The Older, the Wiser?  Protection of Self-Worth via Biased Self-Esteem Contingency in Adolescent Development

Human beings learn about themselves through social information, meaning that their self-esteem is dependent on self-referencing feedback provided by their social environment. While self-esteem has been comprehensively studied, the concept of self-esteem contingency (i.e., how strongly individuals update their self-esteem in response to social ego-referencing feedback) has yet to be investigated systematically. More specifically, while we have a limited understanding of this construct in adults, its expression in adolescents remains a mystery. However, developmental studies indicate that self-esteem dynamics in adults and adolescents vary, emphasising the importance of investigating this construct in all age groups. Therefore, this study examined whether adults and adolescents show differences in self-esteem contingency by investigating whether self-esteem, age, and sex influence this construct. One hundred and six adults and 64 adolescents were tasked with performing a speech in...Show moreHuman beings learn about themselves through social information, meaning that their self-esteem is dependent on self-referencing feedback provided by their social environment. While self-esteem has been comprehensively studied, the concept of self-esteem contingency (i.e., how strongly individuals update their self-esteem in response to social ego-referencing feedback) has yet to be investigated systematically. More specifically, while we have a limited understanding of this construct in adults, its expression in adolescents remains a mystery. However, developmental studies indicate that self-esteem dynamics in adults and adolescents vary, emphasising the importance of investigating this construct in all age groups. Therefore, this study examined whether adults and adolescents show differences in self-esteem contingency by investigating whether self-esteem, age, and sex influence this construct. One hundred and six adults and 64 adolescents were tasked with performing a speech in front of three alleged judges. Participants subsequently evaluated themselves and received pre-generated positive or negative feedback about their performance. Computational modelling was used to assess trial-to-trial changes in self-esteem contingency. Results revealed that adults processed positive and negative feedback very distinctly, while only a small inclination towards such two-dimensional strategies was observed in adolescents. Moreover, the data illustrated a positivity bias in adults with high self-esteem, whereas a negativity bias was found in adolescents with lower self-esteem. Furthermore, adolescents and adults did not differ in self-esteem contingency and proved more contingent on positive than negative feedback. Lastly, we found no impact of the participants’ sex on their self-esteem contingency in either age group. Overall, these findings indicate that adults have developed a self-protective strategy that allows them to incorporate positive information more strongly into their self-view, whereas this skill seems less sophisticated in adolescents.Show less

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The Older, the Wiser? Protection of Self-Worth via Biased Self-Esteem Contingency in Adolescent Development