title: I like me if you like me: on the interpersonal modulation and regulation of preadolescents' state self-esteem.
abstract: This experiment tested whether peer approval and disapproval experiences can cause immediate change in children's state self-esteem. Children's narcissistic traits and evaluator perceived popularity were examined as potential moderators. A total of 333 preadolescents (M = 10.8 years) completed personal profiles on the Internet that were ostensibly judged by a jury consisting of popular and unpopular peers. Participants randomly received negative, neutral, or positive feedback from the jury. Next, they could examine the feedback that each individual judge gave them. As expected, peer disapproval decreased self-esteem, especially in children high in narcissism. In contrast, peer approval increased self-esteem. Moreover, disapproved children's self-esteem recovery was dependent on the extent to which they subsequently viewed positive feedback from popular judges. These findings support sociometer theory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Utrecht University,P.O. Box 80.140, 3584 CS Utrecht, Netherlands. s.thomaes@uu.nl
authors.forename: Sander
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomaes
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reijntjes
authors.forename: Bram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Orobio de Castro
authors.forename: Brad J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Bushman
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poorthuis
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Telch
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009289:Narcissism; D010379:Peer Group; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D012928:Social Desirability; D012933:Social Identification; D012963:Sociometric Techniques