STRATEGIES OF SOCIAL-COMPARISON AMONG PEOPLE WITH LOW SELF-ESTEEM - SELF-PROTECTION AND SELF-ENHANCEMENT

People with low self-esteem (LSE) seem to focus on self-protection; ra ther than trying to achieve gains for their self-esteem, they try to a void losses. This research examined, in a social comparison context, t he hypothesis that LSEs seek self-enhancement when they have an opport unity that is ''safe,'' that is, carrying little risk of humiliation. Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that LSEs sought the most social compari sons after receiving success feedback, whereas high-self-esteem Ss (HS Es) sought the most comparisons after failure. Further results suggest ed that LSEs who succeeded were seizing a safe means of self-enhanceme nt and that HSEs who failed were seeking to compensate for the failure . Also supporting this interpretation for LSEs was Experiment 3, in wh ich LSEs who succeeded sought the most comparisons when such compariso ns promised to be favorable. All three studies illustrate the value of a new measure of social comparison selection.