Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026
06:41
Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors
Published on: February 25, 2011
Anticipating evaluative social interactions involving persons with disabilities
1Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA. asantuzzi@niu.edu
Rehabilitation Psychology
|July 7, 2011
Summary
Self-esteem influences how people anticipate interactions with individuals with physical disabilities. Its impact lessens in simple social situations but remains significant in complex or outcome-dependent scenarios.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Disability Studies
- Self-Perception Research
Background:
- Global self-esteem is theorized to influence social interaction outcomes.
- Individuals with high self-esteem are expected to navigate social encounters more favorably than those with low self-esteem.
- The specific context of interactions with individuals with physical disabilities warrants investigation regarding self-esteem's role.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how simple versus complex evaluative situations affect the role of global self-esteem.
- To investigate the influence of interaction duration and outcome dependency on self-esteem's impact.
- To understand self-esteem's role in anticipating interactions with individuals with physical disabilities.
Main Methods:
- Two laboratory studies were conducted involving participants with varying levels of global self-esteem.
- Participants anticipated interactions of brief (5 minutes) or extended (45 minutes) duration with a confederate using a wheelchair.
- Study 2 introduced an outcome-dependent variable, manipulating whether participants' outcomes relied on the interaction partner.
Main Results:
- In Study 1, self-esteem influenced affective experiences and expected partner evaluations during brief interactions but not extended ones.
- Study 2 confirmed that self-esteem's influence re-emerged during extended interactions, particularly when participants were outcome-dependent.
- These findings suggest situational complexity modulates the impact of self-esteem in intergroup interactions.
Conclusions:
- The role of self-esteem appears diluted in simple evaluative social situations.
- Self-esteem remains a significant factor in more complex, nonevaluative, or outcome-dependent interaction scenarios.
- Situational factors critically shape the expression of self-esteem during anticipated interactions with individuals with physical disabilities.
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