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- Die Theorie der Aufrechterhaltung der Selbstbewertung (engl. self-evaluation maintenance model) ist eine von (1988) entwickelte Theorie, wonach man das individuelle Selbstwertgefühl als das Ergebnis eines dynamischen Prozesses verstehen kann. Die Grundannahme besteht darin, dass Personen bestrebt sind, ihr Selbstwertgefühl zu maximieren (Theorie des Selbst(wert)schutzes und der Selbst(wert)erhöhung). Das Selbstwertgefühl wird als abhängig von zwei voneinander unabhängig ablaufenden Prozessen angesehen:
* dem Reflexionsprozess,
* dem sozialen Vergleichsprozess. Der Reflexionsprozess zeigt sich in der individuellen Tendenz, sich mit anderen Personen zu assoziieren, die sich in (Leistungs-)Situationen als erfolgreich gezeigt haben. Er entspricht dem „Basking in reflected glory“. Der soziale Vergleichsprozess bezieht sich auf die Tendenz von Personen, soziale Vergleiche mit anderen durchzuführen (vgl. Theorie des sozialen Vergleichs). Die Stärke beider Prozesse hängt davon ab, ob ein hohes vs. niedriges Leistungsergebnis einer Zielperson vorliegt und ob diese der beurteilenden Person nahesteht („Einheitsbeziehung“ im Sinne von Heider, 1958). Unter Nähe wird eine psychologische „Geschlossenheit“ verstanden, die darin zum Ausdruck kommt, dass die Zielperson z. B. in ihrem Alter, Geschlecht, ihrer Nationalität, ihren Einstellungen, Werten, Hobbys oder ihrem familiären Hintergrund mit der beurteilenden Person übereinstimmt. Das Auftreten von Reflexionsprozess und sozialem Vergleichsprozess hängt davon ab, inwieweit das von der Zielperson gezeigte Verhalten eine Sphäre betrifft, die für die Person von hoher oder niedriger Relevanz ist. Wenn die Leistungssphäre eine niedrige Relevanz aufweist, wird das Selbstwertgefühl an erster Stelle durch den Reflexionsprozess reguliert. Ist dagegen die Leistungssphäre von hoher Relevanz, wird das Selbstwertgefühl eher durch den sozialen Vergleichsprozess beeinflusst. Das Modell der Aufrechterhaltung der Selbstbewertung hat z. B. in engen Beziehungen große Bedeutung erhalten, zumal die jeweiligen Partner – um die Qualität der Beziehung nicht zu gefährden – nicht nur ihre eigene Selbstbewertung, sondern auch diejenige ihres Partners/ihrer Partnerin nicht gefährden dürfen. Das Modell der Aufrechterhaltung der Selbstbewertung weist Überschneidungen mit der Theorie des Narzissmus auf (vgl. Tesser, 1991, 1992 sowie Willi, 1975, zum Konzept der „Kollusion“). Erläuterung: Bei hoher Relevanz (=der soziale Vergleichsprozess erhält relativ zum Reflexionsprozess größeren Einfluss bei der Selbstwertregulation) gilt: Wenn ein befreundeter Studienkollege in dem Spezialgebiet, für das sich auch die beurteilende Person sehr interessiert, eine hervorragende Leistung zeigt, wird die eigene Möglichkeit, „groß herauszukommen“, in Frage gestellt. Die erwartete Reaktion besteht dann darin, das eigene Selbstwertgefühl durch Herabsetzung der Leistung des Studienkollegen zu schützen.Bei niedriger Relevanz (=der Reflexionsprozess erhält relativ zum sozialen Vergleichsprozess größeren Einfluss bei der Selbstwertregulation) wird erwartet: Wenn ein befreundeter Studienkollege in einem Fach überzeugt, das außerhalb des persönlichen Interesses der beurteilenden Person liegt, wird versucht, das Selbstwertgefühl durch Herstellung einer Verbindung mit dieser erfolgreichen Person zu steigern, indem man die Nähe betont (siehe Tesser, 1988). (de)
- Self-evaluation maintenance (SEM) concerns discrepancies between two people in a relationship. The theory posits an individual will maintain as well as enhance their self-esteem via a social comparison to another individual. Self-evaluation refers to the self-perceived social ranking one has towards themselves. It is the continuous process of determining personal growth and progress, which can be raised or lowered by the behavior of others. Abraham Tesser created the self-evaluation maintenance theory in 1988. The self-evaluation maintenance model assumes two things: that a person will try to maintain or increase their own self-evaluation, and self-evaluation is influenced by relationships with others. A person's self-evaluation (which is similar to self-esteem) may be raised when a close other performs well. For example, a sibling scores the winning goal in an important game. Self-evaluation will increase because that person is sharing his/her success. The closer the psychological relationship and the greater the success, the more a person will share in the success. This is considered the reflection process. When closeness and performance are high, self-evaluation is raised in the reflection process. If someone who is psychologically close performs well on a task that is irrelevant to a person's , that person is able to benefit by sharing in the success of the achievement. At the same time, the success of a close other can decrease someone's self-evaluation in the comparison process. This is because the success of a close other invites comparison on one's own capabilities, thereby directly affecting one's own self-evaluation. This is also strengthened with the closeness of the psychological relationship with the successful other. Using a similar example: a sibling scores the winning goal in an important game; but you are also on the same team and through comparison, your self-evaluation is lowered. When closeness (sibling) and performance (scored the winning goal) are high, self-evaluation is decreased in the comparison process. This is further expressed when the comparison is related to something you value in your personal identity. If you are aspiring to become a professional soccer player, but your sibling scores the winning goal and you do not, the comparison aspect of SEM will decrease your self-evaluation. In both the reflection and comparison processes, closeness and performance level are significant factors. If the closeness of another decreases, then a person is less likely to share the success and/or compare him/herself, which lessens the likelihood of decreasing self-evaluation. A person is more likely to compare him/herself to someone close to him/her, like a sibling or a best friend, than a stranger. There are different factors in which a person can assume closeness: family, friends, people with similar characteristics, etc. If an individual is not close to a particular person, then it makes sense that he/she will not share in their success or be threatened by their success. At the same time, if the person's performance is low, there is no reason to share the success and increase self-evaluation; there is also no reason to compare him/herself to the other person. Because their performance is low, there is no reason it should raise or lower his/her self-evaluation. According to Tesser's (1988) theory, if a sibling did not do well in his/her game, then there is no reason the individual's self-evaluation will be affected. Closeness and performance can either raise self-evaluation through reflection or lower self-evaluation through comparison. Relevance to self-identity determines whether reflection or comparison will occur. There are many different dimensions that can be important to an individual's self-definition. A self-defining factor is any factor that is personally relevant to your identity. For example, skills in music may be important to one's self-definition, but at the same time, being good in math may not be as important, even if you are skilled at it. Relating to your self-definition, you may consider yourself a musician but not a mathematician, even if you are skilled in both. Relevance assumes that a particular factor that is important to an individual is also important to another person. Relevance can be as simple as a shared dimension which one considers important to who they are. If relevance is high, then one will engage in comparison, but if relevance is low, one will engage in reflection. For example, if athletics is important to a person and that person considers athletics to be an important dimension of his/her self-definition, then when a sibling does well in athletics, the comparison process will take place and his/her self-evaluation will decrease. On the other hand, if athletics is not a dimension he/she uses for self-definition, the reflection process will take place and he/she will celebrate the sibling's success with the sibling; his/her self-evaluation will increase along with the sibling's because he/she is not threatened or challenged by the sibling's athletic capability. Tesser (1988) suggests that people may do things to reduce the decrease in self-evaluation from comparison. One can spend less time with that particular individual, thereby reducing closeness or one can change their important self-definition and take up a new hobby or focus on a different self-defining activity, which reduces relevance (e.g. A siblings success in your favorite sport may lead you to stop playing). The third way of avoiding a decrease in self-evaluation through the comparison process is to affect another's performance (e.g. by hiding a sibling's favorite shoes, or believe that his/her performance was based on luck) or one can improve their own skills by practicing more. The conditions that predict whether an individual will interfere with another's performance in the sake of their own self evaluation include the closeness of the individuals and the relevance of the activity. When the relevance is high, the comparison process is more important than the reflection process. When the relevance is high and the activity is high in self-defining importance, the other person poses a larger threat than when the relevance is low. Mazar et al. (2008) investigated how self-concept maintenance applies to moral behavior. They found that participants engaged in dishonest behaviors to achieve external benefits up to a point. However, their need to maintain a positive view of themselves, as being honest, limited the extent of their dishonest behavior. (en)
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