Participants There were 90 participants (49 women and 41 men) in this study ranging in age. Participants were asked to take part in a study to test their cognitive reasoning ability.
Procedure
Participants were asked to complete a total of two surveys and an anagram task. In the first survey, participants were asked to answer ten questions that measured their global feelings about themselves. Participants were then randomly assigned to complete either an “easy” or “difficult” anagram task. They were given five minutes to complete as many of the twenty listed anagrams as possible. Finally, participants were asked to complete a second survey in which they reported how many anagrams they completed and their mood directly following the completion …show more content…
This analysis revealed that the main effect of self-esteem was not significant, F (1, 86) = 0.21, p = 0.65. This suggests that participants with low (M = 4.29) and high (M = 4.41) self-esteem did not significantly differ in their self-reported mood after completing the anagram task. However, there was a significant relationship between the task difficulty and mood of the participants, F (1, 86) = 21.65, p < 0.001. This suggests that participants reported their mood to be more positive if they were assigned to the “easy” condition (M = 4.94) as opposed to the “difficult” condition (M = 3.76). The main effect was qualified by a significant Self-esteem X Task Difficulty interaction, F (1, 86) = 6.07, p < 0.05. This suggests that the relationship between self-esteem and mood is dependent on whether participants were assigned to the “easy” or “difficult” task …show more content…
(1989) explored the relationship between self-esteem and over-generalizations. They concluded that people with low self-esteem tend to overgeneralize failure at a significantly higher rate, and experience greater negative affect after failure events, than high self-esteem individuals. This conclusion provides support for the current study’s result that low self-esteem individuals were in a significantly worse mood than their high self-esteem counterparts. According to Kernis et al. (1989), the worse mood of low self-esteem participants after the difficult task in the current study is due to the tendency for these individuals to overgeneralize their failure to other aspects of their life, resulting in a lower mood. The other result of the current study, that people with high and low self-esteem did not differ in their mood in the easy anagram condition, is supported
Procedure
Participants were asked to complete a total of two surveys and an anagram task. In the first survey, participants were asked to answer ten questions that measured their global feelings about themselves. Participants were then randomly assigned to complete either an “easy” or “difficult” anagram task. They were given five minutes to complete as many of the twenty listed anagrams as possible. Finally, participants were asked to complete a second survey in which they reported how many anagrams they completed and their mood directly following the completion …show more content…
This analysis revealed that the main effect of self-esteem was not significant, F (1, 86) = 0.21, p = 0.65. This suggests that participants with low (M = 4.29) and high (M = 4.41) self-esteem did not significantly differ in their self-reported mood after completing the anagram task. However, there was a significant relationship between the task difficulty and mood of the participants, F (1, 86) = 21.65, p < 0.001. This suggests that participants reported their mood to be more positive if they were assigned to the “easy” condition (M = 4.94) as opposed to the “difficult” condition (M = 3.76). The main effect was qualified by a significant Self-esteem X Task Difficulty interaction, F (1, 86) = 6.07, p < 0.05. This suggests that the relationship between self-esteem and mood is dependent on whether participants were assigned to the “easy” or “difficult” task …show more content…
(1989) explored the relationship between self-esteem and over-generalizations. They concluded that people with low self-esteem tend to overgeneralize failure at a significantly higher rate, and experience greater negative affect after failure events, than high self-esteem individuals. This conclusion provides support for the current study’s result that low self-esteem individuals were in a significantly worse mood than their high self-esteem counterparts. According to Kernis et al. (1989), the worse mood of low self-esteem participants after the difficult task in the current study is due to the tendency for these individuals to overgeneralize their failure to other aspects of their life, resulting in a lower mood. The other result of the current study, that people with high and low self-esteem did not differ in their mood in the easy anagram condition, is supported