Irrational Beliefs and Unconditional Self-Acceptance. II. Experimental Evidence for a Causal Link between Two Key Features of REBT

In a test of two key features of REBT, causal relationships between irrational beliefs and unconditional self-acceptance were experimentally investigated in a sample of 106 non-clinical participants using a priming technique. Priming participants with statements of irrational belief resulted in a decrease in unconditional self-acceptance whereas priming participants with statements of rational belief resulted in an increase in unconditional self-acceptance. In contrast, priming participants with statements about unconditional self-acceptance did not result in an increase in rational thinking and priming participants with statements about conditional self-acceptance did not result in an increase in irrational thinking. The present study is the first to provide evidence of a causal link between rational/irrational thinking and unconditional/conditional self-acceptance. The findings have important implications for the core hypothesis of REBT and underscore the advantages of experimental over correlational studies in theory-testing.     

Mindfulness,Self-Esteem,and Unconditional Self-Acceptance

Ellis (Ellis, A. (1996), Psychotherapy, 22(1), 149–151) has been a longstanding critic of the concept of self-esteem and has offered the notion of unconditional self-acceptance as an alternative. Other researchers have suggested that cultivating mindfulness––attention directed towards one’s immediate experiences with an attitude of non-judgment––also offers a healthier alternative to self-esteem (Ryan, R. M., & Brown, K. W. (2003) Psychological Inquiry, 14(1), 71–76). This study examined the relationship between mindfulness, self-esteem, and unconditional self-acceptance. A sample of 167 university students completed two measures of everyday mindfulness, and measures of self-esteem and unconditional self-acceptance. Positive correlations were found between mindfulness, self-esteem, and unconditional self-acceptance. Mindfulness skills may offer a means to cultivate unconditional self-acceptance and to shift from an emphasis on self-esteem as a measure of worth. This paper was based on data collected for the first author's Master's project.     

大学生自我构念与主观幸福感的关系:自尊与关系和谐的中介效应

为了分析文化融合、社会变迁背景下大学生自我观的特点,及自我构念与自尊、关系和谐、主观幸福感之间的关系,采用了自我构念量表、自尊量表、关系和谐量表及主观幸福感量表对446名大学生进行调查.结果显示:(1)文化融合、社会变迁背景下,代表集体主义文化价值观的互依我在大学生自我观中仍占优势.大学生自我观可分为二元型、独立型、互依型和边缘型.本研究中,四种类型所占比例分别为32.5%、18.6%、18.0%、30.9%.(2)自我构念与主观幸福感显著正相关;不同自我观类型大学生在主观幸福感上差异显著,二元型个体主观幸福感水平最高,边缘型最低,独立型、互依型处于中间水平.(3)自尊在独立我与主观幸福感间起到完全中介作用;互依我一方面通过关系和谐间接影响主观幸福感,另一方面,通过关系和谐对自尊的促进作用影响主观幸福感.     

想象重要他人对自我评价转移的影响

研究目的：本研究的目的是在中国文化背景下,考察想象不同的重要他人对于个体自我评价转移的影响,并探讨自尊在其中的调节作用。考虑到大学生年龄相当,拥有相似的角色经验,故本研究选用了大二女生作为被试。研究选择了三类重要他人：父母、同性朋友、异性朋友（包括男朋友）,由于每一类重要他人所对应的关系自我各不相同,所以研究编制了针对不同重要他人的自我评价特质词表,作为因变量测量的工具。 过程与方法：本研究设计了两个实验,实验中将用到录音机。实验一为单因素实验设计,在三个实验室同时展开,各个实验室的想象重要他人分别为父母、同性朋友、异性朋友。主试告知参与者,本实验将进行一项大学女生的想象力测试,首先聆听一段描写风景的散文录音,进行想象练习。然后请她们在头脑中想象一位指定的重要他人,比如想象重要他人的形象、语言、行为等特征,尽可能详细生动。想象结束,首先请被试回忆并填写刚才想象的主要内容。然后告诉被试,另一个课题组正在搜集有关“当代大学生自我形象”的资料,请她们帮忙填写《自我评价特质词表》,对自己的一些特质进行评价。最后,主试向参与者致谢并进行了解释。实验二的想象重要他人为同性朋友和男朋友,实验过程与实验一基本一致,在自我评价测量中采用了专门针对“同性朋友”和“男朋友”的量表,并在想象完成后填写自尊量表。 结果与结论：本研究所有统计检验的显著性水平在a<0.05的水平上进行。研究探讨了中国文化背景下大学女生的关系自我评价特质,发现其与西方文化背景下的关系自我评价特质显著不同。证明了想象重要他人影响个体自我评价的维度,并会产生自我评价转移的现象,没有发现自尊变量的调节作用。     

自尊水平与自尊稳定性的关系:完美主义的中介作用

采用中介性调节分析方法,探讨了青少年外显自尊、内隐自尊、完美主义和自尊稳定性的关系.研究发现:外显自尊通过在乎缺点这一中介变量影响着自尊稳定性,外显自尊与自尊稳定性之间的关系不存在追求高标准的中介作用;内隐自尊调节着外显自尊和在乎缺点、自尊稳定性的关系,在低外显自尊者中,内隐自尊低者倾向于在乎自己的错误,表现出较高的自尊不稳定性;外显自尊通过在乎缺点影响自尊稳定性的间接效应在低内隐自尊者中更为明显.进一步的研究应考虑内隐自尊稳定性在自尊研究中的作用.     

成败操纵反馈情境下内隐自尊的稳定性研究

本研究采用内隐联想测验,通过控制不同的反馈情境,采用前--后测实验设计进行实验.结果发现:(1)反馈情境是影响内隐自尊稳定性的一个重要因素.如果个体在特定情境下得到及时反馈,其内隐自尊会显著降低;而投有得到及时反馈韵个体,虽然内隐自尊并没有发生显著的变化,却表现出了一致的上升趋势.(2)与男性相比,女性的内隐自尊在一定情境下表现出了明显的不稳定性.(3)所有被试接受了不同的反馈后,在后测中的反应速度明显快于处理之前.     

自尊的神经生理基础

自尊是社会心理学领域的经典核心概念之一, 近年来也备受认知神经科学领域的关注。已有的脑成像与神经分泌研究结果显示, 特质性自尊和情境性自尊拥有既各自独立又相互共享的神经机制, 更为重要的是, 特质性自尊会通过影响个体在社会排斥情境中的大脑活动与神经内分泌反应, 调制他们的情境性自尊。为了全面而系统地揭示自尊的内涵与机制, 未来的研究亟需一个整合性的理论框架, 能够将不同类型的自尊, 应激反应模式, 以及大脑特征间的关系加以综合分析。     

泛文化的自尊需要：基于中国人的研究证据

自尊需要是否具有跨文化普遍性是文化心理学领域近10年来争论最为激烈的问题之一。围绕这一争议, 本文从6个方面对国内外基于中国人的自尊研究进行了梳理、整合和解读。结果显示：1)自尊作为一种结构在中国和西方是类似的; 2)中国人的自尊是存在积极偏差的; 3)高自尊对中国人是有益的; 4)中国人需要、努力且策略性地维护和促进自尊; 5)中国人只是在自尊的认知成分上水平比西方人低, 情感成分上不低; 6)自尊的文化差异可以由动机或需要本身以外的与文化密切相关的因素解释, 比如：谦虚、趋中的反应偏向、朴素的辩证认知风格等。这些证据表明：自尊需要具有跨文化普遍性, 但其表达、促进和维护因文化而异。     

Sports Participation and Self-Esteem: Variations as a Function of Gender and Gender Role Orientation

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of gender, sports participation, and gender orientation in predicting individuals' domain-specific and global self-esteem. A sample of 100 Grade 11 students completed measures of self-perception, body image, gender orientation, and sports participation. The results showed that although boys reported greater satisfaction with weight and appearance, there were no gender differences in general self-worth. In addition, more feminine individuals who participated in competitive sports reported lower levels of perceived athletic competence and global self-worth, but reported higher self-esteem when they participated in more noncompetitive sports. Although sports participation does predict self-esteem, participants' gender orientation and the type of sports in which they participate are moderating factors.     

Perceived Parental Rearing Style, Self-Esteem and Self-Criticism as Predictors of Happiness

This study set out to determine to what extent three recalled parental (care, discouragement of behavioural freedom, denial of psychological autonomy), self-esteem, and self-criticism predicted self-rated happiness in a normal, non-clinical, population of young people in their late teens and early 20s. Three hundred and sixty-five participants completed four questionnaires: Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker, Tupling and Brown: 1979, British Journal of Medical Psychology 55, pp. 1–10), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg: 1965, Society and the Adolescent Self-Image (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ)), Self-Criticism Questionnaire (Brewin, Firth-Cozens, Furnham and McManus: 1992, Journal of Abnormal Psychology 101, pp. 561–566), and the Oxford Happiness Inventory (Argyle, Martin and Crossland: 1989, Recent Advances in Social Psychology: An International Perspective (Elsevier, North Holland)). Regressions showed self-esteem (the positive five items) to be the most dominant and powerful correlate of happiness. Maternal care was a significant correlate of both self-esteem and self-criticism. Maternal care was the only direct correlate of happiness when paternal and maternal rearing styles were examined together suggesting that the warmth showed by mothers towards their children was particularly beneficial in increasing the offsprings' scores on self-reported happiness. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.