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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
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The Impact of Unfair Treatment on Depressive Mood: The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem Level and Self-Esteem Instability

Laurenz L. Meier

University of Bern, Switzerland,laurenz.meier{at}psy.unibe.ch

Norbert K. Semmer

University of Bern, Switzerland

Jörg Hupfeld

University of Bern, Switzerland

This research examines the moderating roles of self-esteem level and self-esteem instability in the relationship between perceived unfair treatment and depressive mood. Based on the assumption that unfairness is a threat to one's social standing and self-esteem, the authors proposed that individuals with highly fragile self-esteem (i.e., the combination of unstable and high self-esteem) react more strongly when experiencing unfair treatment. This hypothesis was tested in a real-world setting using cross-sectional and diary data of 101 employees. As expected, unfair treatment was related to depressive mood among individuals with unstable high self-esteem but not among individuals with stable high self-esteem. This pattern of results held for both cross-sectional and diary data. In contrast, unfairness was not related to depressive mood among individuals with unstable low self-esteem.

Key Words: self-esteem • self-esteem instability • fairness • depressive mood

This version was published on May 1, 2009

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 35, No. 5, 643-655 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167208331337
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