Showing papers by "Roy F. Baumeister published in 1985"

Self-esteem and responses to success and failure: Subsequent performance and intrinsic motivation

Abstract: A model is proposed in which the goal of people with high self-esteem is to cultivate personal strengths in order to excel, whereas the goal of people with low self-esteem is to remedy personal deficiencies in order to become adequate In two experiments, subjects received initial outcome feedback of either success, humiliating failure (internal attribution), or failure that allowed face-saving (external attribution) Experiment 1 then measured subjects intrinsic motivation to pursue the task during free-choice time Subjects with high self-esteem had the highest intrinsic motivation after success Subjects with low self-esteem had the highest intrinsic motivation after the humiliating failure Experiment 2 required a second performance on a similar task Performance results were consistent with the intrinsic motivation results of Experiment 1, with one exception High self-esteem subjects were sensitive to the different failure treatments, performing well after humiliation but poorly after face-saving Subjects with low self-esteem performed the same in both failure conditions The relation of the present model and results to previous work is discussed

Two kinds of identity crisis

Abstract: In order to outline a model of identity crisis, it is necessary to distinguish two types. In an identity deficit ("motivation crisis"), the individual experiences a lack of guiding commitments but struggles to establish personal goals and values. In an identity conflict ("legitimation crisis"), the person has several commitments which prescribe conflicting behavioral imperatives in some situations, such that at least one commitment may have to be betrayed. The literature on identity crisis is reviewed in connection with this distinction, and an attempt is made to delineate the causes, the subjective experiences, behavioral consequences, and modes of resolution of each type of crisis.

Effect of Therapist's Disclosure of Religious Beliefs on the Intimacy of Client Self-Disclosure

Abstract: A therapy analogue experiment supported the view that therapist disclosure of religious affiliation can reduce the intimacy of client disclosure. Christian subjects were significantly less intimate in disclosing to a therapist who had disclosed himself to be either a devout Christian or an Orthodox Jew than they were in disclosing to a therapist who had not disclosed any religious beliefs. Jewish subjects were less intimate in their disclosures when paired with a therapist who disclosed himself to be a devout Christian than they were when paired with an Orthodox Jewish therapist or with a therapist who did not disclose religious affiliation. When client and therapist were of the same religion, a positive correlation emerged between the client's religiosity and the intimacy of his disclosure. However, in no condition did subjects disclose more intimately to the therapist who disclosed his religious beliefs than to the nondisclosing therapist. Results are discussed in terms of self-disclosure reciprocity an...

Toward a Theory of Situational Structure

Abstract: The independent variables for all studies published in odd-numbered volumes of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology were recorded. The variables were then sorted on the basis of resemblance into an emerging scheme of categories. This procedure resulted in a list of 51 categories; this list arguably contains all dimensions of situational structure that have been shown to exert a significant effect on behavior. The 51 categories were then organized into a scheme of situational structure. The following 5 aspects of situational structure were suggested: the stimulus environment, which is comprised of the physical environment and the situation's temporal and spatial structure, as well as any social structure that is external to the subject; characteristics of the subject, which involve all relevant attributes of the subject as well as relevant prior experience; cognitive and affective dynamics, which involve the subject's attentional, interpretive, and emotional states and processes, as well as the...