Intuition and the Correspondence Between Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem

• Published in: Journal of personality and social psychology 2007-12, Vol.93 (6), p.1067-1079
• Main Authors: Jordan, Christian H, Whitfield, Mervyn, Zeigler-Hill, Virgil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude; Attitudes; Behavior. Attitude; Bias; Biological and medical sciences; Decision making; Developmental psychology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Humans; Implicit beliefs; Intuition; Male; Personality; Personality. Affectivity; Problem solving; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Rationality; Safety; Seflesteem; Self Concept; Self esteem; Self representation; Self-Perception; Social psychology; Studies
• ISSN: 0022-3514; 1939-1315
• DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.1067

Four studies tested whether the perceived validity of intuition increases the correspondence between implicit and explicit self-esteem. Studies 1 and 2 found, with 2 different measures of implicit self-esteem, that people who chronically view their intuition as valid have more consistent implicit and explicit self-esteem. In contrast, people with relatively low faith in their intuition had a negative relation between implicit and explicit self-esteem, suggesting that they may overcorrect their explicit self-views for the potential bias posed by implicit self-esteem. In Studies 3 and 4, participants who were induced to view their intuition as valid reported explicit self-views (self-evaluations made under time pressure, or state self-esteem) that were more consistent with their implicit self-esteem. These results suggest that people experience implicit self-esteem as intuitive evaluations. The correspondence between implicit and explicit self-esteem among individuals who view their intuition as valid may suggest that these individuals incorporate implicit self-esteem into their explicit self-views.