Dr Chris Bale Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences University of Huddersfield cbalehudacuk Sociometer Theory Leary amp Baumeister 2000 Functional evolutionary explanation of selfesteem ID: 262488
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Slide1
Romantic desirability, self-esteem and relationship behaviour in women
Dr Chris Bale
Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences
University of Huddersfield
c.bale@hud.ac.ukSlide2
Sociometer Theory
Leary &
Baumeister
(2000).
Functional, evolutionary explanation of self-esteem.
Self-esteem functions as an interpersonal monitor of:
t
he quality and quantity of existing relationships,
p
erceived eligibility for relationships,
a
nd motivates individuals to act accordingly.Slide3
Self-esteem and relational behaviour
Limited and inconsistent evidence on the relationship between self-esteem and relational behaviour (Baumeister et al, 2003).
Self report studies.
Experimental studies (e.g. Heatherton & Vohs, 2000).
Dependency Regulation perspective (Murray et al, 2006)
Individuals with low self-esteem are especially sensitive to rejection.
They often react to this by denigrating and emotionally distancing themselves from their partners.
How do individuals behave in the absence of relational threats? Slide4
Aims and predictions
The current study examined relationships between women’s:
Self-esteem.
Self-reported relational behaviour.
Perceptions of their own and their partners’ relational desirability.
Sociometer theory suggests low SE should predict more positive relational behaviour.
Equity Theory (Thibaut & Kelly, 1959) suggests lower relative desirability should predict more positive behaviour. Slide5
Method
192 women aged 18-60 (mean = 27.2) engaged in long term relationships (> 3 months, mean = 5 years) completed online measures of:
Self-esteem:
SES (Rosenberg, 1965) & PEI (Shrauger & Schohn, 1995).
Relational desirability:
MVI (Kirsner et al, 2003) Self & Partner.
Relational behaviour:
MRI (Buss, 1988) & PSII (Ellis, 1998).Slide6
Results
After controlling for age and length of relationship:
Self–esteem (SES) did not significantly predict relational behaviour.
Scores on the PEI weakly negatively predicted scores on the MRI (r
2
= .05, p<.05).
Relative desirability significantly negatively predicted partner investment behaviour (r
2
= .27, p<.05).Slide7
Discussion
Self-esteem does not predict relational behaviour.
No evidence for either the Sociometer or Dependency Regulation perspectives.
Women who feel less desirable than their partners report investing more in them.
Correlational results suggest this is largely driven by perceptions of their partners.
Limitations of self-report.
Previous studies show self reports of relational behaviour correlate with partner reports.Slide8
Future directions
Use implicit measures of desirability and self-esteem to address limitations of self-report.
Conduct diary and experimental studies to examine causal effects.
Do perceived desirability and self-esteem predict relational behaviour in men?
Implications for intimate partner violence and abuse.
How effective are different behaviours in maintaining long term relationships?Slide9
Thanks for your attention
Thanks for your attention.
Chris Bale
c.bale@hud.ac.uk