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Adaptive disengagement buffers self-esteem from negative social feedback
Jordan B Leitner1, Eric Hehman2, Matthew P Deegan3
1University of Delaware, Newark, USA jleitner@psych.udel.edu.
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|September 6, 2014
Summary
Individuals can protect their self-esteem by adaptively disengaging from negative feedback. The new Adaptive Disengagement Scale (ADS) measures this valuable self-regulation skill.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Personality Psychology
Background:
- Contingency of self-worth, or engagement, describes reliance on feedback for self-esteem.
- Previous research viewed engagement as a stable trait.
- Dynamic regulation of engagement is potentially advantageous for well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if disengaging from negative feedback explains self-esteem variability.
- To develop and validate a scale measuring adaptive disengagement.
- To examine the relationship between adaptive disengagement and state self-esteem.
Main Methods:
- Development of the Adaptive Disengagement Scale (ADS).
- Reliability and validity testing of the ADS across multiple studies.
- Experimental manipulation involving negative social feedback.
- Mediation analysis to confirm the role of disengagement.
Main Results:
- The ADS demonstrated good reliability and validity.
- Higher ADS scores predicted greater state self-esteem after negative feedback.
- Disengagement from negative feedback mediated the positive effect of ADS scores on self-esteem.
Conclusions:
- Adaptive disengagement is a protective mechanism for self-esteem against negative outcomes.
- The ADS is a valid tool for assessing individual differences in adaptive disengagement.
- Dynamic regulation of self-worth contingencies is a key aspect of psychological resilience.
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