What's in a name: implicit self-esteem and the automatic self.
This article explores the links between implicit self-esteem and the automatic self (D. L. Paulhus, 1993). Across 4 studies, name letter evaluations were positively biased, confirming that implicit self-esteem is generally positive (A. G. Greenwald & M. R. Banaji, 1995). Study 1 found that this name letter bias was stable over a 4-week period. Study 2 found that positive bias for name letters and positive bias for birth date numbers were correlated and that both biases became inhibited when participants were induced to respond in a deliberative manner. Studies 3-4 found that implicit self-evaluations corresponded with self-reported self-evaluations, but only when participants were evaluating themselves very quickly (Study 3) or under cognitive load (Study 4). Together, these findings support the notion that implicit self-esteem phenomena are driven by self-evaluations that are activated automatically and without conscious self-reflection.
Koole
S L
SL
Department of Social Psychology, Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Dijksterhuis
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van Knippenberg
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D009275:Names; D010465:Perception; D010551:Personality; D011897:Random Allocation; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires