Carolin J. Showers

Gender differences in self-esteem: a meta-analysis.

Two analyses were conducted to examine gender differences in global self-esteem. In analysis I, a computerized literature search yielded 216 effect sizes, representing the testing of 97,121 respondents. The overall effect size was 0.21, a small difference favoring males. A significant quadratic effect of age indicated that the largest effect emerged in late adolescence (d = 0.33). In Analysis II, gender differences were examined using 3 large, nationally representative data sets from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). All of the NCES effect sizes, which collectively summarize the responses of approximately 48,000 young Americans, indicated higher male self-esteem (ds ranged from 0.04 to 0.24). Taken together, the 2 analyses provide evidence that males score higher on standard measures of global self-esteem than females, but the difference is small. Potential reasons for the small yet consistent effect size are discussed.

Compartmentalization of Positive and Negative Self-Knowledge: Keeping Bad Apples Out of the Bunch

Three studies examined whether categorical organization of knowledge about the self explains variance in self-esteem and depression beyond that which is accounted for by sheer amount of positive or negative content. Compartmentalization is the tendency to organize positive and negative knowledge about the self into separate, uniformly valenced categories (self-aspects). As long as positive self-aspects are activated, access to negative information should be minimized. Compartmentalization was associated with high self-esteem and low depression scores for individuals whose positive self-aspects were important; when negative self-aspects were important, compartmentalization was correlated with low self-esteem and high depression scores. An analysis of self-aspect labels showed that individuals with compartmentalized organization define negative self-aspects in especially narrow terms. A possible relationship between compartmentalized organization and cognitive complexity is discussed.

Organization of self-knowledge: Implications for recovery from sad mood.

In compartmentalized self-organization, positive and negative self-beliefs are separated into distinct categories (i.e., self-aspects), so that each self-aspect contains primarily positive or primarily negative beliefs. In evaluatively integrative organization, self-aspect categories contain a mixture of positive and negative beliefs. Positive-compartmentalized individuals recovered easily from a sad mood when they could reflect on personally important, pure positive self-aspects. When situational factors maintained the activation of pure negative self-aspects, compartmentalization seemed to perpetuate the negative mood. These studies suggest that people with a positive-compartmentalized self (who usually report high self-esteem and positive mood) have a hidden vulnerability to intense negative states. The advantages of an evaluatively integrated self may require having the opportunity to reflect on (and integrate) positive and negative beliefs about the self.

Self-Structure and Self-Esteem Stability: The Hidden Vulnerability of Compartmentalization:

The present studies examined the association between self-concept structure and stability of self-esteem. In two daily diary studies, evaluative integration (organizing positively and negatively valenced self-beliefs into the same self-aspects) was associated with more stable self-esteem than evaluative compartmentalization (organizing positively and negatively valenced self-beliefs into separate self-aspects) among individuals with generally high self-esteem. Moreover, analyses of self-esteem reactivity confirmed that the sensitivity of state self-esteem to daily events was greater for compartmentalized individuals than for individuals with relatively integrative self-concept structures. Compartmentalization also was associated with greater sensitivity to experiences of social rejection in the laboratory, consistent with the view that integration affords greater stability of self-evaluations. These results suggest that some of the benefits believed to be associated with compartmentalization (such as high self-esteem) may have hidden costs that have not previously been considered.

Organization of knowledge about a relationship partner: Implications for liking and loving.

In close relationships, the association between negative beliefs about a partner and loving was found to be moderated by how that negative knowledge was organized. In general, evaluatively integrative organization (i.e., categorizing positive and negative beliefs together) was associated with more positive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors toward the partner when the negative content of beliefs was high and relationships were relatively long. Additional evidence suggests that compartmentalization (i.e., organizing positive and negative beliefs in separate categories) may be an effective strategy for handling negative beliefs about a partner in a new relationship. Findings for behavioral closeness raise the possibility that the nature of shared activities, as well as an individuals cognitive processes, may influence how knowledge about a relationship partner is organized.

Evaluatively Integrative Thinking about Characteristics of the Self

A process of evaluatively integrative thinking may limit the impact of negative self-knowledge by strengthening associative links between negative and positive items of knowledge about the self. Subjects generated lists of items to describe themselves in social situations and in academic situations. Subjects whose lists were evaluatively integrated (i.e., positive and negative items were intermixed) reported higher self-esteem or less negative affect than subjects who clustered items of similar valence. In paragraph descriptions of their most negative characteristic, subjects who used evaluatively integrative statements had higher self-esteem even when the importance and negativity of the characteristics were held constant. These findings may hold only for evaluative integration with respect to negative characteristics. They suggest that there are important individual differences in the organization of the self-concept, not just in content.

Self-Differentiation and Well-Being in a Life Transition

Previous research has shown that evaluative organization of self-knowledge explains variance in self-esteem and mood beyond that accounted for by positive or negative content. Here, that model is applied to the changing self perceptions of women in a life transition. In a sample of 120 older women who had relocated within the past year, evaluative differentiation of self-change—the tendency to perceive self-change very positively in some domains and very negatively in others—was associated with greater well-being among women whose positive domains were perceived to be important. People who perceive great improvement in at least one important domain of the self (despite sacrifice in others) may be more resilient during a life transition than those who experience the same average improvement spread evenly across domains. Having a few very important positive aspects of the self to fall back on may help to buffer the stress of a life transition.

Looking at body image: The organization of self-knowledge about physical appearance and its relation to disordered eating

This study examined the organization of self-knowledge, with special attention to beliefs about physical appearance, in three groups of college-aged women: high body dissatisfaction with symptoms of disordered eating; high body dissatisfaction with no symptoms of disorder; and low body dissatisfaction. In the nondisordered, dissatisfied group, negative beliefs about physical appearance were organized in the self-structure in a way that isolated those beliefs and might minimize their impact and importance. This group also displayed adaptive types of self-concept organization (evaluative integration for those with important negative self-beliefs and compartmentalization for those with important positive beliefs) and effective coping strategies. Features of self-structure that characterize the nondisordered,dissatisfied group may provide a useful model for helping individuals with disordered eating cope with their negative physical appearance beliefs.

Organization of Partner Knowledge: Relationship Outcomes and Longitudinal Change

This study examined the association between organization of knowledge about a romantic partner (partner structure) and relationship status (ongoing or ended) 1 year later. Ironically, partner structures that were associated with more positive feelings about one’s partner at Time 1 were associated with greater rates of breakup by Time 2. These results are interpreted in terms of the vulnerability of compartmentalized partner structures to shifts in the salience of negative beliefs and the hypothesized difficulty of maintaining integrative structures for an extended period of time. Change in partner structure during 1 year’s time was consistent with the predictions of the dynamic model that evaluative integration should increase when negative beliefs become salient. Such change (which may represent a transient shift) was associated with couples’ longevity when relationship conflict was low, supporting the view that integration reflects a struggle with negative attributes that may or may not be successful.

The Evaluative Organization of Self-Knowledge

Imagine two individuals, both of whom would describe their “social” selves with the same set of attributes: shy, loyal, awkward, lonely, cheerful, kind, energetic, respectful, nervous, and bored. Let’s say that these two persons both find themselves talking to strangers at a formal reception, an experience that activates their perceptions of themselves as shy. Yet one of our characters, when he feels shy, thinks to himself, “Not only am I shy, I’m also often lonely and sometimes awkward.” The second person, although she too knows that she is often lonely and sometimes awkward, may not necessarily bring these attributes to mind in this context. Instead, she might think to herself, “I may be shy, but I’m also a loyal friend.” Presumably, the latter thought moderates negative feelings about being shy by linking shyness to a positive belief about the self. In contrast, the first individual’s stream of thought—shy, lonely, awkward—probably contributes to a very strong negative reaction in this situation.