2002/04/01 by Jennifer Crocker · 200 citations
Psychology · #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Computer security #Contingency #Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion #Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction #Psychology #Self #Self worth #Self-esteem #Social psychology #Vulnerability (computing)
paper · doi:10.1080/152988602317319320
published in Self and Identity 1(2), 143-149 (Taylor & Francis)
openalex publication_date 2002/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Contingencies of self-worth represent the domains in which success or failure leads to increases or decreases in self-esteem, respectively. Because people seek to protect, maintain, and enhance their self-esteem, contingencies of self-worth serve an important self-regulatory role; people seek out situations and engage in activities that provide opportunities for them to achieve success and avoid failure in domains on which their self-worth is staked. These contingencies also constitute an important psychological vulnerability, however. Successes and failures lead to greater increases and decreases in self-esteem when they occur in domains of contingency. These fluctuations of self-esteem, in turn, are associated with increases in depressive symptoms. Thus, the pursuit of self-esteem, while guiding much of our behavior, comes at considerable cost.