A. Schutz et Dm. Tice, ASSOCIATIVE AND COMPETITIVE INDIRECT SELF-ENHANCEMENT IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS MODERATED BY TRAIT SELF-ESTEEM, European journal of social psychology, 27(3), 1997, pp. 257-273
Subjects wrote (free-format) descriptions of themselves and of their r
omantic partners. Self-esteem and publicness moderated these descripti
ons. In addition to a tendency of high self-esteem subjects to avoid s
elf-derogatory statements more than low self-esteem subjects, qualitat
ive differences in favourable self-presentation were observed While hi
gh self-esteem subjects emphasized their abilities (self-promotion), l
ow self-esteem subjects focused instead on their social qualities and
described themselves as altruistic (exemplification). Both groups desc
ribed their partners positively and used indirect self-enhancement. Ho
wever, the specific strategies of self-enhancement differed between th
e groups, such that high self-esteem subjects emphasized their superio
r abilities compared to their partners while low self-esteem subjects
enhanced their self-worth by associating with a partner whom they desc
ribed more positively than themselves.