Physiological and behavioral reactivity when one’s self-worth is staked on competence

Contingent self-esteem, where one’s self-value is staked on success and competence, is a particularly vulnerable disposition with impact on well-being. This study compared physiological and behavioral reactivity between individuals self-rated as high and low in competence based self-esteem (N = 61), in a performance situation. To assess reactivity we used a traditional overt measure of blood pressure and a novel, covert, measure of response force. The results show that high scorers in competence based self-esteem exhibited an overall pattern of stronger reactivity as indicated by higher blood pressure and response force as compared to low scorers.