THE SELF AND SOCIAL CONDUCT - LINKING SELF-REPRESENTATIONS TO PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR

Two studies examined how situational variables and personal factors affect peoples' immediate representations of self and how, once activated, these representations guide behavior. In Study 1, Ss with high self-esteem (HSE) and Ss with low self-esteem (LSE) first experienced success or failure at an alleged test of their intellectual ability. Subsequently, they rated themselves on a series of trait adjectives: Half of the items referred to social traits and attributes, the other half referred to achievement-related traits and attributes. Failure led HSE Ss to exaggerate the positivity of their social qualities; the reverse was true for LSE Ss. Study 2 replicated these results and found that HSE Ss were also especially helpful after failure. These findings indicate that situational variables and personal factors interact to influence peoples' immediate views of the self and that people behave in accordance with these activated self-representations.