Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention
Published on: November 16, 2017
Low self-esteem elicits greater mobilization of attentional resources toward emotional stimuli
1Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Abstract:
Previous findings are generally consistent with the notion that individuals with low self-esteem tends to easily orient their attention on negative stimuli. The main objective of the present study was to further investigate the time course of attention deployment to positive (happy) and negative (angry) facial expressions in visual probe task using event-related potentials (ERP) technology in 15 high versus 15 low self-esteem participants while they viewed pairs of faces (e.g., happy face paired with neutral face or angry face paired with neutral face) shown for 500 ms and followed by a probe. Behavioral results showed that individuals with low self-esteem simply had faster manual reaction times on the entire task. ERP results showed that individuals with low self-esteem, but not high self-esteem, displayed increased P1 and N1 activity to both happy and angry facial expression. These findings suggest that emotional stimuli (angry faces and happy faces) elicited greater mobilization of attentional resources in individuals with low self-esteem.
Related Concept Videos
Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison
Protecting Self-Esteem
Benefits of Self-Esteem
Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model
The Influence of Cognition on Affect
Sources of Self-Esteem II: Performance Feedback
