title: State-trait decomposition of Name Letter Test scores and relationships with global self-esteem.
abstract: The Name Letter Test (NLT) assesses the degree that participants show a preference for an individual's own initials. The NLT was often thought to measure implicit self-esteem, but recent literature reviews do not equivocally support this hypothesis. Several authors have argued that the NLT is most strongly associated with the state component of self-esteem. The current research uses a modified STARTS model to (a) estimate the percentage of stable and transient components of the NLT and (b) estimate the covariances between stable/transient components of the NLT and stable/transient components of self-esteem and positive and negative affect. Two longitudinal studies were conducted with different time lags: In Study 1, participants were assessed daily for 7 consecutive days, whereas in Study 2, participants were assessed weekly for 8 consecutive weeks. Participants also completed a battery of questionnaires including global self-esteem, positive affect, and negative affect. In both studies, the NLT showed (a) high stability across time, (b) a high percentage of stable variance, (c) no significant covariance with stable and transient factors for global self-esteem, and (d) a different pattern of correlations with stable and transient factors of affect than global self-esteem. Collectively, these results further undermine the claim that the NLT is a valid measure of implicit self-esteem. Future work is needed to identify theoretically grounded correlates of the NLT. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7168-4847
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Perinelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4731-5248
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alessandri
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University.
authors.forename: M Brent
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Donnellan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Lublin.
authors.forename: Mariola
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Łaguna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D002605:Character; D000078331:Correlation of Data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009275:Names; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult