Damaged self-esteem

Individuals with a combination of high implicit and low explicit self-esteem possess what psychologists call a damaged self-esteem.

Study results indicate that, in comparison to individuals with low implicit and low explicit self-esteem, individuals with damaged self-esteem exhibit more optimism and less self-protection^[9] as well as higher levels of both maladaptive and adaptive perfectionism.^[10]

Damaged self-esteem has also been found to correlate with many clinical symptoms and disorders. In particular, the size of the discrepancy between implicit and explicit self-esteem in the direction of a damaged self-esteem has been found to correlate positively with heightened symptoms of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and loneliness.^[11] While implicit self-esteem itself is not correlated with these internalizing symptoms, the interaction between implicit and explicit self-esteem does. In particular, when individuals display low explicit self-esteem, their level of implicit self-esteem becomes directly and positively correlated with their level of suicidal ideation. This reflects the crucial role of implicit self-esteem in internalizing problems. We can understand the impact of a damaged self-esteem as an entrapment between goals, which stem from implicit self-esteem, and reality, which mediates explicit self-esteem. Indeed, damaged self-esteem has been found to correlate with a maladaptive pattern of perfectionism, which is hinged upon rigidly high expectations that often contribute to failure.^[12]

The development of damaged self-esteem also showed a relationship to the use of self-defeating humor as a coping strategy, however, the causal direction is unclear. It could be that the frequent use of self-defeating humor lead to the development of damaged self-esteem (e.g., through a downward spiral of social rejection), or, that people with damaged self-esteem are more likely to use self-defeating humor (i.e., in line with their uncomplimentary view of the self). Another alternative is that both self-defeating humor and damaged self-esteem are caused by a third variable, such as neuroticism or alexithymia.^[13]

Damaged self-esteem has also been found to correlate positively with internet addiction, the underlying mechanism of which parallels that of clinical conditions such as bulimia nervosa. This occurrence of compulsions may be attributed to an automatic defense mechanism in which the individual avoids anxiety. However, the development of a damaged self-esteem as an avoidance mechanism can also precipitate difficulties in establishing a consistent self-view.^[14]

Defensive self-esteem

Conversely, individuals with a combination of low implicit and high explicit self-esteem have what is called defensive self-esteem (or synonymously fragile self-esteem). In a comparative study it was found that individuals with defensive self-esteem tended to be less forgiving than others.^[15]

Social performance

An important indicator of relationship stability and health is conflict behavior, the way individuals behave during a conflict. Peterson and DeHart found that implicit self-esteem can regulate connection during times of relationship crises. Studies suggest that individuals with high implicit self-esteem tend to engage more in nonverbal positive behaviors during conflict when they perceive their partners to be committed. Positive nonverbal behaviors during conflict is extremely predictive of relationship outcomes such as commitment, satisfaction and stability. Also, implicit self-esteem also predicts sensitivity towards partners’ availability or support, even within a relationship-threat. That is, individuals high in implicit self-esteem tend to be implicitly motivated to consciously correct for connection and sensitivity to their partners’ effort, despite explicitly doubting their investment in the relationship. This ability to overcome relationship-threats as perpetuated by high levels of implicit self-esteem is crucial to relational well-being.^[16]

In addition, low implicit self-esteem has also been found to precipitate uncertainty in self-concept. This instability in grasping the self is especially erroneous in regulation of behaviors in social situations. It has been shown that uncertainty about the self makes people vulnerable to holding and expressing minority opinions, especially those who are susceptible to self-threat (low self-esteem). Individuals with low implicit self-esteem tend to respond defensively to self-threats, and because minority opinions are more self-diagnostic than majority ones, individuals may hold these opinions to shield themselves from threat of uncertainty.^[17] They also tend to take extreme views and to over-estimate the social consensus for their views.^[18]

Gender role

Recent studies show that gender differences in self-esteem may be more biologically based, and more prevalent in western cultures.^[19][20]

In women, the neural processes in the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, areas that are involved in forming self-schemas, were activated more than men.^[19] This suggests that the negative affect following ruminating could explain the behavioral differences in gender and implicit self-esteem. Current research states that the reason gender differences in self-esteem may be more prevalent in western cultures is because of the emphasis on the physical appearance of women.^[20]

Other research indicates that gender differences play a vital role in implicit self-esteem in how it is influenced by the performance of the significant other.^[21]

Implicit self-esteem contains instinctive and empirical factors; which explains that people who are in touch with their feelings would report to have higher explicit self-esteem scores. Women are more prone to trust their feelings and intuition, in contrast to men. The correlation, then, between explicit and implicit self-esteem is greater for women than for men, which are consistent to implicit self-esteem scores.^[21]

Cognitive performance

Self-affirming activities that significantly raises implicit self-esteem, such as viewing one's own Facebook profile page, has been shown to decrease motivation to do well in cognitive tasks of moderate difficulty. Results like this suggest that a peak in unconscious positivity associated with the self may discount an individual's efforts to further prove his worth in other areas. Consequently, this leaves an individual unmotivated to perform well in more practical settings.^[22]

Findings

Many studies^[32] have shown that the vast majority of people's implicit self-esteem is positively biased. That is, people find it a great deal easier to associate themselves with a positive concept than a negative one. Whether this is truly displaying implicit self-esteem is arguable; the findings may instead be linked with illusory superiority, in that people tend to rate themselves as above average on a number of scales.

Implicit self-esteem
In the article "Stalking the perfect measure of implicit self-esteem: The blind men and the elephant revisited?",^[33] the validity and reliability of seven implicit self-esteem measures have been explored. The implicit measures were not correlated with one another. However they did correlate, but only faintly with measures of explicit self-esteem. The implicit self-esteem measurements confirmed partial reliabilities in correlation to good test-retest reliabilities. Nonetheless implicit measures were limited in their ability to calculate standard variables, for the test. Certain evidence explained that measurements of implicit self-esteem are delicate to put in context, which is further argued in later research of implicit self-esteem.^[33]

Links with explicit self-esteem

However, the validity of the implicit-association test and implicit self-esteem as a measure of self-esteem itself is questionable due to mixed evidence with regards to explicit self-esteem. On the one hand, researchers^[34] in a detailed and comprehensive study of implicit self-esteem found the IAT to correlate weakly, yet consistently, with measures of explicit self-esteem. However, more recent research^[35] has found measures of explicit self-esteem, such as questionnaires, to be independent of implicit self-esteem, providing an interesting insight into the validity of implicit self-esteem, explicit self-esteem, and the nature of self-esteem itself.