Development and validation of a scale for measuring state self-esteem.

Abstract

This article examines the measurement of short-lived (i.e., state) changes in self-esteem. A new scale is introduced that is sensitive to manipulations designed to temporarily alter self-esteem, and 5 studies are presented that support the scale's validity. The State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES) consists of 20 items modified from the widely used Janis-Field Feelings of Inadequacy Scale (Janis & Field, 1959). Psychometric analyses revealed that the SSES has 3 correlated factors: performance, social, and appearance self-esteem. Effects of naturally occurring and laboratory failure and of clinical treatment on SSES scores were examined; it was concluded that the SSES is sensitive to these sorts of manipulations. The scale has many potential uses, which include serving as a valid manipulation check index, measuring clinical change in self-esteem, and untangling the confounded relation between mood and self-esteem. There has been a resurgence of interest in examining whether aspects of the self-concept are stable or malleable (Markus & Kunda, 1986). On the one hand, there is considerable evidence that the self-concept is persistent and stable and that people will actively seek information that confirms their self-concept and reject information that threatens their general view of self

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