Defensive self-esteem and aggression in childhood

Research examining the association between self-esteem (SE) and aggressive behavior in childhood has produced mixed findings. Some of the confusion may stem from the fact that researchers have relied on explicit measures of SE, thus conflating two distinct types of positive self-regard: secure SE (characterized by high levels of explicit and implicit SE), and defensive SE (characterized by high levels of explicit but low levels of implicit SE). The current study tested the hypothesis that children with high levels of defensive, but not secure, SE would engage in higher levels of aggressive behavior. Ninety-three children completed measures of both explicit and implicit SE. Teachers assessed children’s level of physical and relational aggression in the school setting. As predicted, there was a positive association between explicit SE and aggression when levels of implicit SE were low, but not when levels of implicit SE were high.     

攻击性和自尊关系的元分析

以往攻击性和自尊之间关系的研究结论存在很大分歧。为了综合以往研究,明确两者之间的整体关系,分析造成分歧的原因,81项原始研究进入了元分析。结果显示:(1)攻击性和自尊呈中等程度的负相关。(2)自尊的不同结构与不同类型的攻击性呈现不同的相关模式。攻击性与外显自尊和内隐自尊呈负相关;攻击性与自尊稳定性和相倚性呈正相关(3)年级和攻击性量表类型的调节效应显著。攻击性与高自尊异质性之间的关系是将来研究的重点。     

Using self-esteem to disaggregate psychopathy,narcissism, and aggression

Past research offers conflicting conclusions regarding the associations between self-esteem, psychopathy, narcissism, and aggression. The current study clarified these associations by examining self-esteem level and stability as it relates to the factors of psychopathy and narcissism predicting aggression. Self-report assessments were administered to 118 undergraduates. While self-esteem instability was not related to psychopathy or narcissism, it was positively correlated with aggression. Additionally, those with the healthier aspects of narcissism and Factor 1 features of psychopathy had high self-esteem and less aggression, while those with more pathological narcissism and Factor 2 features of psychopathy had lower self-esteem and more aggression. Specifically, the relationship between psychopathy Factor 1 and aggression was partially mediated by lower self-esteem.     

The relationship between aggression,narcissism, and self-esteem in Asian children and adolescents

This study compared aggressive and nonaggressive students on narcissism and self-esteem scores. Three hundred and seventy students (176 boys and 194 girls) from three schools in Singapore participated in the study. The age range of students was from ten years to 17 years with a mean of 12.23 years (SD = 1.52). Consistent with our hypothesis, aggressive students scored significantly higher on narcissism compared to nonaggressive students. Also, as expected, aggressive and nonaggressive students did not differ significantly with respect to self-esteem scores. These findings contribute to a growing body of research that aggression is closely associated with narcissism for adults as well as children and adolescents, using an Asian sample. In addition, these results also provide some preliminary support that narcissism and high self-esteem though somewhat superficially similar, are distinct constructs conceptually and empirically. Aggression is closely associated with narcissism, and for the aggressive child or adolescent, it may be more beneficial to target intervention efforts towards having accurate self-appraisals rather than promoting an already grandiose self-image further.     

The relationship between aggression, narcissism, and self-esteem in Asian children and adolescents

This study compared aggressive and nonaggressive students on narcissism and self-esteem scores. Three hundred and seventy students (176 boys and 194 girls) from three schools in Singapore participated in the study. The age range of students was from ten years to 17 years with a mean of 12.23 years (SD = 1.52). Consistent with our hypothesis, aggressive students scored significantly higher on narcissism compared to nonaggressive students. Also, as expected, aggressive and nonaggressive students did not differ significantly with respect to self-esteem scores. These findings contribute to a growing body of research that aggression is closely associated with narcissism for adults as well as children and adolescents, using an Asian sample. In addition, these results also provide some preliminary support that narcissism and high self-esteem though somewhat superficially similar, are distinct constructs conceptually and empirically. Aggression is closely associated with narcissism, and for the aggressive child or adolescent, it may be more beneficial to target intervention efforts towards having accurate self-appraisals rather than promoting an already grandiose self-image further.     

The role of self-esteem and locus of control in the differential prediction of performance,program satisfaction,and life satisfaction in an educational organization

The present research was an attempt to examine the role of task-specific self-esteem Korman, 1966, Korman, 1976 and locus of control (Rotter, 1966) in the differential prediction of academic performance, program satisfaction, and personal life satisfaction. Based on earlier research and theory in this area, it was predicted that (1) high task-specific self-esteem individuals would perform better, would be more satisfied with their program of studies and their personal lives compared to low task-specific self-esteem individuals, and (2) individuals with an internal locus of control would also perform better, would be more satisfied with their program of studies and their personal lives compared to individuals with an external locus of control. These hypotheses found strong empirical support in the study. The findings are interpreted as being strongly supportive of Korman's theory on the role of task specific esteem and Rotter's theory on the concept of locus of control in the prediction of certain select organizational outcomes.     

Low self-esteem is related to aggression, antisocial behavior, and delinquency

The present research explored the controversial link between global self-esteem and externalizing problems such as aggression, antisocial behavior, and delinquency. In three studies, we found a robust relation between low self-esteem and externalizing problems. This relation held for measures of self-esteem and externalizing problems based on self-report, teachers' ratings, and parents' ratings, and for participants from different nationalities (United States and New Zealand) and age groups (adolescents and college students). Moreover, this relation held both cross-sectionally and longitudinally and after controlling for potential confounding variables such as supportive parenting, parent-child and peer relationships, achievement-test scores, socioeconomic status, and IQ. In addition, the effect of self-esteem on aggression was independent of narcissism, an important finding given recent claims that individuals who are narcissistic, not low in self-esteem, are aggressive. Discussion focuses on clarifying the relations among self-esteem, narcissism, and externalizing problems.     

Contingent on contingencies: Connections between anger rumination,self-esteem,and aggression

Mixed findings have engendered debate regarding the relationship between self-esteem and aggression. The present study tested the hypothesis that the contingency of perceived self-worth on external factors (i.e., contingent self-esteem) predicts aggression, particularly reactive, over and above global self-esteem, and that anger rumination exacerbates this relationship. The potential moderating role of gender was also considered. Regression analyses on a sample of 729 undergraduates revealed that contingent self-esteem interacts with both anger rumination and gender to predict reactive aggression. In combination with observations for proactive aggression, results of the present study suggest that the variation in previous findings may be at least partly explained by failure to account for the influences of self-esteem contingency, gender, and functional subtypes of aggression.     

The relationships between functional and dysfunctional impulsivity and aggression across different samples

E. S. Barratt proposed the term impulsive aggression to define a kind of aggression that is characterized by acting without thinking because of high levels of impulsivity. Previous research using psychometric measures has shown that impulsivity and aggression are related as far as psychometric measures are concerned. Nevertheless, most of the research has been done with samples of university students. Our research tests whether this relationship is stable across different samples; university students, teenagers and workers. Our results show that impulsivity and aggression have a consistent pattern of relationships across these samples, with impulsivity being specially related to emotional and instrumental aspects of aggression. Furthermore, the effects of anger on aggression seem to show a pattern of relationship that depends on age, with a tendency to physical aggression in young people and verbal aggression in adults.     

Exploring the role of individual differences in the prediction of workplace aggression

This study investigates the relationship between individual differences and the incidence of workplace aggression in a sample of employees from a transportation company and a public school system. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that measures of trait anger, attribution style, negative affectivity, attitudes toward revenge, self-control, and previous exposure to aggressive cultures accounted for 62% of the variance in the participants' self-reported incidence of workplace aggression. Further research on workplace aggression is advocated, focusing on the role of individual differences and their interactions with organizational and group-level variables.     

The relationship between differential inequity, job satisfaction, intention to turnover, and self-esteem

This study was an examination of differential inequity or underreward in working conditions, originating from the discrepancy between individual working conditions and those of comparative referents. In its exploration of the outcomes of inequity in working conditions, the study fills a gap in the literature because most such studies have been primarily devoted to investigations of pay inequity. Empirically, it is an investigation of elements of differential inequity as antecedents of job satisfaction and intentions to turnover and of self-esteem as a moderator of inequity-criteria relationships. Significant relationships between system and age inequity and job satisfaction and between company inequity and intention to turnover were found. Self-esteem significantly moderated the global inequity-job satisfaction and global inequity-intention to turnover relationships.     

Self-concept clarity and religious orientations: prediction of purpose in life and self-esteem

The present study concerns the relationship between self-concept clarity, religiosity, and well-being, as well as the mediating influence of religiosity on the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of meaning in life and self-esteem. Self-concept clarity was found to be a significant predictor of sense of meaning in life and self-esteem; intrinsic religious orientation was found to be a predictor of sense of meaning in life, while the quest religious orientation was a predictor for self-esteem. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and intrinsic religious orientation were found to be related to the sense of purpose in life, which would point to religiosity being a mediator of the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of purpose in life. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and quest religious orientation were found to be a predictor of self-esteem, which indicates a mediating effect of this religious orientation in the relationship of self-concept clarity and self-esteem.     

An approach to the problem of differential prediction

A procedure for maximizing selective efficiency is developed for application to situations in which it is desired to select from a single group of applicants for several possible assignments. The problem of comparable units for the several criteria whose values must be compared to each other for differential assignment purposes is discussed. It is demonstrated that, assuming linear regressions, maximal selection is obtained if individuals in any given assignment are differentiated from those rejected according to critical rejection scores on the multiple weighted sum of the predictors and from another possible assignment by critical difference scores which are merely the differences between the two critical rejection scores. Since the relationships just indicated give no way of determining the magnitude of the critical scores required to select the required number of persons for each assignment, a successive approximation procedure for accomplishing this purpose has been devised and a computational example is worked out.The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not to be construed as official or as those of the War Department.     

Effects of differential reinforcement on the behavior and self-esteem of children with emotional and behavioral disorders

Students in a residential special school for children with emotional and behavioral disorders participated in a study designed to reduce their levels of inappropriate behavior. The residential care staff rated the students' behavioral problems and their class teachers rated their overt self-esteem pre and post intervention. In addition, the students completed self-ratings of their self-esteem. The students were divided into two groups, experimental and control. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to assess behavioral changes in the experimental group. Both groups received tangible rewards to the same level but only the experimental group received them contingent upon behaving appropriately. Results showed that the experimental group students made substantial reductions in their levels of inappropriate behavior, which were maintained at a three-month followup. Also, ratings of their behavioral problems by residential child care staff suggested that this improvement in behavior had generalized beyond the classroom to the residential setting. However, no significant differences were found between the pre- and post-intervention ratings of their self-esteem or teacher ratings of their overt self-esteem.     

Differentiating corporal punishment from physical abuse in the prediction of lifetime aggression

Corporal punishment and parental physical abuse often co‐occur during upbringing, making it difficult to differentiate their selective impacts on psychological functioning. Associations between corporal punishment and a number of lifetime aggression indicators were examined in this study after efforts to control the potential influence of various forms of co‐occurring maltreatment (parental physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse, sibling abuse, peer bullying, and observed parental violence). College students (N = 1,136) provided retrospective self‐reports regarding their history of aggression and levels of exposure to childhood corporal punishment and maltreatment experiences. Analyses focused on three hypotheses: 1) The odds of experiencing childhood physical abuse would be higher among respondents reporting frequent corporal punishment during upbringing; 2) Corporal punishment scores would predict the criterion aggression indices after control of variance associated with childhood maltreatment; 3) Aggression scores would be higher among respondents classified in the moderate and elevated corporal punishment risk groups. Strong support was found for the first hypothesis since the odds of childhood physical abuse recollections were higher (OR = 65.3) among respondents who experienced frequent (>60 total disciplinary acts) corporal punishment during upbringing. Partial support was found for the second and third hypotheses. Dimensional and categorical corporal punishment scores were associated significantly with half of the criterion measures. These findings support efforts to dissuade reliance on corporal punishment to manage child behavior.

     

Domain generality and domain specificity in aesthetic appreciation

Aesthetic appreciation is looked at with respect to domain generality and domain specificity. Within the classic cognitive paradigm, modality- and domain-specific receptive processes are explored. These are then complemented with central processing structures. These reveal domain-specific as well as domain-general processing. Extending the classic cognitive science approach, the role of emotion in aesthetic appreciation is also explored. While domain-specific models of aesthetic appreciation are clearly called for, there are also numerous domain-general subprocesses and structures.