Self-Esteem and Persistence in the Face of Failure

In 2 studies, the authors examined self-esteem, persistence, and rumination in the face of failure. Study 1 manipulated degree of failure and availability of goal alternatives. When an alternative was available, high self-esteem (HSE) participants persisted more than low self-esteem (LSE) participan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 2002-09, Vol.83 (3), p.711-724
Main Authors: Di Paula, Adam, Campbell, Jennifer D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
British Columbia
Cognition
Failure
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Goals
Human
Humans
Male
Motivation
Persistence
Personality
Personality traits
Personality. Affectivity
Psychological aspects
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rumination (Cognitive Process)
Self Concept
Self esteem
Self image
Self representation
Self-Management
Social psychology
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Summary:In 2 studies, the authors examined self-esteem, persistence, and rumination in the face of failure. Study 1 manipulated degree of failure and availability of goal alternatives. When an alternative was available, high self-esteem (HSE) participants persisted more than low self-esteem (LSE) participants after a single failure, but less after repeated failure. When no alternative was available, no self-esteem differences in persistence emerged. LSE participants ruminated more than HSE participants. Study 2 examined persistence and rumination for 10 personal goals across an academic year. HSE participants were better calibrated (higher within-subject correlations between perceived progress and persistence across goals), had higher overall levels of persistence, higher grade point averages, and lower levels of rumination than LSE participants. Although traditional views that emphasize the tenacious persistence of HSE individuals need revision, HSE people appear more effective in self-regulating goal-directed behavior.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.83.3.711