortality salience), people respond more positively to those who share their worldviews and more negatively to those who challenge them. Under mortality salience, Christians increased liking for fellow Christians and decreased liking for members of other faiths.
People with high but unstable self-esteem (narcissistic pattern) may turn to aggression when their self-esteem is threatened. They direct anger outward to avoid a downward revision of their self-concept.
Self-esteem is shaped by the gap between three selves: how you actually are (actual self), how you think you should be (ought self), and how you would ideally like to be (ideal self). Falling short of your own standards lowers self-esteem. Comparing yourself to unrealistic ideals creates a vicious cycle of declining self-worth.
We are not usually self-focused, but certain situations (watching yourself on video, being in front of a mirror) force self-attention. Self-awareness leads to automatic comparison against standards, which can temporarily lower self-esteem and mood. Chronic self-focus is associated with depression, clinical disorders, and in extreme cases, alcoholism or suicidal ideation. On the positive side, self-awareness can motivate people to behave in line with their standards.
This model explains how we maintain self-esteem in the context of social relationships. Two processes:
Reflection: Bragging about or basking in the achievements of someone close to you. This works when the domain is not central to your own identity. ("My brother is a brilliant footballer" feels good when you do not care about football.)
Comparison: Comparing yourself to a close other's achievement in a domain you do care about. This feels threatening, so you distance yourself from that person to protect self-esteem.
We attach ourselves to winners and distance ourselves from losers. "We won" vs. "They lost." Sports fans' mental and social self-assessments temporarily decline after their team's defeat. Men who watched their team lose showed lower testosterone levels than men who watched their team win.
People tend to overestimate their abilities (self-enhancement). Those who are least competent overestimate the most. The better-than-average effect means most people think they are above average on desirable traits.
Implicit egotism is an unconscious form of self-enhancement: people prefer the letters of their own name and are drawn to things that resemble the self.
People play roles and tailor their performance to the situation. This is essential for social interaction, but it has a dark side: people may engage in impression-creating behaviours that are dangerous or deceptive.
Individualist cultures (e.g., the US) emphasise personal identity and autonomy. Collectivist cultures (e.g., Japan) emphasise group identity and interdependence. These cultural orientations shape self-concept and behaviour.
Emotions arise from two ingredients: general physiological arousal and a cognitive label determined by the situation. The body produces arousal; we look to the context to decide which emotion we are feeling. This theory connects to how social relationships shape emotional experience.
Students often think the sociometer hypothesis means self-esteem is just about popularity. It is about social inclusion and exclusion more broadly, an evolutionary signal that predates any concept of popularity.
Students confuse reflection and comparison in the self-evaluation maintenance model. Reflection = basking in a loved one's success (feels good). Comparison = measuring yourself against a loved one's success in your own domain (feels threatening).
Students assume terror management theory is about a conscious fear of death. The key point is that the anxiety is usually managed outside awareness through worldviews and self-esteem, and it only surfaces experimentally under mortality salience manipulations.
Students think self-enhancement is always a sign of narcissism. Most people display some level of self-enhancement (better-than-average effect). It becomes problematic only when it is extreme and brittle.
⚠️ Be able to explain both the sociometer hypothesis and terror management theory, including key evidence for each.
⚠️ Know the two processes in the self-evaluation maintenance model (reflection vs. comparison) and when each is used.
⚠️ Understand BIRGing and be ready to give the "We won / They lost" example.
⚠️ Know the three selves in discrepancy theory (actual, ought, ideal) and how gaps between them affect self-esteem.
⚠️ The relationship between high self-esteem and aggression (narcissistic pattern) is a common exam question.
⚠️ Be able to explain the two-factor theory of emotion with an example.
Fill in the blank: The ______ hypothesis says that self-esteem is an internal gauge of social inclusion.
Sociometer.
True or False: Under mortality salience, people become more tolerant of those with different worldviews.
False. They become less tolerant, favouring in-group members and derogating out-group members.
Fill in the blank: In the self-evaluation maintenance model, ______ is basking in a loved one's success, while ______ is feeling threatened by it.
Reflection; comparison.
True or False: The better-than-average effect means that most people accurately assess their abilities.
False. Most people overestimate their abilities relative to others.
Q: Explain the sociometer hypothesis. What evidence supports it?
A: The sociometer hypothesis proposes that self-esteem is an internal index of how included or excluded a person feels by others. The Intercom Study supports this: participants in the acceptance condition reported higher self-feelings than those in the rejection condition, though those in the no-feedback condition did not differ from either group.
Q: How does terror management theory explain why people maintain self-esteem?
A: Terror management theory argues that awareness of mortality creates existential anxiety. Self-esteem buffers this anxiety by maintaining faith in culturally derived worldviews that give life meaning. When reminded of death (mortality salience), people cling more tightly to their worldviews and favour those who share them.
Q: Your friend's sister wins a national science competition. Under what conditions would your friend feel pride (reflection) versus threat (comparison)?
A: If science is not central to your friend's own identity, they would engage in reflection, basking in their sister's glory. If science is a core part of their own identity and they are comparing their own achievements, they would feel threatened and might distance themselves from their sister to protect self-esteem.
Q: What is the difference between state and global self-esteem?
A: State self-esteem fluctuates with the situation (a harsh critique lowers it temporarily). Global self-esteem is a stable, trait-like evaluation of the self that persists across contexts and shows some continuity over the lifespan.
Q: Why can high self-esteem sometimes lead to aggression?
A: People with high but fragile self-esteem (narcissistic pattern) may respond to threats to their self-image with aggression. They direct anger outward to avoid accepting a downward revision of their self-concept.
Self-esteem maintenance connects to Prejudice (terror management theory explains in-group favouritism under mortality salience; self-enhancement connects to biases in person perception). BIRGing reappears in discussions of group identity. The two-factor theory of emotion connects to the Emotion unit.
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