Research Article
Self-esteem moderates preferences for accepting versus rejecting interaction partners
Eric A. Rudich,
Constantine Sedikides,
Aiden P. Gregg,
Eric A. Rudich
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Constantine Sedikides
University of Southampton, UK
Center for Research on Self and Identity, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton SO17 1BJ, England, UK.Search for more papers by this authorEric A. Rudich,
Constantine Sedikides,
Aiden P. Gregg,
Eric A. Rudich
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Constantine Sedikides
University of Southampton, UK
Center for Research on Self and Identity, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton SO17 1BJ, England, UK.Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Two experiments compared the social orientations of people with high and low self-esteem (HSEs vs. LSEs). In Experiment 1, participants received positive or negative interpersonal feedback from an accepting or rejecting evaluator. HSEs chose to interact with a rejecting evaluator more often than LSEs did. In Experiment 2, participants received solely negative interpersonal feedback from an accepting or rejecting evaluator of high or low social status. This time, both HSEs and LSEs chose an accepting/high-status evaluator over a rejecting/low-status one, but only HSEs chose a rejecting/high-status evaluator over an accepting/low-status one. Implications are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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