CIBPsi, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
CIBPsi, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
Psychiatry Res. 2017 Jun;252:247-255. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.12.063. Epub 2017 Mar 6.
Self-esteem is an attitude formed by self-evaluation based on positive and negative aspects of oneself. Low self-esteem is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders and is especially associated with social difficulties. Recently, behavioral economics has allowed the quantitative study of social interactions. We investigated the association between self-esteem and interpersonal problems and whether self-esteem modulates behavior and emotions during an economic task, the Ultimatum Game (UG). In this task participants accept or reject fair/unfair monetary offers from others. Low (LSE, n=40) and high (HSE, n=45) self-esteem participants were assessed in their interpersonal problems and psychiatric symptoms using self-reported questionnaires, and were compared on their decision making and emotional response during the UG. LSE was associated with depression and anxiety symptoms. In addition, LSE was associated with interpersonal problems, especially in the domains of socially inhibited, nonassertive, overly accommodating, self-sacrificing and cold/distant. During the UG, LSE women reported more anger towards unfair offers than HSE women. Our findings suggest that low self-esteem individuals experience high distress by interpersonal problems in several domains. Importantly, low self-esteem in women seems to be associated with an accentuated emotional response to unfair social exchanges. These results may contribute to treat social difficulties in this population.
自尊是一种基于自我的积极和消极方面的自我评价所形成的态度。低自尊是精神障碍的一个风险因素，特别是与社交困难有关。最近，行为经济学允许对社会互动进行定量研究。我们调查了自尊与人际关系问题之间的关系，以及自尊是否在经济任务（最后通牒游戏（UG））中调节行为和情绪。在这个任务中，参与者接受或拒绝来自他人的公平/不公平的金钱提议。使用自我报告问卷评估低（LSE，n=40）和高（HSE，n=45）自尊参与者的人际关系问题和精神症状，并比较他们在 UG 中的决策和情绪反应。LSE 与抑郁和焦虑症状有关。此外，LSE 与人际关系问题有关，特别是在社交抑制、不果断、过度迎合、自我牺牲和冷漠/疏远等方面。在 UG 中，LSE 女性比 HSE 女性对不公平的提议报告了更多的愤怒。我们的研究结果表明，低自尊个体在多个领域会因人际关系问题而感到高度痛苦。重要的是，女性的低自尊似乎与对不公平的社会交往的情绪反应增强有关。这些结果可能有助于治疗该人群的社交困难。
