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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 2, 143-159 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167206294872
© 2007 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Self-Structure and Self-Esteem Stability: The Hidden Vulnerability of Compartmentalization

Virgil Zeigler-Hill

University of Southern Mississippi, virgil{at}usm.edu

Carolin J. Showers

University of Oklahoma

The present studies examined the association between self-concept structure and stability of self-esteem. In two daily diary studies, evaluative integration (organizing positively and negatively valenced self-beliefs into the same self-aspects) was associated with more stable self-esteem than evaluative compartmentalization (organizing positively and negatively valenced self-beliefs into separate self-aspects) among individuals with generally high self-esteem. Moreover, analyses of self-esteem reactivity confirmed that the sensitivity of state self-esteem to daily events was greater for compartmentalized individuals than for individuals with relatively integrative self-concept structures. Compartmentalization also was associated with greater sensitivity to experiences of social rejection in the laboratory, consistent with the view that integration affords greater stability of self-evaluations. These results suggest that some of the benefits believed to be associated with compartmentalization (such as high self-esteem) may have hidden costs that have not previously been considered.

Key Words: compartmentalization • evaluative organization • self • self-concept • self-esteem • self-esteem stability


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